‘Pat’s pounding the drum.’ James Franklin on what the new AD will bring to Penn State football
James Franklin made note several times of his relationship with current Penn State Athletic Director Pat Kraft Wednesday afternoon at Big Ten Media Days in Indianapolis. Franklin praised Kraft and the job he has already done in his short time leading the athletic department, frequently mentioning the alignment in the way they view college football.
The Penn State head coach made sure to mention he was not criticizing the school’s previous athletic director, Sandy Barbour, but his message was clear.
Franklin believes there will be progress made in Penn State football, even if he isn’t the one pushing for it — a stark contrast from the way things have gone in his first eight seasons leading the program.
“I want this to come off specifically to Pat because total respect for the regime we had previously,” Franklin said. “But Pat’s fighting some battles that maybe hadn’t been fought in the past. ... I think that’s been apparent so far.”
One of the key sticking points for Franklin in recent years has been the allocation of funds for football facilities. Headway was made while Barbour was in charge, with the plan for a new weight room within the Lasch Football Building put in place. Those plans have been put into action with the construction underway at the facility.
While those plans, according to Franklin, are behind schedule, he’s still excited to see the newfound alignment. He said the player portions of the project — like the weight room, training table and nutrition areas — were the priority, but there will be other adjustments made for the coaches. Those are expected to be completed by the end of the year.
“We’ve made some great progress,” Franklin said. “I’m really excited about what we’ll be moving into. ... We’re a little bit behind schedule but it will work out well. ....We still have not touched our second floor, which is where our coaches are, except we did get carpet. That was a step in that area.”
So then, what comes next? Franklin said the other improvements that can come will be more big picture concerns. Those are areas he and Kraft say they’re aligned on and while that will still have to play out, there is one issue both have made note of thus far. The athletic director and head coach both addressed Penn State starting the conference schedule on the road for nine consecutive years. Franklin is glad it isn’t something he’s taking to the Big Ten on his own.
“I don’t know how that’s statistically even possible, especially when it’s been brought up before,” Franklin said. “But Pat’s pounding that drum. So in year’s past I would feel like I would have to maybe say some of these things to maybe create some pressure or create some dialogue that needed to happen. I don’t have to.”
Roster management
Part of the benefit of Kraft’s heavy involvement will be Franklin’s ability to focus more on his team rather than the program as a whole. That’s one of the luxuries Franklin will be able to take advantage of, and one that will become a necessity. The introduction of athletes profiting off their name, image and likeness (NIL) has changed the game in a number of ways.
Roster management has jumped to the forefront of the discussion, with teams needing to maintain their own team and keep their players happy with their current situation. Franklin commented on that aspect earlier in the offseason, saying coaches better know what’s going on with their roster and mentioning that the amount of money needed to do that was higher than what was publicly suggested.
Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said in the offseason that he would need about $13 million to keep his team together — which was presumed to be the number Franklin was referring to.
On Wednesday, he made clear his intention with those comments.
“My response was, if we expect to compete with the schools in our conference and nationally, then we must be willing to do similar things,” Franklin said. “The expectation must match the commitment level. And the reality is, where we’ve been and where we’re going, you’ve got to compete in every area.”
The other biggest change with NIL is how teams will be constructed in the first place. The financial aspect of recruiting has taken an even more prominent role with the addition of NIL — whether a player is a high school recruit or in the transfer portal.
Franklin is aware of that alteration, and says anyone who didn’t think it was coming to recruiting was lying to themselves.
“Everybody that lives and studies college football knew that it was going to have a recruiting component,” he said. “I don’t want to hear the unforeseen consequences.”
Big Ten expansion
The Penn State head coach gave his thoughts on the Big Ten’s impending addition of USC and UCLA, acknowledging the benefits of expansion while still relishing what college football used to be.
“I’m somewhat of a traditionalist when it comes to college football and the regionality that it used to be,” Franklin said. “I still feel myself wanting that. I also understand, like I said, college football has changed dramatically and you better be changing with it.”
USC and UCLA specifically are the types of schools Franklin thinks will add value to the Big Ten because there’s more to each university than their on-field successes.
“When you’re able to get two universities that are respected not only athletically but also align with the Big Ten from an academic perspective, that’s really valuable,” he said. “Because at the end of the day, Penn State as a university, and the Big Ten as a conference, isn’t a conference that is a winning at all costs conference. We still want to make sure that our student-athletes have a well-rounded experience and we want to make sure that our universities are well-rounded. ... I am embracing it for all those reasons.”
The additions are bound to change things for Penn State, with travel now being a more prominent expenditure for schools as they add trips to the west coast to their schedule.
Those opportunities will add more chances for fans to see places they haven’t before.
When it comes to what the latest phase of conference realignment means for College Football Playoff expansion, Franklin isn’t quite sure, but hopes the decision is made with all possible consequences in mind.
“That number, we have to be strategic and it has to take all of the important criteria into consideration,” he said. “The academic calendar has to be considered. The length of the schedule, we keep adding games, are we willing to take a game out of the regular season? All these things have to be factored in and considered.”
Quick Hitters
- Penn State safety Ji’Ayir Brown said he’s impressed with how the 2022 recruiting class looks physically in its short time on campus.
- The one-time transfer rule is on the verge of being changed, with players being allowed to transfer as many times as they’d like on the horizon. Franklin isn’t overly concerned with the change because, as he said, that’s already the current landscape with the NCAA rarely denying transfer waiver requests.
Franklin added that he expects 2022 signee Ken Talley to be at Penn State for fall camp.
