James Franklin surveys Penn State recruiting haul, NIL, more

Penn State coach James Franklin joined reporters Wednesday afternoon to celebrate the program’s latest recruiting class. But first, franklin wanted to take the time to acknowledge the Nittany Lions’ more difficult news received earlier in the day.

With the program and community suffering the loss of alumnus and Hall of Fame running back Franco Harris, dead on Wednesday at 72 years old, Franklin offered his condolences while speaking glowingly of the Penn State legend.

“It’s a huge loss for football in general, college football, NFL, Penn State, really Pennsylvania. For him to have the type of career that he had at Penn State, then go on and do it at the Steelers,” Franklin said. “But more importantly than that, just an unbelievable human being. Was really an ambassador for the university and the football program. Was a servant leader.

“Every time I had a chance to be around him, I was just so impressed with him and his wife. Very involved with a lot of different causes throughout the state of Pennsylvania. Just an amazing, amazing human being.”

Difficult though it may have been to transition from that news onto the intended purpose of the press conference, Franklin did in highlighting the many names and faces that will populate Penn State’s future. 

Here is a look at some of the highlights and pertinent information from Franklin’s press conference:

The ‘Wild, Wild West’

There will be much, much more on this subject in the coming days and weeks, but Franklin put words to the backroom conversations that have dominated the sport.

In support of name, image, and likeness opportunities for college football players, Franklin expressed concern over the wholly unregulated nature that has taken shape in the past year. Saying there is no guardrail or guidance, Franklin pushed that the current climate is concerning.

And James Franklin met that climate firsthand down this recruiting home stretch.

“Some of the conversations that are happening, they’re crazy, to be honest with you. I got down to the 11th hour of this, and it got as crazy as I’ve seen in my 26 years of doing it,” he said. “We’re going to have to come up with a solution for college athletics as a whole. We’re going to have to come up with a solution specifically for football.”

Again citing Penn State’s place trailing in the space, and the catch-up that has taken place since the installments of new university president Dr. Neeli Bendapudi and athletic director Pat Kraft, Franklin said the program has taken strides and has more ground to make up. 

“We’ve made up tremendous ground in a short period of time, but we still got a lot of work to do. The reality is we’re going to solve this problem like we’ve solved every other problem in our history, and that’s together. That’s all of us,” he said. “We have the power of the Penn State brand, but we also have the power of one of the largest living alumni networks. It’s going to take all of us to get to where we want to go.”

James Franklin describes Penn State’s outstanding needs

Where Penn State wants to go from a personnel management standpoint is also a roadmap Franklin laid out on Wednesday. 

The needs, bluntly, are these:

On offense, the Nittany Lions are looking for another offensive lineman. If that additional piece can play tackle, even better. Penn State will try Jven Williams and Alex Birchmeier at the position to start their careers in an attempt to solidify that spot and its depth ahead of the 2023 season. 

Wide receiver is another area of need, with Franklin citing the possibility of “signing a couple more guys at that position” as it seeks to bolster its competition there in the absence of Parker Washington and Mitch Tinsley next season.

Defensively, meanwhile, Franklin said defensive tackle is a priority, with the possibility of adding an end also on tap. And, with the ongoing state of flux for Conrad Hussey, a verbal commitment to the program since the summer, Franklin alluded that a defensive back or two could also be needed. 

No hurt feelings

One relatively reoccurring storyline among Franklin’s surveying of the class this year came with the acknowledgment of injuries and their role in Penn State’s recruitment of a handful of players.

Asked about comments during the program’s signing day ceremony in the morning in which he’d called quarterback Jaxson Smolik and running back London Montgomery “steals,” Franklin said that both players being hurt, in this case during Smolik’s junior season and for Montgomery the 2022 campaign, impacted their recruitments. 

“When you get hurt, don’t play your senior year, there’s not a lot of people talking about you,” James Franklin said of Montgomery. “You watch his junior year tape, it’s really good. I enjoyed getting to know him and the family, just great people. The more people you talk to about his personality, the more you get to know him, and the type of impact he has on others, it’s really strong.

“We’re excited about him. But I think the reason I probably say it is because of the injury and people haven’t had a chance to watch him in a long time and get live evaluations. As you guys know, a lot of the rankings are not just based on film, it’s based on live evaluations, whether game or camp. He just didn’t get many opportunities to do that.”

Similarly, Ta’mere Robinson was cited as a highly recruited prospect with all of the nation’s top programs vying for his services as a junior. But, upon an injury this year, the excitement building over him took something of an out-of-sight, out-of-mind backseat.

“Fortunately we were able to convince him to stay home and play at LBU,” Franklin said. “He’s another guy that I think, if he would have played his senior year, would have had a dominant year.”