James Franklin: Sean Clifford gave Penn State best chance to win

James Franklin and the Penn State Nittany Lions could not outlast the Illinois Fighting Illini in a nine-overtime thriller. After the game, Franklin answered questions on his decision to play quarterback Sean Clifford who was dealing with an injury after their loss to Iowa.

During the press conference, one reporter asked was there a thought of using Ta’Quan Roberson instead of his senior quarterback.

“We felt like Sean gave us the best opportunity to win,” Franklin said shortly.

Against Illinois, those watching could tell Clifford was not 100 percent. In the Penn State running game, he was more of a hindrance than anything else. He was credited with five carries for -28. In the passing game, he didn’t fare that much better. Clifford went 19-34 for just 165 yards and a touchdown.

Shortly after responding to that question another reporter asked whether it was in the game plan or not for Clifford to run.

“Well obviously we had to be smart. He was limited today that’s why we tried to mix the run and the pass in there to take some of that off of him. Obviously, it’s a big part of his game that he didn’t have today obviously,” said Franklin.

Franklin and Penn States future

The Penn State head coach made headlines later in the week for his responses at another presser. On Wednesday, Franklin was asked more questions about his future with the program. One of which left Nittany Lion fans with more questions than answers.

During the press conference, Franklin was asked a thought-provoking two-part question. The first part was whether he worried about burning goodwill with the people around him, followed with how balancing his life and other things at the same time right now.

“At some point, I’d love to sit down with you guys over a beer and talk through all of this. Talk through all of this in detail, kind of how it goes, the challenging situation coaches are put in sometimes, especially if you’re trying to be honest and upfront with everybody and that’s something that’s very, very important to me,” opened Franklin.

All this comes on the heels of Frankin switching agents recently. The Penn State head coach will now be represented by  Jimmy Sexton and Creative Artists Agency (CAA), per FootballScoop. The representation switch comes at an interesting time, to say the least, as Franklin is considered among the leading candidates for the head coach openings at both USC and LSU.