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S P R I N G P R A C T I C E Pennsylvania and its surrounding states. "We all know that you're going to do a better job of not only evaluating talent, but also evaluating personality traits that are going to be successful," he said. "[Nearby players] are in your pool, they're in your footprint, and now you have the opportunity to get that young man and his family to get over to your campus, to build the relationship, to ask the tough questions. Whenever you're doing it from a distance, you're never going to know that prospect as well. "And as we all have learned, we are re- sponsible as athletic directors and col- lege football coaches. I'm responsible for 125 17- to 22-year-old males. The most unpredictable group of people on the planet, and I'm responsible for them 24 hours a day. So that's why being able to recruit your footprint and build your re- lationships is so important." ON MAXIMIZING POTENTIAL One of the more fascinating topics at the MIT panel came when Franklin discussed the ways in which technology and new gauges can be of help to a college foot- ball program. Obviously in today's era of heightened concern for player safety, new monitor- ing with increased feedback can be of great use, but Franklin o6ered a view on the extent to which he would like to see the conversation move forward. "Most of the systems are now in place for injury prevention, which I think is great. But we're also in the development business, probably more so in college than the NFL," he said. "So that's the 4ne line, because we're also trying to work on fundamentals and technique and we're trying to also build physical and most importantly mental toughness, and how do you do that? Right now, we'd like to be able to 4nd a system. I think there's a race right now to 4nd the system that is not only able to do that from an injury-prevention standpoint but is also monitoring heart rate and other things so that you know when a kid is really working hard or how hard he's working. "A kid says, I'm working hard. I pull up my iPad. No you're not, your heart rate has not jumped over... That would be re- ally valuable." In a perfect world, Penn State would be able to use a numbers-based system to evaluate e6ort while simultaneously maintaining safety. And it's in Franklin's nature to push for cutting-edge technol- ogy and facilities. He's always looking for ways to get an edge, partly because he knows that his rivals are doing likewise. "I think coaches across the board are inquisitive, curious people. They're al- ways looking to 4nd an advantage, and I think even the ones that may be a little resistant to it, they probably have strength coaches who are interested in using it. They have a training sta6 that is interested in using it," he said. "I would say most programs across the country now would like to have these things, but then it goes back to the athletic director because there's a price tag that comes with it and right now, like most new technologies, when these things 4rst come out, they're pretty expensive. So there's a commitment that goes along with that." ON SCHEDULING PHILOSOPHY With everyone focused on the College Football Playo6, the conver- sation turned inevitably to the subject of scheduling and strength-of-schedule considerations. Franklin had addressed this subject previously, both during the Coaches Caravan and on his weekly radio show, and his thoughts haven't changed. The bottom line is that fans who want big in- tersectional matchups during the non- conference portion of the schedule are likely to be disappointed with future slates. If the goal is to win a national championship – and for Franklin, it un- doubtedly is – then the Big Ten's nine- game schedule, set to take e6ect in 2016, creates a clear path forward. "You're talking about playing nine conference games and no I-AAs, so you're really in a good position," he said, citing the Big Ten's impending ban on games against FCS opponents. "The other conferences that only play eight [league games] or are playing I-AAs, I think we have an advantage over most GANG TACKLE The Lions are trying to learn everything they can from this year's playoff participants, in- cluding Ohio State, a team they nearly de- feated in Octo- ber. Photo by Steve Manuel

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