Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/260491
he secret to James Franklin's success as a recruiter? Practice. The guy never stops recruiting, nor does he con&ne his pitches to elite football prospects. Coaches, parents, alumni, fans, faculty, administrators, media – anyone who could be considered a stakeholder in one of his undertakings is liable to &nd him or herself the recipient of a James Franklin recruiting pitch. The night he was introduced as Penn State's head football coach, he dashed o' from a photo op in Beaver Stadium to shake the hands of a pair of security guards standing watch over the tunnel leading out onto the &eld. It was a gracious moment, part of a charm o'ensive that has continued unabated in the weeks since his appoint- ment became o(cial, one to which the Penn State community – and potential recruits in particular – have enthusiastically responded. "He's got incredible drive and determination," said Brent Pry, who coached linebackers under Franklin at Vanderbilt and is reprising that role at Penn State. "He's very thorough, very detailed. He's going to be very aggressive in the recruitment of kids. He builds relationships, and relationships are vital to what we do. They're the backbone of this program." Pry goes way back with Franklin. He was a graduate assistant at East Stroudsburg when Franklin was the team's starting quarterback in the 1990s and saw early on some of the qualities that would eventually help Franklin develop into one of college football's most sought-a)er coaching prospects. Said Pry, "He ran the o'ense at East Stroudsburg the same way he ran the program at Vanderbilt: with unrelenting e'ort. He's mindful of everybody involved. He's a guy who's going to DRAWING POWER James Franklin often gets his man. Now he's looking to continue his winning streak at Penn State 0 1 4 T H E F R A N K L I N F A C T O R | T