Pat Freiermuth says James Franklin checks class attendance for all players

Many coaches across all collegiate sports say that student comes before athlete for a reason in the word student-athlete, emphasizing the importance of academics over athletics. But apparently, Penn State head coach James Franklin legitimately practices what he preaches.

Former Penn State tight end and current Pittsburgh Steeler Pat Freiermuth recently joined Big Cat and PFT Commenter on the ‘Pardon My Take’ podcast and revealed that Franklin was quite the stickler for checking classes during his college playing days.

“The one thing I hated was he checks everyone’s class,” Freiermuth said. “So like even if you were the starter or a walk-on guy, he’s checking your class regardless.”

Freiermuth was a two-time captain at Penn State during his playing days in Happy Valley, breaking the record for most receiving touchdowns by a freshman tight end and holding the school record for career touchdown receptions by a tight end with 16.

But even he wasn’t safe from the wrath of Franklin’s class checks, no matter how many plays he made on Saturdays or whoever the Nittany Lions’ upcoming opponent was.

“To me, that was the annoying part because it was like if we were playing like Ohio State, hey let’s get it going. And then oh, class check on a Thursday,” Freiermuth said. “If you were a young guy you could maybe be suspended for that game.”

Whether Penn State was playing a rival on primetime television or a non-conference opponent they were favored against by double digits, Franklin makes sure that his players are in class. And that they have an up close and personal seat for the action, as PFT Commenter asked Freiermuth if he also made his players sit in the front row.

“Yeah he was pretty hard on that,” Freiermuth.

Franklin’s results are hard to deny both on and off the field, as he’s led Penn State to four 11-win seasons in his nine-year tenure and helped guide the team to an 86% graduation success rate. He even boasted a perfect single-year 1,000 APR (Academic Progress Rate) during Freiermuth’s freshman season during the 2018-2019 school year.

Freiermuth understands the importance of academics and the reasoning being Franklin’s methods, but wished he could’ve maybe sat a little bit further away from his professors during his time at State College.

“It’s great, it’s great, build the culture,” Freiermuth said. “But like sitting in the front of a lecture hall class?”