Live updates: James Franklin signing day press conference

Penn State head coach James Franklin is putting a bow on the Nittany Lions’ Class of 2024 on Wednesday afternoon from Beaver Stadium. Meeting with reporters, he’ll discuss the signings as well as the hiring of new defensive coordinator Tom Allen, who will be introduced later in the afternoon.

Blue White Illustrated is on hand to provide complete coverage from the session, presented below as paraphrased questions and answers with live updates.

Live updates: James Franklin signing day press conference

(Page does not refresh automatically. Paraphrased responses will appear in reverse chronological order. Press conference has ended at 2:45 p.m.)

Questions in the room

On Ethan Grunkemeyer:

Recruited him because over time, has a chance to be really talented in the Big Ten and nationally. Has shown that over his career and last 18 months, different level. High school and coach a phenomenal job. QB trainer too. Family, have done a great job with him. He’s wired and raised right. Discipline and structure in high school and home. All of those things lend a young man to have success in structure at Penn State.

Especially at QB, are there exceptions? Yes. But more than not, want to sit behind a guy and learn and take it all in. Drew sitting and learning behind Sean was valuable. A big part of Aaron Rogers success was sitting and learning behind Brett, what he would do and do differently. There is a ton of value in that. 

Wants him to come in and compete, but worst case, if he doesn’t and learns for year and competes that following spring, that’s not bad either. Has a relationship with Drew. But that position is the position in all of sports and college football in competing for championships. The more they can recruit and develop at that position, and recruit around it, the better. It’s all of it. Pleased with him. Happy he’s in the fold. His development past 18 months has been really cool. Look at Drew’s trajectory as a recruit, and Ethan, pretty cool. Allowed to recruit other states for QB, but if it works out that way, OK with that as well.

On type of people they want in the program:

Knock on wood, have done a good job of it because responsible for unpredictable group of people, and responsible for them unfairly 24 hours a day. But work really hard at knowing what they’re bringing into the locker room. Not perfect, but who comes into the locker room, community, brotherhood of the lettermen. And again, that’s not easy. Do a ton of homework there. Not all perfect, just like him, but guys they bring into this structure and support system will flourish. A ton of examples of guys that flourish. Talk to staff a lot about not getting intoxicated by talent and talent alone. Look hard at the transcript. Ask a ton of questions at the school. Not just the coach. Other students in the hallway. 

Mom was a hall aid and janitor in the school system. Talk to them. They know everything. How these young men people that work in those buildings is telling. Talk to other coaches in the community that don’t have pressure to talk about players kindly. Be willing to ask uncomfortable questions. Ask the tough questions. If there are concerns. Just ask. Talk through these things. The kids and families they’re recruiting appreciate the transparency. 

Under promise, over deliver program. Lose kids for that. Don’t sell the fantasy. Sell the reality. When you do, you have a better chance to hold onto them. There will be adversity that comes, but by developing relationships on trust, love and support, it allows you to overcome some of those things. Have been fortunate to work through a lot of issues that can be challenging at times.

On running backs:

Both were used heavily as receivers. In today’s college football or NFL, the more ways you can use running backs, the better. Made huge offseason investment to use RBs in expanded roles. Both could play WR. The guys they’re recruiting should be recruitable on both sides of the ball. Could make argument those guys could do it at a high level. Here is Quentin, who is No. 1 recruit in PA, but really, was low maintenance. Extremely good academically. Has been awesome. Ja’Juan Seider is a guy that can be a head coach. Parker just got head job at Troy. Here is another one that, wanted to make sure Quentin understood that as well. If Seider wants to be a head coach, he’s going to be. Terry is another guy like that. And Quentin and family never wavered. Had some hard conversations early on, but was awesome. Doesn’t care the business you’re in, in leadership, the more staff, players, high production, low maintenance, that’s something they really value. Another example of that. 

Wasn’t intimidated by coming into that crowded room. Have a pretty good run in the state of PA. Have to do it again next year. That’s not looking as promising as it has been, but will continue to battle there. Take a lot of pride in that. Big believe for Penn State and young men that it’s a win win for everyone. Best players in region should also come to Penn State. The best option in terms of combination of school and football and compete at highest level in the footprint. No disrespect to any other program, but feels that way.

On TA Cunningham:

A lot of traits he showed that were obvious to everybody. Then when you talk about moving high schools, limited film based on injuries, for them want to make sure they understand the reasons for all those things. The family has been totally transparent about all those things. Had some challenges and adversity to overcome, and some physical setbacks, but reality is, that body type, those traits, skills are still there and he’s a highly motivated young man. When he gets in structure and system, will flourish again and be a guy everyone is talking about as a steal because they trusted evaluation process and dug on all the details and were comfortable with them.

On Tyseer Denmark/WR:

Supreme confidence, ball skills, change in direction. Obvious early on that they wanted him. Chance to be a difference maker in the class. Josiah Brown had track times to back it up. Came to camp and ran well. Suffered an injury in senior year and limited impact on his team and his rankings.

Two guys they’ve known a long time. Then Peter Gonzalez came to camp, told him what he needed to improve, and saw that improvement. Measurables for height, weight, speed. Really productive senior year. Loves those guys coming in. Kind of different body types, skill sets that will help that room and create competitive edge for them. New York, inner city Philly, and Pittsburgh Central Catholic. Excited about getting all three of them. Wishes some were coming early. But will have an opportunity to compete in the summer as long as they handle the next few months the way they should.

On early enrollees:

Not the end all, be all, but it helps. Learning the system, getting comfortable, getting a feel. Allows them to legitimately compete in the summer and training camp. Why you see the number trending. Academically it makes sense. Guys getting a masters while they’re here. Playing as a true freshman likelihood increases. Not something they really push, but becoming more of a trend, which can be challenging because at mid-semester don’t always know how many scholarships you have. 

People don’t understand the process. It’s a guesstimate. Before the port,, could go back on 10 years of data, on average, this much attrition. That’s all thrown out the window. Makes it more difficult to do that. Excited about getting them here, but it can be complicated.

On the OL class. Cousins, Sexton:

Coop is a usual guy. He can play all five positions. You don’t usually see a 6-6, 320 pound guy play center. Hurt him in the rankings because they always rank interior guys lower than the tackles. Having him in camp, could play all five spots. Tremendous value in that. Came to every camp. Played him at tackle, showed he could do it. Nasty streak. Doesn’t look like a high school kid. Lean 320 pounds. Unusual. High production, highly rated guy who was low maintenance. Offered him, was maybe during COVID, met outside, he walked away and came back four minutes later and said they’re coming. High profile guy knew this is where he wanted to be, family was comfortable, and never wavered. Coming in early. Chance to compete. Loves him. 

Sexton is a weird one. Wisconsin not a typical place for them. Got a number there this year. Started with Jerry Cross a few years ago. Then to get three guys out of Wisconsin this year is unusual. He’s a really good one. Got hurt senior year and missed some time. Another family trending as a prospect once people saw his transition from QB to T. Has a high ceiling. Excited to get him on campus to work. Able to get a few more guys in this class that they think can be tackles. Always a challenge. Still a little bit of a need, whether it’s the transfer portal or second signing day. Just can’t have enough of those tackle body types. They can go inside, but harder to go out. Very pleased with what Trautwein and staff did.

On Liam Andrews:

Trust in not just telling them what they wanted to hear. Recruited him hard as an OL. This is an under promise, over deliver program. Won’t say what they want to hear, and switch it with ulterior motives. If remembering the timeline, legitimately felt like he had a chance to be a special DL. Transparent and authentic with family, recruiting as a DL. And not only will you do it, but do it at a high level. Part of responsibility is, telling them. End of day, will let kids play where they want, but when Deion evaluated him, really liked his ability as an interior DL. Coach Trautwein was heartbroken, but involved in process of still saying to want you here. Deion took over at that point, with D coaches and James. Family trusted they were being transparent, open and honest. Kid felt good about Penn State before that, now just a position thing to work through. He has bumps and bruises he is working through right now, but will get him rehabbing and in a position to compete by the time summer camp comes around.

On questions from prospects and parents with coordinator turnover:

It goes back to how every recruit, when they commit, talk to them about committing to James and the university. There will probably be turnover on the staff, right away or in their four/five years at Penn State. No one would write an article like they told a recruit right before they made a decision because they don’t operate that way. Because they do that, it helps them. So when it does happen, it doesn’t shock them.

If Anthony Poindexter has the opportunity to be a head coach, will you stay committed? That is helpful. And then the board timeliness, not only are they recruiting them, but other people are coming for them as well. So filling the position ASAP and being thorough, there is a ton of value in that. 

Have a history of playing really good defense. Really going back forever at Penn State. So trusting them, being able to show a pattern of success and decision making that has helped with that. It’s all been part of limiting as much drama as possible.

Opening statement

Thanking the staff. A lot to be said for a drama free signing day in 2023. Very telling about the staff, how thorough and detailed they are. Telling about the process of not pressuring guys to commit. The type of guys they recruit, the high school coaches, the people they surround themselves with. Appreciative of that. 

Looking at the class, it is well rounded. Filled needs at every position. Thought length in this class better than it has typically been. Ton of guys coming in early. Some programs pressure it. Don’t do it, but it trends that way. Excited about that. But also opportunities for guys in the summer to impact program and roster. That will continue. 

From the first press conference, making Pennsylvania a priority. Good job of that the past few years. Want the best in PA to stay in PA. At Penn State, have a tremendous hit rate of guys choosing to stay home. Them staying home and being successful. Barkley, Parsons, Sanders, Carter, Singleton. The guys choosing to stay home as high profile recruits, those guys have done really well here. Makes sense for both parties. Take pride in it. 

Also the region. And have also tapped into other areas, which is important. Guys all over the country, successful here. That’s been going on a long time at Penn State. 

Overall, had a really good day. Great to get the coordinators both on board before signing day. Could have caused issues for them. Thank the board for support. With certain hires, process that has to go in front of them. Timely. Sometimes sense of time in college football is different from other people, and it’s meaningful. If they’d lost two recruits today because of timing of DC hire, that would have mattered and made sense. So appreciative of Matt Schuyler’s continued support. Football is a little different.

Still work to do. Not a big transfer portal team. Try to be as detailed and thorough as they can be. Got some work to do there in a short period of time. But likes direction they have going on right now.