James Franklin reveals he advised Olu Fashanu to leave for NFL, reason why he stayed

Penn State coach James Franklin prides himself on giving his players the best advice for their future. So when he sat down with offensive tackle Olu Fashanu following the 2022 season, he advised him to leave the program and enter the NFL Draft.

All the data backed up Franklin, as Fashanu was a projected first-round pick with a chance to make millions. However, an early departure was never in the plan for the 6-foot-6, 319 pound offensive lineman.

Fashanu responded by thanking Franklin for giving an honest assessment about his NFL potential. But he didn’t just come to Penn State for the football aspect, telling his coach he always intended to stay in college for four years and earn his degree.

“It was somewhat strange,” Franklin told On3’s Andy Staples. “I meet with all these guys that are on the bubble and their parents. We kind of set up a meeting, do a draft analysis, have a bunch of reports from GMs. …We sat down and I told Olu and his family, ‘you should leave.’ Him and his family said, ‘coach, we really appreciate your perspective, but we always planned on being four years. Getting my degree before I left campus was really important.’

“He’s got like a 3.67 (GPA) in supply chain management, one of the best programs in the country. It was really important for him to finish that and come back.”

Fashanu’s return has catapulted Penn State into the conversation to challenge Michigan and Ohio State for a Big Ten title this season. In his first year as a full-time starter this past season, Fashanu was one of the best pass blockers in the country and did not give up a single sack in 281 pass-blocking snaps. His 84.7 pass-blocking grade ranked him sixth among Power 5 tackles according to Pro Football Focus.

With Penn State set to turn to redshirt freshman Drew Allar at quarterback, Fashanu will provide elite pass protection. Franklin said the offensive tackle has added 20 pounds this offseason and improved his numbers in several testing areas for the NFL Combine.

An extra year in college also makes sense given Fashanu’s age. He was just 17 years old when he arrived on campus in 2020, and only recently turned 20 this past December.

“The other thing people don’t realize is, when we were having that conversation, Olu’s freakishly young,” Franklin said. “So as that conversation was going on, he was 19 years old. That factored into it, too.”

Now Fashanu enters what should be his final season of college projected as the first offensive lineman off the board in most 2024 NFL mock drafts. That, coupled with the return of running backs Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen, gives him the chance to be a part of something special.

And once his playing career is over, he’ll always have his degree to fall back on.