Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1462941
A P R I L 2 0 2 2 17 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M "As Franklin enters his ninth spring prac- tice at Penn State … he has coached 101 games at PSU, going 67-34. He went 14-12 in his first 26 games and 14-13 in his latest 27. In-between was a stellar 39-9 mark that included a Big Ten title, a high-water No. 2 ranking for two weeks in 2017 and three trips to New Year's 6 bowls. "In Ann Arbor this fall, he will pass Hugo Bezdek (65-30-11) to become No. 4 on the all-time list in longevity for Penn State head football coaches. And, with a 10-year, $85 million contract in hand, Franklin is poised to pass Rip Engle (156 games) and Bob Higgins (159) sometime during the 2026 season. Joe Paterno's record of 548 games seems safe." — Mike Poorman, StateCollege.com columnist, on James Franklin's longevity at Penn State They Said It "We just have a great group of kids, and they're competitors. They step up in these big moments, and they did this weekend." — Cael Sanderson, Penn State wrestling coach, following his team's victory at the NCAA Tournament, in which it crowned five individual champions "I want to thank Sandy for her progressive and positive leadership over the past eight years. I have been appreciative of her hard work, passion and support to all of our programs during her time at Penn State. It has been personally meaningful to see her rooting for our team on the sidelines, once a field hockey player herself, without providing coach- ing tips!" — Char Morett-Curtiss, Penn State field hockey coach, following the announcement in mid- March that Sandy Barbour will be stepping down as athletics director this summer "He's gone from being a top 5 coach to being close to slipping out of my top 10 after consecutive 4-5 seasons in Big Ten play (11-11 overall). Before that, it was stellar. Franklin took over a program reeling from hefty sanctions and by Year 3 had let the Nit- tany Lions to a Big Ten title. He's had three 11-win seasons in Happy Valley and produced a lot of tal- ent. His work at Vanderbilt was even more impres- sive, leading the Commodores to Top 25 finishes in two of his three seasons. Vanderbilt hadn't finished in the Top 25 in more than 60 years and has gone 29-65 since he left." — Bruce Feldman, football writer for The Athletic, listing Franklin ninth in his ranking of the top 25 coaches in college football "Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams are back! Great news for Green Bay. But now the Packers have to capitalize and go all in on this offense. Marquez Valdes-Scantling is a free agent, and Rodgers could use another receiver he trusts. Dotson is undersized at 5-foot-11 and 178 pounds, but he has speed (4.43 in the 40-yard dash), suddenness (36 inches in the vertical jump) and great ball skills (91 catches in 2021). He could be a true possession receiver to complement Adams, who was franchise-tagged on [March 8]." — Todd McShay, ESPN senior writer, assessing Jahan Dotson in a March 9 mock draft that had the former Penn State wideout going to the Packers with the 28th overall pick "I feel like I do a good job of staying calm and stay- ing focused. I feel like I'm a very chill person. So, I just control the controllable, and everything is going to take care of itself. That's how I've always been." — Rasheed Walker, former Penn State offensive tackle, looking ahead to the NFL Draft, in which he is considered a likely late-round pick "We're right there. That's the part where you get a little disappointed — you're close, you're really close. Now, don't take steps back to take steps for- ward. We need to build off what we did this year."— Micah Shrewsberry on Penn State's competitive- ness in his first season as men's basketball coach, a season in which the Nittany Lions went 14-17 JOE KRENTZMAN & SON, INC. • Buyers and Brokers of Steel, Iron and Nonferrous Metals • Industrial Scrap Buyers • Container Service Available • Large Service Territory Since 1903 Lewistown, PA • Hollidaysburg, PA • DuBois, PA (800) 543-2000 • www.krentzman.net F irst i n S cra p James Franklin ranks fifth in Nittany Lion football history with 101 games coached in eight seasons at Penn State. He will pass Hugo Bezdek (106 games) this coming fall. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL