Blue White Illustrated

doing that before. A lot of times it was, is that kid willing to fly out unofficially and check the place out or not? BWI Where is the coaching staff in its transition? FRANKLIN I think it's hard to say. Right now, you've got to be careful because you're comparing everything to last year, and I don't know if that's fair or right to do. I brought the leadership council in the other day and I talked to them and they think we're in this unbe- lievable place right now, which I feel good about, and I'm glad they feel that way. But I said, just make sure that we're comparing the lifting, the meeting, the workouts – don't compare them to last year, because that's not the standard. You had better be comparing them to the 11-win seasons, the 10-win season. You need to be comparing it to that. And I think that was a good message for them to hear and for all of us to hear, because although I do think we're in a good spot, last year was just so challenging from so many different perspectives. We've just got to make sure that that's not the stan- dard that we're comparing to. In their defense, there are aspects of it that were outside of their control and not fair in some ways. But life isn't al- ways fair. You have a new offensive co- ordinator and there are some things that we need to get installed in spring ball to lay a foundation, and you have no spring ball. My thing is, what you would like the NCAA to do with most things, which is kind of the NCAA and the college football I grew up with, is to try to make this as much of a level playing field as we possibly can so that everybody has an opportunity. If you lost spring ball, then you should have gained those 15 prac- tices in summer camp. When one team across the country, or even specifically in the Big Ten, gets nine spring ball practices and we get zero, another team gets 15 and we get zero, that makes it re- ally challenging. But there's less of that right now in college athletics. It used to be all about, how do we level the playing field as much as we possibly can so there are not built-in advantages or disadvan- tages? So, in some of the coaches' de- fense, they were put in a really tough spot. BWI Where do you feel Sean Clifford is at in his development? FRANKLIN I try to look at the big pic- ture, and I know this is a game based on not only production but what have you done lately? You could be all-everything as a player, as a coach, whatever it is, and if the last game or the last season wasn't up to standard, then that's how people view you. That's fair, to a degree, but I also know that two years ago we won 11 games with Sean [and won the] Cotton Bowl. There were a lot of people talking before the season started that not only was he maybe one of the top two quar- terbacks in the Big Ten, but also one of the top quarterbacks in the country. That's still my guy. That's still my Sean. I think he's had a really good summer. He prepares like crazy. He works like crazy. I had my end-of-the-year meet- ings and I asked the team, who are the hardest workers on the team? I asked the guys, who are the best leaders on the team? His name came up consistently. So I think he's going to have a big year for us, and I'm very proud of him. Al- though last year was extremely painful for him, I think there's value and growth that's going to come from that, espe- cially when it comes to some of the toughness aspects – the emotional toughness that comes from going through a year like that, the mental toughness that comes from going through a year like that, especially when you had so many people patting you on the back the year before. And to be hon- est with you, me and him bond over things like that, because the head coach and quarterback are always going to feel it more than anybody. BWI Did you see a tipping point with the offensive line's acclimation to Phil Trautwein? FRANKLIN I'm not sure about that, but what I will say is, it's very apparent to me that Phil is a relational guy. His play- ers really like him and respect him. You can be successful being respected only. You can be successful being liked only. But when you're liked and respected, it's a really good combination. And obvi- ously, there's his experience in college, winning two national championships, his experience of being able to make it to the NFL and stay in the NFL as a free agent, probably not based on talent – and I don't mean that as a knock, I don't want that to come off the wrong way – but based on being a technician and a student of the game. There's a lot of GROUP EFFORT Franklin cele- brates with his players after the Nittany Lions defeated Michigan State, 39-24, last December. It was the third of four consecutive victories to close the season. Photo by Steve Manuel

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