Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1525333
3 6 S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 4 J ames Franklin was known as a dogged recruiter when Penn State hired him in 2014. His demonstrated talent for wooing sought-after prospects was one of the reasons why PSU was so eager to bring him aboard, knowing that it needed a strong advocate on the recruiting trail while it was working its way through the fallout from the NCAA sanctions of 2012. In his first decade as coach, Franklin succeeded in attracting some of the best players in school his- tory. There have been high-profile pros- pects who lived up to their advance bill- ing (Micah Parsons, Chris Godwin, Mike Gesicki), under-the-radar players who shined under PSU's tutelage (Trace Mc- Sorley, Ji'Ayir Brown), and, of course, some highly impactful transfers (Chop Robinson, Jordan Stout). While Franklin's pledge to "dominate the state [of Pennsylvania]" has only in- termittently been fulfilled, there's no doubt that he and his staff have opened doors that were previously shut. In our August issue, we looked back on the biggest victories of Franklin's first 10 years at PSU. What follows is a survey of the players who delivered those wins, Penn State's top players of the past decade on offense, defense and special teams. James Franklin's James Franklin's Best Players Best Players Penn State has fielded its share of difference-makers over the past decade M AT T H E R B | M AT T. H E R B @ O N 3 . C O M W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M Saquon Barkley amassed a school-record 5,538 all-purpose yards during his three seasons with the Nittany Lions. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL