Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1541990
5 8 J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 6 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M the years, Franklin wanted everyone on scholarship to receive some sort of payment. That's not the case at every school. He was also never as ruthless as some other coaches about cutting play- ers who clearly weren't going to make an impact. In Franklin's eyes, that was not the right thing to do. But that approach played a role in Penn State's failures in the transfer market. The portal has set the stage for ultra-competitive bidding wars for the best players, and it's an area in which Kraft wants Penn State to be a bigger player down the road. Franklin Resurfaces When rumors started circulating a few weeks after his firing that Franklin was seriously considering Virginia Tech, it appeared as though it might just be a leverage ploy. Penn State fans saw a lot of that this fall, with candidate after candidate receiving a contract extension shortly after turning up on the Nittany Lions' radar screen. In retrospect, though, the move fits Franklin's personality perfectly. In the weeks after he was fired, multiple Penn State commits said openly that they were still in regular contact with the Lions' former coach. As the speculation around Franklin's interest in Virginia Tech continued to grow, some parents and players admitted that they had been hearing from him more frequently than from the Nittany Lions' recruiting and coaching staff. It's unclear whether Franklin was waiting for a bigger job like Florida State to come open, but he clearly knew he had an opportunity to pick apart this class if he didn't drag out the process. The slow pace of Penn State's search only helped. Franklin's hiring, which took place on Nov. 17, is the earliest we've seen a head coach named to a Power Four job in at least the past four years. If he was go- ing to stay within the region, he clearly understood that it would benefit him to get a foot in the door a few weeks before Penn State made its move. Franklin doesn't need much motiva- tion to work hard. Even his detractors would concede that he's committed to the grind, and his firing has clearly put a massive chip on his shoulder. The fact that Franklin was also able to get six recruiting staffers to join him immediately shows that he was working behind the scenes to ensure a fast start. Penn State fans may find it distaste- ful, but he didn't fire himself. Like it or not, it's fair game in the world of college football recruiting. Penn State would have still lost quite a few of its recruits even if Franklin had ended up at an Oklahoma State or UCLA. But the fact that he's still within the re- gion — and clearly out for blood — turned a bad situation into a meltdown. ■ With the Nittany Lions' coaching situation in flux, athletics director Patrick Kraft wasn't able to guarantee committed prospects that they would have a scholarship under the incoming staff. PHOTO BT RYAN SNYDER