Everything Penn State coach James Franklin said about Notre Dame, Orange Bowl

DANIA BEACH, Fla. — Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman and Penn State coach James Franklin held a joint press conference at the media hotel for the Orange Bowl on Wednesday. The two spoke on a variety of wide-ranging topics.

Here’s everything Franklin said.

Opening statement

We are honored and blessed to be here, obviously to represent Penn State University, also the Big Ten, honored to compete against Marcus and his Notre Dame football team. Got a ton of respect for Marcus. I’ve followed his career for a long time. We have friends and coaches in common. Gerad Parker was on both of our staffs. He’s now the head coach at Troy and doing a great job, and him and Marcus are very, very good friends. But just excited to be here.

It’s been a crazy college football season, not only for Penn State but really across the board, and we couldn’t be more excited to be here and playing in the Orange Bowl, such a historic game. Penn State and Notre Dame got great history together, as well, two storied programs. So just really honored to be here and represent Penn State and the Big Ten. So thank you very much.

On being one of two Black head coaches in the Orange Bowl

So I had mentioned earlier in the week, got asked a similar question, and I remember being the offensive coordinator at Kansas State in 2007 and working for an African-American football coach in Ron Prince. The defensive coordinator on that staff was Raheem Morris. Ricky Rahne was our offensive graduate assistant. He’s the head coach at Old Dominion now. Scott Frost was the defensive graduate assistant. He’s the head coach at Central Florida now.

I remember that year, the Super Bowl with, if I remember correctly, Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith. There was just a lot of talk within the profession, two African-American coaches coaching in the Super Bowl, and that was a big moment. We felt like that was going to have an opportunity to maybe create some change or create some opportunities for guys that had earned the right to sit in those types of rooms.

If you look at that time, Tony Dungy ended up becoming the coach that won the Super Bowl, and I think at that time, there were six coaches in college football as head coaches.

At that time I think it was 127 Division I schools, and it was Sylvester Croom, Karl Dorrell, Turner Gill, Randy Shannon, Ron Prince, and then Tyrone Willingham, and now there’s 16 coaches of color in these positions.

I do think it had an impact. I hope a game like ours could have an impact, and really just looking for an opportunity for guys to be able to get in front of some search firms and ADs and get opportunities that they earned.

I don’t take it lightly. I really don’t. I’ve gotten a ton of messages from people all over the country that I’ve worked with or know, but ultimately it’s about Penn State, and it’s about Notre Dame and our teams going out on the field and competing and representing our schools and our conferences — or our conference, excuse me, and college football and the Orange Bowl, and really presenting a great game and a game experience for everybody to enjoy.

But I do — I don’t take that lightly, that responsibility, as well.

On why it took so long for there to be two Black head coaches on the same stage in a game like this

Yeah, I can’t speak on that and haven’t really spent a whole ton of time thinking about it, kind of like Marcus just mentioned. All of my time is focused on preparing for a really, really good Notre Dame football team.

Like I mentioned before, if this could create some opportunities for other coaches to get in front of search firms, athletic directors, then I think it’s a positive. There’s a ton of tremendous and qualified coaches out there that deserve the opportunity to get in front of these people.

We’ll see how this plays out, but I haven’t spent a ton of time on that. Notre Dame creates a ton of challenges, scheme-wise and specific skill-wise that we’ve spent all of our time being prepared for.

But I understand the question and I appreciate the question, but it’ll be a great game, and we’re really, really excited about competing.

I’m looking over here at Marcus — and how old are you now, Marcus? (Freeman: “38”)

I mean, look at the hairline on this guy. I’m envious of his hairline in a lot of ways. But Marcus has done a phenomenal job. Obviously he is the leader of one of the most storied programs in college football history.

So much respect for him and his career and his staff. He’s got a great staff, got great leadership, just like we do at Penn State now.

I think his comments about the decision making and the leadership and the courage it takes to make these decisions, I feel the same way with our administration. That’s one of the biggest changes at Penn State. Neeli Bendapudi, our president, has been phenomenal when it comes to athletics in general and specifically football.

And then Pat Kraft, having an athletic director who played football in the Big Ten I think has been significant. I wanted to take a moment to recognize them, as well.

On having a former head coach as his defensive coordinator, just like Notre Dame has one in Al Golden

Yeah, I just think at the end of the day, we’d like to get as many qualified and experienced guys on your staff as possible. We’ve been fortunate to be able to go out and get former head coaches that are able to come in, obviously use those experiences, those leadership experiences, those organizational experiences that they’ve had, and then also get back to doing what we love.

I love being the head football coach at Penn State, but there’s times where I would love to be back running an offense. I think today’s college football, if you’re not careful, can pull you further and further away from why you got into the profession in the first place.

Being able to have guys on your staff that got tremendous experience — my special teams coordinator has been a head coach, my defensive coordinator has been a head coach, my offensive coordinator will be a head coach, and I’ve got a ton of assistants like that, as well.

Just the more guys you can have on your staff that have tremendous experience — I think sometimes when you go back to being an assistant after being a head coach, it makes you a better assistant. I think it makes you a better coordinator.

If you know Tom, Tom has just been awesome. There’s not a better guy in the profession. His humility is impressive. His faith is impressive. But he’s been awesome. He’s jumped right back into this thing and is really doing a great job, and I think his family is enjoying it. I think Tom is enjoying it, and we’re enjoying having him. We feel blessed to have Tom Allen and his family and really the rest of my staff, too.

On Notre Dame having played 15 games and Penn State having played 16

I think you’re going to have to be open minded. You’re going to have to be creative. You’re going to have to be flexible. And we have tried to do that. I think the sports scientists that everybody is using now, we are fortunate to have a young man by the name of Andrew Nelson, Dr. Andrew Nelson. Went on and got his doctorate.

Nelly played for me at Penn State, went on and got his doctorate in sports science and has come back and has done a phenomenal job. He does a really good job of tying it all together, the coaching, our trainers and doctors, as well as the strength coaches in making sure that the complete plan makes sense and what we’re doing in the weight room complements what we’re doing on the field, and the same thing with the trainers and the doctors. I think that’s been really valuable.

Subtle changes that you can make to your practices or to your lifting schedule that can keep the guys as fresh and healthy as possible, I think that’s a really important piece in all of this.

I think another thing that I would say is how important depth and development in your program is. You’ve got to be willing to play guys, and that’s been something that we’ve done all the way back since my time at Vanderbilt, trying to create depth by playing guys.

Some assistants on your staff are better at it than others. You talk about it, and some guys won’t rotate them in the way you want, and you’ve got to have tougher conversations.

But I will also say this: I think it’s something that we’re going to have to look at in terms of what’s best for college football, what’s best for the student-athlete experience, what’s best in a university setting, because I don’t know if this is really what it was designed to be. It’s turned into that.

I know a lot of times when coaches talk like this people roll their eyes, but I think when every decision that we make is based on finances, then we’re not making great decisions that’s in the student-athlete and the game of football’s best interest.

I think there’s been conversations about — obviously you talk about just the differences between our two programs and conferences. I think it should be consistent across college football.

I think, again, this is no knock on Coach or Notre Dame, but I think everybody should be in a conference. I think everybody should play a conference championship game or no one should play a conference championship game. I think everybody should play the same number of conference games.

Now, as a head coach in the SEC, I’ve been a head coach in the Big Ten, I was in the SEC when the whole conversation was whether to go to eight or nine conference games. We voted — all the coaches voted against going the nine games. The commissioner agreed and kept it at eight. I think it was one of the better decisions the SEC made.

The Big Ten went to nine games, and I was not a math major at East Stroudsburg, but just the numbers are going to make things more challenging if you’re playing one more conference game.

I just think things need to be consistent across college football. I think we need to look at the calendar; should we open up a week earlier in the season to take some of the pressures off the end of the season. I think there’s just a ton of things that need to be discussed and looked at, and I think we need to do it with people that do not feel the pressure from their university or their conference.

I was on a call the other day with Nick Saban, and he wasn’t real happy about me promoting him for the commissioner of college football, but I think we need that. I think we need somebody that is looking at it from a big-picture perspective, and whether that is Nick Saban or whether that is Chris Petersen or whether that is Dave Clawson, who I think is a really, really smart football guy, I think having somebody in that position would be valuable for our sport and for our student-athletes.

On the injury status of PSU edge rusher Abdul Carter

I was going to ask you guys a couple questions about the health of the Notre Dame team. I was hoping you guys would ask for more so we could figure some of that stuff out.

Yeah, we anticipate Abdul playing. He’s doing everything he possibly can to play. His approach has been awesome. He’s lived in the training room. But it’ll be a game-time decision, and we’ll see.

Just like the guys that we’re looking at on the Notre Dame roster and concerned about their impact on the game, Abdul is one of those guys, as well. I get the question and I understand where it’s coming from, but Abdul has approached this the right way.

He wants to play. He’s put a ton of, like, cryptic messages out on social media, which you guys have probably seen those. I learn as much from those as I do from our trainers.

But we are hopeful and expecting Abdul to play, and we’ll see how that plays out.

On Notre Dame and Penn State being “cold weather” teams in the national semifinals being an anomaly

First of all, you described us as a cold weather team. I don’t know if I necessarily would describe us that way in recruiting. We don’t really sell it that way.

I will say this: I was a little apprehensive this year for the first year we had our mid-year guys come in early, and it’s turned out to be a real positive. I’ll be very comfortable doing it moving forward.

I think we had three guys from Florida show up, and we have gotten more snow in the last two weeks than I can remember in a long time in Pennsylvania. So they’re kind of looking at me right now like this isn’t what you sold us on.

But I think at the end of the day, you look at college football and you look at the history, and obviously a place like Notre Dame and Penn State, tremendous history. I think there are some changes going on right now. What that is specific to, I’m not necessarily sure. I don’t know if there’s enough datapoints and enough information to make a strong statement on it.

But as we all know, there’s been a ton of changes in college football really over the last five years, probably more so than maybe in the 25 years before it, and the programs that are embracing that, the programs that are being creative and aggressive, and I also think a really important word is being bold, bold and aggressive, which is what we’re trying to do, then I think it’s helping. Those guys are showing up.

You look at the playoffs right now, College Football Playoffs, there’s a ton of teams. I also think it’s good for college football that there’s more teams represented, there’s more parts of the country represented, and it’s not kind of the same old story.

Not exactly sure. We’ll have a better idea maybe a couple years from now, but I do think it’s a good storyline for college football right now.

On Tyler Elsdon playing all five of his years at Penn State and if that’s abnormal in college football now

I think that’s a good question. I sure hope not. I worry about the 105, impacting that, because you look at Dom DeLuca on our team, Dom was a walk-on. Was the Pennsylvania Player of the Year senior year, tore his ACL, comes to Penn State as a walk-on, earns a scholarship as a captain for us playing really well. Is there less of those stories now because of the 105, your point with Mr. Elsdon and NIL kind of impacting that.

I sure hope not, because I think they’re the stories that make college football so special. I do think that’s where it’s really important to recruit your own state and to recruit the footprint, because there’s going to be some kids that come to Penn State just because it’s special and it’s their dream school and it’s a place they always went, which I think will allow you maybe to create some of those scenarios that we have in the past, no different than there’s young men all over the country that grew up wanting to go play at Notre Dame.

I hope those things stay a part of college football because I think they’re important. They’re just great stories. I cannot express the impact that Tyler Elsdon has had on Penn State football and our locker room. He is beloved in our locker room because he’s earned everybody’s respect, and he’s done it the right way.

On Franklin’s call for uniformity in college football

I guess what I would say, the reason that I feel that way is I look at the College Football Playoff committee, and I just try — most things in life I try to look at things from both perspectives. I just try to sit here and say, if I was in that room and I’m getting criticized about who makes the playoff, whether it was four or now 12, and everybody has got an opinion, I just think, how do you put those people that are in that room to make a really important decision that impacts the landscape of college football and they can’t compare apples to apples or oranges to oranges.

I think that makes it very, very difficult. Strength of schedule plays a factor, and obviously Notre Dame plays a great schedule every year and have forever. I get the understanding and the impact of independence on their program.

I’m just talking about it more strictly from the College Football Playoff committee sitting in that room trying to make decisions. How do you make decisions when every conference is different, schools are different. I think it puts them in a very, very difficult position, and I’m just really speaking on it more from that path.

On the juxtaposition of preparing for Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty then Notre Dame QB Riley Leonard

I think kind of back to what Marcus mentioned earlier as a defensive-minded head coach, guy who’s been a defensive coordinator, I think it always starts with trying to make people one-dimensional and to try to take away their strength.

Last week we had a tremendous challenge in stopping or reducing the impact that Ashton Jeanty had in the game. In my argument, one of the better backs in the history of college football based on his production and what he was able to do.

To me, we look at it similar. Notre Dame does a phenomenal job with their running backs, what they’re averaging per carry, how they play up front, but now you’re also having to factor the quarterback into it, which creates another challenge, which creates more stress, and how do you do that.

At the end of the day, our focus is still on trying to defend the run. Notre Dame does it in a little bit different way than what Boise State did last week. But it’s still the whole philosophy of trying to make them one-dimensional as much as you possibly can, but also understanding that the quarterback is going to make plays, their running backs are going to make plays, and you’re going to have to flush it and move on to the next play.

This is going to be a four-quarter football game, and we’re going to have to be prepared to compete like that. Stopping the run is priority number one.