How Penn State’s seniors have set the stage for the next chapter of the James Franklin era
Sometime before 4 p.m. Saturday PJ Mustipher, Sean Clifford, Ji’Ayir Brown and a host of other Penn State Nittany Lions will take part in their Senior Day ceremony. The group will make their way onto the field with their loved ones, receive their flowers and embrace their head coach.
Not long after, they will surely hear the screams of that same head coach — James Franklin — as he barks out commands during Penn State’s matchup with Michigan State.
That is the balance of Senior Day. It’s a day of celebration and acknowledgment, sandwiched around a football game.
This group, the one that will depart — in all likelihood — with a 10-win season, is one that should feel that hug a little tighter.
Brown, Mustipher, Clifford and the rest of the departing class may be the group that turns the Penn State football program back around under Franklin.
First, however, they must play the game. And accepting the realities of the situation is the best way to go about handling it.
“The reality is to recognize that, right?” Franklin said. “It’s totally fine and acceptable to recognize there will be some emotions that go with it. What you try to do is channel as much as you can. OK, you’re going to have this time before the game. Appreciate that, experience that, go through the emotions, spend the time with the family, do all these things. And then let’s put that to bed and then let’s focus on the game. Then after the game in the locker room, that’s an emotional time. Last time this group will be in Beaver Stadium in that locker room together.“
The celebration will be warranted for this group, and one worth embracing when it happens. Most of this class was a part of the 2019 team that won the Cotton Bowl and finished with double digit victories. It was also here for 2020 and 2021 when the Nittany Lions went .500 and looked listless for long stretches.
But most importantly, those players are here now and in positions of leadership. Many of them are the reason the team has won nine games and has rebounded from two defeats that could have been soul crushing for a lesser team. Instead they have helped the group stay the course, fighting back and being on the precipice of a top-10 ranking.
While they did not achieve their highest goals, they did accomplish something. Their leadership could be what grooms the next group of captains at Penn State — ones like Drew Allar and Nick Singleton — who will be the core of the program for the next couple years.
The positive trend they’ve created isn’t lost on Mustipher, one of the most notable leaders on the team.
“To be here at 9-2, to get this 10th win, it means the world,” Mustipher said. “Because we’re getting this program trending in the right direction. The future is bright. We gotta finish this year out strong. That means the most to me.”
For one player walking out onto the field for the last time as a player in Beaver Stadium, this has been a clear peak season for the team. Brown, whose first season was 2020 after he spent time at Lackawanna College before transferring in, will have the chance for his first 10-win season at Penn State.
Despite only being in his third year, he’s made a monumental impact on the program with his ability to lead and play on the field. He’s one of the several Nittany Lions who is doing his best not to let a moment slip by this week.
“The approach this week is to appreciate stuff that you may have forgotten to appreciate or you may be overlooking,” Brown said. “Just walking in the building, having a building that looks that amazing. Talking to coaches, having great conversations with some amazing people. And just cherish those moments, knowing that the moments are coming to and end pretty soon.”
The big picture thoughts do not end there for Brown. He’s not sure what he wants Saturday to look like just yet, mostly because he’s focusing on those smaller moments during the week. Still, he knows the end is near and soon he will have to confront what it will look like and what the future will hold in terms of how he’s remembered.
After all, legacy can be a big word. It’s all-encompassing and in some ways all-defining. But it’s rarely yours to control.
That doesn’t mean Brown doesn’t have that idealized. He knows how he wants to be thought of — and it just so happens to be one of the many reasons he and the other departing players may have set the tone for the future.
“My legacy means everything to me,” he said. “That’s why I play so hard, I work out so hard, is to build that legacy. When you leave the game you want people to remember who you are and what kind of effort and attitude you played with. I want to be remembered as a great leader, first and foremost, to me, to my teammates, to the Penn State community.”
