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was hired, and he is hoping to visit PSU Jan. 24. "It is a big program, Farmer told Ri" vals.com. "The stadium fits like 107,000. I'm excited to see the school. I know it's a big-time program, so it should be fun." Another Californian whom Franklin is pursuing is quarterback K.J. CartaSamuels, a four-star prospect who was previously committed to Vanderbilt. As of this writing, Carta-Samuels was looking to visit Penn State. He was also considering Washington and Boise State and had not ruled out following through on his original commitment to the Commodores. "I could see myself ending up at Vandy, Carta-Samuels told Rivals.com. " "It wasn't just [Franklin], but he was a big part of it. It's going to change some things, so I'm going to consider other schools and maybe Penn State if he wants me to follow with him. " As of mid-January, Franklin was still pursuing a few other prospects who were formerly committed to Vanderbilt. Take four-star athlete Trent Sherfield, for example. A native of Danville, Ill., Sherfield was still committed to the Commodores but was thinking about making an official visit to Penn State on Jan. 31. Franklin also offered four-star safety Emmanuel Smith. He, too, is now considering the Nittany Lions, as well as Ole Miss, Missouri and the Commodores. "I'm going to take one of my official visits to Penn State just to visit the campus and see how it is, Smith said. " Four-star cornerback Lamont Simmons of Jacksonville, Fla., is also planning a visit to Penn State on Jan. 31. PSU has also shown interest in five-star offensive lineman Damian Prince of Forestville, Md. Offensive coordinator John Donovan paid Prince a visit at his school on Jan. 17, and Prince might repay him with a visit to Happy Valley. "He explained to me what kind of offense they are going to run [at Penn State]," Prince said. "It was definitely a good talk, and there is a possibility that I take an unofficial visit to Penn I State." New coach takes aggressive approach ames Franklin wasted little time putting his stamp on the Penn State football program. While everyone on the beat, including this reporter, was dissecting his "dominate the state" recruiting comments following his introductory press conference Jan. 11, Franklin was busy dominating something else: his former recruiting class at Vanderbilt. At roughly 10 o'clock that night, news broke that defensive end Lloyd Tubman and offensive lineman Chance Sorrell would be switching their verbal commitments from Vanderbilt to Penn State. About 48 hours later, Franklin convinced offensive lineman Brendan Brosnan to become the third member of the Commodores' 2014 class to switch his commitment to Penn State. Like Tubman, Brosnan had never even seen the school before. As you would expect, the majority of Penn State fans were thrilled to pick up two offensive linemen. The line is an area of need for the Nittany Lions, so there was a lot of excitement when Franklin addressed it immediately. But a number of fans also recalled what happened two years ago around this time, when Ohio State picked apart Penn State's 2012 recruiting class amid the uncertainty that followed the end of the Paterno era. Of course, in this day and age, we all know that every prospect is fair game until he signs his letter of intent on the first Wednesday in February. But I must admit that I was surprised by the amount of effort Franklin has put into improving Penn State at the expense of his former school. It's not unprecedented for a coach to take recruits with him to his new school, but it's not all that common, either. Then there's the case of Troy Vincent Jr., who backed out of his com- J mitment Jan. 17, one night after a lengthy conversation with the new head man. Vincent noted that while Franklin didn't pull his scholarship, he did make it clear that there wouldn't be one available if Vincent were to explore any other options. "Things at Penn State changed a lot, " Vincent told Rivals.com. "Coach Franklin and his staff wanted to go in a different direction. It's a great program and a wonderful school. He wants his guys, and it didn't work out. " Only time will tell whether Vincent – the son of five-time Pro Bowl cornerback Troy Vincent – is the only prospect with whom Franklin takes that route. But considering that he extended offers to an additional six prospects during his first five days on the job, and that he only has roughly three scholarships remaining, it does appear possible that other prospects who are currently committed to Penn State may be forced into a situation similar to the one that Vincent faced. This practice, too, has received mixed reviews from many people on message boards and Twitter. Some people believe that if a prospect truly isn't a great fit, it's best to let him know ahead of time. Others argue that coaches shouldn't waffle in the hope of discouraging a prospect from signing without actually pulling his scholarship. No matter what happens in the next few weeks, I believe it's already clear that James Franklin will be the most aggressive head coach Penn State has ever seen. Yes, even more aggressive than his predecessor, Bill O'Brien. He may have to make some tough decisions along the way, ones that might not sit well with many old-school fans, but this is the route that he must take if he's going to find immediate I success.

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