Blue White Illustrated

t was a moment of awkward silence that you don't normally get at a James Franklin news conference. After the Blue-White Game, Penn State's head coach was explaining how, now that spring practice was a wrap, his assistant coaches were eager to get on the road again to recruit. "Obviously we are going to hit the state really hard," Franklin said, "be- cause as you guys know, we are going to…" Then he paused. He gestured toward the reporters as if he were anticipating that we – or maybe the dozens of high school prospects and their families standing in the recruiting lounge above, overlooking the Beaver Stadium media room – would finish his sentence. Instead, he got a few curious stares and a quiet "Dominate the state" re- sponse from one or two of the 70 or 80 media members downstairs and some recruits in the loft. Franklin continued with a quick smile, "Exactly right." His attempt to engage the reporters didn't quite get the response he seemed to be hoping for. Maybe in the South- eastern Conference a coach would get a rise? But not around here. Much of what Franklin has brought to Penn State, including these early pressers, however, is a new approach. No doubt, Bill O'Brien used his airtime to boast about the program's academic reputation, tradition and, as he initially would say, the 110,000-seat stadium. But to steal a line from the basketball team, Franklin has been relentless with his. His exchange with reporters after the spring scrimmage was just another instance of him hoping to engage listen- ers and promote his philosophy. It just was something you wouldn't have seen from his predecessors. It seems as though any opportunity Franklin gets – whether it's at a news conference, practice, on Twitter, or even on campus at the HUB – he's sell- ing the benefits of what Penn State has to offer. Yet so far he's backed it up. When he said his staff was eager for the spring evaluation period to start April 15, he wasn't kidding. Franklin called four-star offensive lineman Tyler Carr of Southside, Ala., at 12:03 a.m. – three minutes after NCAA rules allowed – to let him know that Penn State might be a better option for him than the Gi- gantors in-state, Alabama and Auburn. By 6:30 that morning, two PSU assis- tants were scouting a tight end in New Jersey. The list goes on. And the fruits of their recruiting ef- forts since they've arrived at Penn State speak for themselves. (See page 15) Franklin is well on his way to domi- nating Pennsylvania, having earned verbal commitments from prospects who rank third, fourth, fifth, 10th and 18th in the Keystone State according to Rivals.com. And they sit extremely well with a few other prospects in the top 10, including No. 1 Sterling Jenkins, a tow- ering offensive tackle from Pittsburgh. But one thing that Franklin is pitching just as hard as his "Dominate the State" slogan is the chance to play in front of 107,000 fans at every home game. If you heard him when he got on the mike dur- ing the Blue-White Game, he means every game. But as O'Brien discovered, true Beaver Stadium sellouts are very difficult to ac- complish. During his two seasons, Penn State averaged about 96,600 fans per game and only exceeded 100,000 fans once per season. So that 110,000-seat stadium that he talked about when he was first hired? The number dropped to 108,000 fans, then to 107,000, then to a more realistic 100,000 when O'Brien was speaking publicly during the latter half of his tenure. It's not just with the Nittany Lions, ei- ther. Stadium attendance is a growing issue for almost every college football program nationwide. Seat licensing fees, like STEP, and increased ticket costs, are outside forces that work against a coach's plea for more fans. And that's not to mention the rapid adoption of high-definition television and the fact that some fans prefer the convenience and comfort of watching from home or at a local establishment where they can enjoy a few adult drinks during the game. It's a heckuva lot easier to convince fans to attend live events when there's a championship-caliber football team on the field playing against significant op- ponents. But those factors will be work- ing against Penn State in 2014, too. At present, the team is still barred from postseason play, and its seven-game home schedule features Akron, Massa- chusetts and Temple. So while Franklin has followed through on his vow to improve Penn State's in-state recruiting, selling out every game will be a more challenging goal. Especially during season one. But that's not dimming Franklin's out- look. When he was hired, he claimed there would be 107,000 in the stadium "from here on out," and almost every tweet from his official account since then has included a #107kStrong hashtag. In- stead of lowering that target to a more reachable figure as the season draws near, he's pushing it in the opposite di- rection, insisting that the goal is now "107,001 at every single game." "We're actually going to up it," he said. "We're going to add one more." At least that is something that has happend before. ■ L A S T W O R D T I M O W E N | O W E N . T I M . B W I @ G M A I L . C O M The hardest sell yet I

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