James Franklin talks ‘wild west’ of recruiting with NIL, transfer portal and more
The world of college football has changed drastically in recent years and chief among those alterations is the introduction of college athletes profiting off their name, image and likeness (NIL). It makes sense, then, that the topic was a key piece of the conversation as James Franklin and other members of the Penn State football staff spoke to the media Wednesday — the first day of the early signing period when 22 of the Nittany Lions’ 23 committed prospects signed with the program.
NIL is now a major part of the recruiting landscape, with talk of offers in the hundreds of thousands and even in the millions to players to play at a school.
Franklin said the program used to be far behind, but has made up ground under new athletic director Pat Kraft and university president Neeli Bendapudi.
“I’ve been very clear on that, that we were way behind,” Franklin said. “I think Pat and Dr. Bendapudi ... I think have really come in here and hit the ground running. I think we’ve made up a lot of ground, but we still have a lot of work to do if we say we want to approach NIL and everything else when it comes to competing at the highest level. ... 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.”
That was backed up by offensive recruiting coordinator/wide receivers coach Taylor Stubblefield, who said if NIL gets brought up right away it can be a red flag in a recruitment.
That does not mean the Nittany Lions are adverse to engaging in those discussions, or not taking players who want to discuss it.
Instead, they want it to be a part of the conversation rather than the entirety of it. And part of that is having the same approach over and over again and using their culture as a selling point.
“We stayed consistent,” Stubblefield said. “We stayed consistent with who we are and how we want to approach it. You know, I think (Franklin) has talked about it and we’ve talked about it that money can’t necessarily buy culture, and the culture of our team is operating at a very high level. And we want to be consistent to the guys in our in our program. And then we want to our messaging to our recruits to be consistent. There ends up getting to be some funny business (with NIL) and some astronomical numbers that are thrown out. ... I mean it absolutely is hard especially if the education behind the type of numbers that have been thrown out, if there’s the lack of education behind it, and not understanding what some of those numbers mean. Recruits and some of their families could end up jumping at that opportunity and then probably be disappointed later. And that’s where our program, our culture, the foundation is on some real solid, solid stone.”
Franklin noted that the current NIL environment feels like the “wild, wild west” and there’s a need for “guardrails” in the system to help stabilize things and give guidance to those who need it while protecting all parties involved.
Figures are frequently tossed out for what players are being offered by collectives, and Stubblefield said he’s heard plenty of rumors as to what schools are doing, even if it’s not always outlined in the most direct way.
“You start to hear seven figures out there,” he said. “You hear stories all over the place from horse ranches to seven figures to you know, you hear a lot. It’s kind of like you don’t know what is true and what’s not. All I know and what we try to focus on is telling the truth to our recruits and providing them with something real, something real, that they can rest assured that it’s going to happen. And that’s what we try to focus on.”
Navigating the transfer portal
The other major change in college football is the increasing number of transfers brought on by the rule that allows for a one-time transfer for all student-athletes. That led to the NCAA creating windows for when players may enter the transfer portal. The first window is currently open, spanning from Dec. 5 to Jan. 18 this season, and Penn State is active in search of roster improvements.
The process of finding those players and bringing them in is hastened because of the new window, but it’s something the Penn State staff is already adjusting to. As far as how different it is when things are all said and done, that remains to be seen.
“I don’t know yet, I really don’t,” Stubblefield said. “Not to escape the question, I think it’s still being determined. ... We’ll see. Some of the opportunities for visits is good, it’s good for us, it’s good for (transfers). The window is closing, so we’ve just got to make sure we get the right guys.”
The conversations with transfer candidates can also be very different from ones with high school players. Most of the time, Franklin and his staff are able to take the time to build a long-term relationship with high school recruits and get to know them over the course of a few years.
With transfers, that isn’t always the case. And sometimes, the previous relationships can be what defines whether the Nittany Lions are interested in a player.
“In the transfer portal it is different,” Stubblefield said. “It’s different recruiting because you may have somebody that doesn’t have production in college, but you recruited heavily in high school that you’re like, you know what, I think this guy could be dynamic in our program. And then there’s other guys that are productive at the college level and you’re like, man, we didn’t recruit this guy out of high school, but you know what? Seeing what he’s doing on Saturdays against really good competition. We’re interested in him. So yeah, you do have to be aggressive. We want to be aggressive. I think everybody’s being aggressive across the nation in terms of guys that need wide receivers. And so we’re being aggressive but we’re also being smart.”
Filling team need at receiver
One of the biggest positions of need for Penn State happens to be the position Stubblefield coaches — wide receiver.
He said the program wants two receivers and is looking for both experienced players and those with multiple years of eligibility remaining. That process could lead them to a variety of receivers, but the main attribute Stubblefield wants is someone who can help the program achieve its ultimate goal.
“We are going to be in the transfer portal, there is no doubt about it,” he said. “... We’re looking for a guy who can help us win, no matter if it’s high school or the portal. And so yeah, we’re looking and we’ve got some guys in mind.”
Some of the wide receiver names that the Nittany Lions have been attached to in the portal include Kent State’s Dante Cephas and Devontez Walker, Oregon’s Dont’e Thornton and West Virginia’s Kaden Prather.
The need for two, in part, stems from Parker Washington’s decision to leave Penn State and enter the 2023 NFL Draft.
His decision was not one that necessarily surprised Stubblefield, but he made sure to note he will miss Sean Clifford’s No. 1 target from this season.
“We had an idea last year (that Washington may leave),” Stubblefield said. “... I hope he absolutely kills it out there. ... Him leaving, don’t get me wrong, it did sting a little bit. But, shoot, I hope he knocks it out (in the NFL).”
Adding players to a roster already stocked with young talent at receiver could make for difficult discussions with current Nittany Lions. The program added a large group of receivers last season and plenty of players with freshman eligibility — including Omari Evans and Harrison Wallace III — stepped up and earned playing time.
Stubblefield makes sure he’s as transparent as possible when talking to those players about additions, because he wants them to understand why those decisions are being made.
“I’m up front with my guys,” he said. “We are up front as a staff. That’s the reason why we have these conversations with these guys throughout the year to kind of see where their minds are at. We would be naive to think everybody is just, ‘Yep, I’m all in all four years.’ We would be naive to think that way in college football these days. We have the conversations, we’re transparent with them. For the most part they’ve been transparent with us.”
That being said, the wide receivers coach said there are still more than enough players at the position — including Evans, Wallace, KeAndre Lambert-Smith and others — who can step up and fill the void left by Washington and departing senior Mitch Tinsley.
Quick hitters
- Franklin said the current plan is for Anthony Donkoh to start out at guard, while J’ven Williams and Alex Birchmeier — the two highest rated players in the class by 247Sports — will start at tackle with the understanding that both can slide inside.
- Mega Barnwell originally committed to Penn State very early in the process, eventually opened his recruitment up, and then circled back and re-committed to the Nittany Lions. Franklin said the 6-foot-6, 250-pound athlete will start at tight end but has the ability to play at defensive end or on the offensive line.
- Conrad Hussey was the lone commit not to sign Wednesday. The Florida native postponed his final decision and is still considering the Nittany Lions, Florida State and Miami.
