Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1537537
A U G U S T 2 0 2 5 2 7 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / T H E B I G P I C T U R E / / / / / / / ture in recruiting while also making sure that you're developing your current team, which is the most important thing. The player meetings are about half an hour with each player, which I love and hate, because it's a grind. The way I describe it is, I know the entire team better than anybody, but I don't know the safeties as well as [position coach Anthony Poindexter], because Dex gets all the time with the safeties. But I'm able to gain a ton of information by meeting with every player and getting little bits and pieces. I have a list of questions I ask them, and they're pretty much the same every year, but I tweak them a little bit. It's amaz- ing the information you can get. It's just good one-on-one time with every player. It gives them an opportunity to get any- thing off their chest or ask questions, so I actually really like it. It's just a grind. BWI: How many of these conversa- tions center on NIL? FRANKLIN: People would be sur- prised. I've probably had 70 [meetings], and not once has that come up. I have three questions on my question- naire about NIL. One of the things I do is, I'll ask them, one out of five, grade your relationship with me. One out of five, grade your relationship with the coor- dinator. One out of five, grade your rela- tionship with your position coach, and then the analyst. And then I go through each department. What do you think about strength and conditioning, one out of five? And then there are notes behind it. OK, you gave it a three. Why did you give it a three? It's honest, I think. I go through each department — strength and conditioning, the equipment room, the trainers. I go through all the areas. And then one of them is NIL. Grade NIL, grade our social media that we put out for football, all of it. The guys are pretty comfortable talking and giving some real feedback. Is it the same conversation they're having with their boys in the dorms or at the apart- ment? Probably not. I think there's some level of holding back, but I get really good feedback. BWI: In case I can't make it to the end of this walk, let's get the big one in right now — are you over the Orange Bowl loss to Notre Dame? FRANKLIN: I don't know if I'm over any loss. You just carry them a little bit, right? But I will also say this: I'm very much an on-to-the-next-task type of guy. When we win a game, it's hard for me not to think about the next game and what we need to do to get ready and get going and be efficient and not waste time. After we get a recruit, I'm asking about the next recruit. The way I'm wired helps with that [process of] moving on to the next one. I also think that's been somewhat of a learned behavior at Penn State. Because the expectations are so high and people are so passionate, when you lose around here, it can be really tough on the players and the staff. That's why you've got to teach players and staff around here what it's like so they can bounce back quickly, because it can be negative. You've heard other programs and other coaches talking about that. So, to answer your question, yes. When somebody brings it up or I see something, does it still piss me off? Yes. I also think at the end of the season, it's OK to have a little bit of that residual [dis- appointment] driving you, recognizing how close you were. During the season, you don't have time for that, because the next one's smacking you in the face. BWI: Did the players process it differ- ently? How did Drew Allar handle it? FRANKLIN: As players and coaches, you're task-oriented. A lot of times, people break up the year into quarters. You've got winter workouts as a quar- ter, and you've got summer training as a quarter, and then you've got the season, "We've got a model that seems to be working. I think gratitude and appreciation still matter. And that's for the coaches and myself, being appreciative of being at Penn State and being grateful for Penn State and the experience that I've had and our players have had over the past 12 years." F R A N K L I N Franklin has guided Penn State to a 34-8 record over the past three seasons, including an appearance in the College Football Playoff semifinals last year. PHOTO BY TYLER MANTZ/PENN STATE ATHLETICS