Blue White Illustrated

This is a tribute to the two schools that changed my life. First, I'd like to give a shoutout to the Nittany Lions. The four years I spent at Happy Valley gave me more than I could have ever wished for. Penn State gave me a chance to show the world I was more than just an 18 year old kid from Glassboro, NJ with potential. State College gave me the space to grow, shine, and make memories that I'll take with me for the rest of my life. Lastly, I'd like to thank the University of Oregon for taking a chance on me. I pictured myself on the field of Autzen Stadium when I was playing pickup ball as a kid, because I always knew being a Duck meant something. Thank you to Eugene and the whole Oregon family for making those childhood dreams come true. All that's left to say are those four words: We Are! Go Ducks! @Ju_heard_ (JUWAN JOHNSON) T W E E T S T H E M O N T H I N . . . Franklin has added Ciarrocca (December 26) and offensive line coach Phil Trautwein, hired away from Boston College on January 3 to replace Matt Limegrover, who was let go. (Officially, Limegrover's "contract was not re- newed" after four seasons at Penn State.) Figure that Ciarrocca has already spent a lot of time looking at digital cut-ups of Penn State's 2019 offense. He's very likely to retool the offense, in some regards — it was, after all, part JoeMo, part Ricky, part ineffective. Under Rahne's tenure as offensive coordinator, the Penn State offense had averages of 24 points in the final 5-4, nine-game stretch in 2018, and 26 points in his 2-2 final four-game stretch in 2019. The nomencla- ture may stay the same, but Franklin didn't hire Ciarrocca to maintain the status quo. MIKE POORMAN STATECOLLEGE.COM Limegrover's dismissal was a bit of a surprise in that the Lions did finish 11-2, but you also never got the sense that their line was dominant. Firing assistant coaches almost never happened under Joe Paterno – obviously, history has shown us that was a grave error – but O'Brien fired two in two years (Ron Van- derlinden, Charlie Fisher) and this makes three under Franklin (Limegrover, David Corley, John Donovan). Special teams coach Phil Galiano, probably nudged, was given a chance to land softly with the New Orleans Saints. That's the college football world that now exists. NEIL RUDEL ALTOONA MIRROR Sure, KJ Hamler won't be back. But Clifford, Pat Freiermuth, Jahan Dotson and all four of those talented running backs will be. That – along with Micah Parsons, who might be one of the best defensive players in the country – is the reason there's so much optimism for next season. But there was always optimism for 2020. It was clear a few years ago that 2020 was going to be Penn State's year to really compete for a national championship. And even though those College Football Playoff hopes [in 2019] died with the loss in Columbus, there was legitimate hope for a few weeks – all credit to Franklin. He's set this program up well for the future, and there's a pretty clear window for the program to compete for a national champi- onship. But that window was supposed to start in 2020, not 2019. Penn State is a year ahead of schedule and the man in charge – despite a contract extension – still doesn't get enough credit. TYLER KING THE DAILY COLLEGIAN O P I N I O N S has had frequent discussions with the administration about the program's needs. She said that the university wants to be in the top three of the Big Ten and top 10 nationally in a number of areas, such areas as coaches' salaries and stu- dent-athlete services, but she indicated that Franklin's contract did not contain any assurances regarding spending on assistant coaches or facilities. "I would say those are two separate things, although obviously they con;ate at some point," Barbour said. "As it re- lates to assistant coaches, as it relates to facilities, those are conversations we have almost daily, certainly weekly, about our ability to compete. I would hesitate to say those were part of his contract nego- tiations. Now don't get me wrong, James is always looking out for his assistants, always pushing what is going to help Penn State be competitive. That is always happening, but those commitments [to improve facilities] were made long ago." While the football complex has already undergone substantial improvements, with more on the way, Barbour said that the most ambitious item in Penn State's facilities master plan – a renovated Beaver Stadium – is not going to be breaking ground anytime soon. "That continues to operate in the background," she said. "Let's make this really, really clear: That is years away. It's such a massive project that it will take that long, so the planning process needs to go on there." In the meantime, some of the other projects in Penn State's master plan are starting to take shape. Barbour said that the university expects to get started later this year on improvements to the bas- ketball facilities and the :eld hockey complex. Barbour spoke before Franklin's foot- ball team defeated Memphis to complete an 11-2 season. It was the Lions' third 11-win season in the past four years, and their success since winning the Big Ten title in 2016 has Barbour feeling opti- mistic about the future. "It's an understatement to say that we're headed in the right direction," she said. ■

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