Thanksgiving week at Penn State is about much more than James Franklin asking beat writers what their meal preferences are.
With a break in classes, the football team spends more time together at Lasch Building or elsewhere in State College than usual.
It’s a time for sharing and bonding. It’s a time for friends and family.
“I’m most thankful for my family in general,” quarterback Drew Allar said. “That’s my immediate family, my sister (Ryann), my parents (Kevin and Dawn) and my grandparents. And my family here at Penn State. I couldn’t ask for a better situation to be in.
“I love playing for Coach Franklin. I love playing for Coach K (offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki) and Danny (quarterbacks coach Danny O’Brien) and all my teammates.”
The Nittany Lions had a team dinner Wednesday. After a morning practice Thursday, they will spend the rest of Thanksgiving Day with their families if they’re in State College and/or with their position coaches or at Franklin’s home.
No one will be left alone.
Nick Dawkins will be with his mother, Janice, and his two sisters, Tabitha and Alexis. He’s grateful for a lot, like being elected a team captain, becoming the starting center after critics doubted him and being named a finalist for the Wuerffel Trophy, considered college football’s premier award for community service.
Most of all, he’s grateful for his mother who worked two or three jobs after the sudden death of his father, NBA legend Darryl Dawkins, in 2015. By her example and her love, she taught him strength and courage.
“When your mom has to step up and play both roles, your mom and your dad, at such a pivotal point, she stood tall and helped me through that process,” Dawkins told me earlier this year. “I was 13 when my dad passed. I had just become a teen-ager. That’s where a lot of transformation happens both physically and mentally.
“She laid down the example for who I am today.”
Both of his parents taught him about giving back to those less fortunate, which is why he hopes to own and operate community centers in underserved areas so that he can affect young people and the homeless.
“She taught me how to treat people,” he said. “She treats people with the utmost respect, kindness and courtesy. She always takes into account another person’s situation and feelings.”
If only we could all do that.
Tyler Warren could thank his parents, Terry and Sandy, for teaching him how to be humble. Penn State’s extraordinary tight end is the best at his position in the country, but he never tries to draw attention to himself and always credits his teammates for his success.
“I’m thankful to be able to play at Penn State and go to school at a great place like Penn State,” he said, “that’s going to not only help me in my life right now but down the road.
“Just to be around all these people who help us out and to be a part of a program like this is something I really enjoy. I’m happy I can do this.”
Many of these guys will be friends for life. They will attend each other’s weddings, vacation together or even become neighbors.
This week, they’re celebrating Thanksgiving, preparing to face Maryland on Senior Day Saturday at 3:30 at Beaver Stadium and hoping to make the College Football Playoff.
They’re doing it together. They’re sharing a season that only they know what it has taken to achieve. After all, they’re friends and brothers.
“I’m thankful for my family,” linebacker Kobe King said. “I’m thankful for my faith.”
Amen.
