Blue White Illustrated

shockwaves seem to be getting a little bit less violent with each passing year, the seismology a little bit more comprehen- sible. From a recruiting perspective, the transition from O'Brien to Franklin went about as smoothly as could be expected under the circumstances. The Nittany Lions did lose three committed prospects in defensive tackle Thomas Holley, line- backer Donte Raymond and cornerback Troy Vincent Jr., but Franklin quickly counterbalanced those losses with verbal commitments from four members of the recruiting class he had been assembling at Vanderbilt: offensive linemen Chance Sorrell and Brendan Brosnan, quarter- back/safety Trace McSorely and corner- back Amani Oruwariye. The Lions also received commitments from two four- star prospects who had previously com- mitted elsewhere: wide receiver Saeed Blacknall and safety Koa Farmer. Black- nall had been pledged to Rutgers, while Farmer was a member of California's class, but both eagerly enlisted with Penn State following Franklin's appointment as head coach. Holley's departure – he committed to Florida shortly aAer Johnson, his would- be position coach with the Nittany Lions, took a job at Ohio State in January – defi- nitely stung. The Nittany Lions need im- mediate help on their graduation- depleted defensive line, and the four- star prospect from Brooklyn would likely have supplied it. But most analysts seemed to think that Franklin did a re- markable job of not only keeping the Lions' existing class from splintering but strengthening that class in the waning days of the recruiting calendar. Franklin himself was pleased with what he and his staff were able to accomplish aAer their arrival at Penn State. The team, he said, succeeded in "building on the foundation that was already here." He conceded that he was not happy about the Lions' third-place finish in the re- cruiting services' Big Ten rankings but was hardly discouraged. "We'll get that fixed in the near future," he said. The Lions' late success was, in part, a testament to Franklin's charisma and reputation. If there was a difference be- tween his hiring and the arrival of O'Brien two years earlier, it was that Franklin brought an established name, having developed a reputation as a fierce recruiter while an assistant at Maryland, a reputation he burnished in his three years as head coach at Vanderbilt. His approach to signing day was a de- parture from O'Brien's and a radical de- parture from Joe Paterno's. In his two seasons as coach, O'Brien held either a conference call or a news conference, and even that was more than Paterno did. For decades, he didn't even release the names of his signees out of concern that doing so would inflate youthful egos. Franklin and his staff did just the oppo- site, treating singing day as a celebration. They set up a "war room" at the Lasch Building and brought in the Blue Band, coaches of other varsity teams, and a few dozen reporters to watch as the signed letters of intent scrolled off the fax ma- chine. As the signings became official, the names were announced to the crowd and the players' pictures were placed on a tote board. Later, aAer a news conference at Beaver Stadium to discuss the signings, Franklin strolled over to the Bryce Jordan Center for the "Signature Event," a pep rally at- tended by students and fans dressed in White Out T-shirts in which Franklin, with the help of former All-America line- backers LaVar Arrington and Michael Mauti, the current football team, the Blue Band, the cheerleaders, the Lionettes dance troupe, an acoustic guitarist and a tap dancer, introduced the program's newest players to Nittany Nation. "I know things have been done differ- ently in the past, and we want to be re- spectful of the past," Franklin said. But, he added, "These coaches have not had a day off since June. Today is a celebration of all the hard work they've put in." All told, the Lions recruited 25 players this year, taking advantage as best they could of the NCAA's decision to relax its scholarship penalties and give the team 20 grants, five more than it had been al- lowed under the terms of the original consent decree. As is the case in recruiting, the final evaluation is five years away. But from this vantage point, this class looks good enough to make you wonder just how successful Franklin and his staff will be when they have months and years to do their work rather than days and weeks. F E B R U A R Y 5 , 2 0 1 4 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 2 THE FRANKLIN FILE H E A D C O A C H I N G R E C O R D 24-15 in three seasons at Vanderbilt, including three bowl apperances. Before Franklin's hire, Van- derbilt had never participated in a bowl game in consecutive seasons. C A R E E R S T O P S Kutztown (WR coach, '95) East Stroudsburg (Graduate assistant, '96) James Madison (WR coach, '97) Washington State (Graduate assistant, '98) Idaho State (WR coach, '99) Maryland (WR coach/recruiting coordinator, '00-04) Green Bay Packers (WR coach, '05) Kansas State (OC/QB coach, '06-07) Maryland (Asst. head coach/OC/QB coach, '08-10) Vanderbilt (Head coach, '11-13) P L AY I N G D AY S Franklin was a four-year letterwinner at QB for East Stroudsburg from 1991-94. He earned All-Pennsylva- nia State Athletic Conference (PSAC) honors twice. As a senior, Franklin was named team MVP and was a nominee for the NCAA Division II Player of the Year - Harlon Hill Trophy. Franklin set seven school records as a senior, including total offense (3,128), passing yards (2,586) and touchdown passes (19). P E R S O N A L Born on Feb. 2, 1972. Franklin's hometown is Lang- horne, Pa. He attended Neshaminy High School near Philadelphia. He and his wife, Fumi, have two daughters, Shola (7) and Addison (6). E D U C A T I O N East Stroudsburg (B.S., Psychology, '95) Washington State (M.A., Educational Leadership, '99) R E F E R E N C E S "James will represent the university with all kinds of pride and respect. What an addition he will be to a great university in Penn State." - Andy Reid, Kansas City Chiefs head coach "One of the best things that ever happened to me was geting to work with Coach Franklin (at Kansas State.) I was very raw, and needed development in really every area. Coach taught me proper foot- work, how to better understand pass routes and schemes, just how to play the position. Truly, to this day, my fundamental foundation as a quarterback came from the time with him." - Josh Freeman, Minnesota Vikings QB "James Franklin is a proven commodity as a head coach with all his accomplishments at Vanderbilt. His leadership, integrity and competitive spirit make him a perfect fit for Penn State." - Kirk Herbstreit, ESPN/ABC analyst

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