Blue White Illustrated

spending time critiquing himself, learn- ing from his mistakes and making the necessary improvements to create an improved result the next time around. "A lot of coaches say they don't do that," he said. "I read every article, I watch every video, and I think a lot of coaches do that. They don't admit it, but I do, and I have no problem admitting it. I try to be as transparent and as up-front and as honest as I possibly can be. I think that's helped us as well, because I think we come off as genuine and I think we come off as relatable in a lot of ways." Franklin's fixation with message management is a learned trait, and part of that learning process has involved knowing what not to say. It's not as easy as it sounds. He's gregarious by nature, and his outgoing personality led to a foot-in-mouth moment at Vanderbilt when he made an on-air comment about the attractiveness of his assistant coaches' wives, citing it as evidence of the coaches' ability to re- cruit. That incident has conditioned Franklin to be somewhat wary of at- tempting humor or making off-the- cuff remarks. "You let your guard down for a minute and you're trying to be funny and it's not taken that way," he said. "I think once people get to know me, the last thing I ever want to do is offend anybody. "It's a shame. Things like that happen and you learn from it. You really do. You can't let your guard down. You've got to be really, really conscious, and you've got to make sure what you say is inter- preted the right way." At Penn State, Franklin is hoping to strike a balance. He wants to offer up the best version of himself to the public while avoiding the pitfalls that can en- snare those whose words are parsed and scrutinized, as his will be throughout his tenure with the Nittany Lions. "I try to be transparent. The hard thing with this job is that I want people to re- ally be able to get to know me, and my personality is to get up and not be the standard coach who is dry and boring and gives you boring answers," he said. "It's difficult. I understand after being in the business a little while why people over time put a wall up and become so rigid, and I hope I don't have to do that. "There are very few guys who have been able to go through the whole pro- fession and been able to do that… but I'd love to be one of those guys where I'm able to stay true to who I am and allow people to kind of get to know [me]." Impossible though it may seem at times, it's a goal Franklin appears deter- mined to make a reality. ■ James Franklin can't please everyone. There are simply too many people, too many media outlets, too many opinions in the colossal universe of Penn State football to create an atmosphere in which everyone, everywhere, likes everything he says or does. The sheer magnitude of the Nittany Lion program simply won't allow for it. Franklin knows and understands this as reality. That doesn't mean he likes it, though. Hyper-aware of seemingly everything said, written and thought about him, his coaching staff, his players and his pro- gram as a whole, Franklin is a self-de- scribed micromanager and perfectionist who cares deeply about perceptions. It's part of the job, he says, and the manner in which he has conducted himself throughout his five-month tenure at University Park proves the point. Whether greeting the thousands of fans who turned out for Penn State's third annual Coaches Caravan or granti- ng dozens of media interviews or wan- dering through the RV lots on a game weekend – he did the latter the Friday before the Blue-White Game this spring – the 42-year old husband and father of two is determined to make a positive im- pression in every facet of his role as head coach. He said he hopes that fans "see a guy who is passionate and emotional and caring for people in general and for Penn State, for my family and for the community. I hope they see a guy who's hardworking and conscientious. That's how I would like to be perceived." While he wants to shape perceptions and develop relationships on a large scale, Franklin's approach is not spine- less or meandering. The reality is just the opposite. Driven by a desire for constant im- provement, Franklin isn't easily swayed from any course of action. While he does favor a team-of-rivals approach when it comes to making decisions, confident that hearing different perspectives leads to the best possible outcome, the former psychology major frequently uses his extensively practiced communication skills to at least attempt to change minds that don't align with his own. "You have to be able to articulate your vision and your plan for whatever you're going to do," he said. "That's getting people to buy into your overall philoso- phy. That's in recruiting, that's dealing with the media, that's dealing with fans and boosters and alumni." Franklin wants those fans to pack Beaver Stadium on a weekly basis. While it may not be possible to build personal relationships with 107,000 people, he is eager to foster a sense of community within Penn State's mas- sive following. He also wants to develop relationships with roughly 200 elite prospects and their families on a yearly basis. And as part of his outreach ef- fort, he wants to get to know members of the Nittany Lion media corps. The university has an estimated 616,000 living alumni scattered all over the world, so the dissemination of Franklin's message is an incredibly complicated process. Can he communicate his vision and plan effectively? Franklin asks himself this question re- peatedly. He goes so far as to watch his own news conferences after the fact, Franklin strives to send the right message PSU urged to upgrade aging facilities Are Penn State's facilities worthy of an aspiring championship contender? The answer to that question has long been presumed to be "yes." But James Franklin isn't so sure. At several stops on the recently concluded Coaches Caravan, the Nittany Lions' new head coach told fans that Penn State must improve all facets of its football infra- structure. "To be honest with you, it's every- thing," he said. "It's nothing really structural, but it's the indoor facility – our turf needs to be replaced outside and inside. The carpet, the paint, the branding, the furniture, the technolo- gy." Franklin is using as benchmarks some of the most successful programs in the country. He cited Oregon, Okla- homa State and Texas A&M, insisting that Penn State aims to be on that same elite level. "Look around the country to see what people have," he said. "We're go- ing to be able to build a very, very suc- cessful program that's going to be competitive in this conference, but it's also going to be competitive nation- wide, and I think it's just important for us to be aware of what's really out there." The question, of course, is whether Penn State can afford the upgrades that Franklin says are necessary. He acknowledged that the athletic de- partment is facing "financial chal- lenges" in the wake of the NCAA's $60 million fine and its four-year postsea- son ban, which has forced the Nittany Lions to forfeit their share of the Big Ten's bowl revenue the past two years. Franklin said university officials have been receptive to his overtures but added that fan support will be a crucial part of any effort to modernize the team's facilities. "It's going to [involve] getting people to support that vision and jump on board with us through fundraising and those types of things," he said. "I think Penn State wants to again be able to provide a first-class experience for the student-athletes. They've done that for a long time, and there are just some things that we need to tweak and get right. "It's become a little bit of an arms race in college football if you look around the country at what's going on. We want to be a part of that. We want to be not only a part of that, but we want to be a leader in that as well." Having coached in every power con- ference in college football, as well as the National Football League, Franklin said he understands the impact that state-of-the-art facilities can have on a team. He pointed to Penn State's re- cent recruiting success and said that the results will be even better once im- provements are made. "We've got the No. 2-ranked recruit- ing class in the country right now, so we're doing some good things," he said. "What are we going to be able to do when we get these other pieces? I want to make sure that when kids and fami- lies come and visit us, they know they're going to be provided with all the resources that the top 15 programs in the country are providing them. It's important that we have that piece of the puzzle." – N.B. F O O T B A L L A N A L Y S I S B Y N A T E B A U E R F O O T B A L L NEWS & NOTES POINTED UP Franklin poses with a student during an event at the HUB this spring. Bill Zimmerman

• Cover