Blue White Illustrated

aura surrounding himself and Penn State that was unmatched. I remember vividly when Paterno went to Kempsville High School in Virginia Beach, Va., in January 1983, just a9er Penn State had won its 6rst national championship. He was there to recruit prep All-America running back D.J. Dozier. When Paterno arrived, school o8cials canceled classes and led him into the auditorium, where he addressed the entire student body. By doing that, he not only established a relationship with Dozier and his high school football coach, but also with the entire student body and community. I'm not saying that Franklin is going to follow Paterno to the letter, but he ap- pears determined to develop the rela- tionships that are necessary to excel in recruiting. "I believe in the high school coaches in this state," he said at his introductory news conference in January. "I know how talented this state is, and I know how important football is here. "So that is the 6rst thing we are going to do. We're going to work very hard to put together all the ingredients that will help us dominate the state of Pennsylvania." Following that news conference, Franklin met with Big 33 coaches at the Lasch Building. The coaches were on hand to select Pennsylvania's roster for their annual all-star game. In his short time on campus, Franklin has helped re- establish the connection between Penn State and the Pennsylvania High School Coaches Association – a connection that Paterno had fostered in the late 1960s and early '70s. But Paterno didn't con6ne himself to the Northeast. By the late '70s, it was clear that if the Lions wanted to compete for national championships on a regular basis, they needed to do more than just recruit the best players from within a 300-mile radius of campus. So Penn State began venturing well outside of its traditional recruiting territory, heading to Virginia, the Carolinas and Florida. As part of that e7ort, Paterno built re- lationships with a whole new group of high school coaches, just as he had done in the 1960s with the coaches from Pennsylvania and surrounding states. He and his assistants invited coaches to come work Penn State's summer foot- ball camps. By doing so, the Lions were able to make inroads with high school coaches up and down the East Coast. Between 1985 and 2000, 19 Penn State players from Virginia, North and South Carolina, Florida and states in South- eastern Conference territory ended up being dra9ed into the NFL. That list in- cludes some of the better players of the Paterno era, such as Dozier, Bobby En- gram, Courtney Brown, Tim Johnson, Leroy Thompson and Darren Perry. What Franklin has done in his 6rst few months on campus has been to expand on Paterno's plan and make it a legitimate force nationally in recruiting. A9er es- tablishing relationships with high school coaches in Pennsylvania and bordering states, Franklin has used that same ap- proach to connect with coaches and prospects in Florida, South Carolina and Virginia, as well as Georgia, Texas and California. He and his sta7 have even se- cured spots at one-day coaching clinics in suburban Atlanta and central Florida. "We will be holding a camp in every state this summer," Franklin said at the Coaches Caravan stop in Philadelphia. "We are going to do [all] 50 states." Of course he was joking, but you could sense his passion, intensity, energy and con6dence. I wouldn't call him a disciple of Paterno just because there are some similarities in their approach to recruit- ing, but I do believe Franklin learned his cra9 well and has created a detailed plan for success. He knows that Penn State continues to be respected and admired by players and coaches at the high school level even a9er the Sandusky scandal. In the three decades that I've owned Blue White Illustrated, I've always be- lieved Penn State had the potential to be a dominant team on the national re- cruiting scene. With Franklin in charge, that may prove to be the case in the not- too-distant future. He's already sur- passed everyone's hopes, from a recruit- ing perspective, in his 6rst 6ve months on the job. ■ !" #$%&'$(#)*++$ $,)*&-'#%./##% 001(2134 .$).$1243%56! !"#"$% & %' ( % ) !"#"*+,% - %$%.- %$%/0'' 012$%!#/0'' 3% %+ +%'4 (3 ++5%6(3%12 332( % 7+7 8 $($ !" #$%&'$(#)*++$ $,)*&-'#%./##% 001(2134 .$).$1243%56! !"#"$% & %' ( % ) !"#"*+,% - %$%.- %$%/0'' 012$%!#/0'' 3% %++ +%'4 (3 ++5%6(3%12 332( % 7++7 8 $#($

• Cover