Penn State football’s newest commit doesn’t think the amount of criticism James Franklin is getting amid losing to Ohio State last Saturday is fair.
Matt Sieg, a four-star safety who announced his commitment right before the Ohio State game and saw the contest in person, wasn’t thrilled with the reaction Franklin got from fans after the game.
The Best in PA, Stay in PA🦁🔵⚪️ #WeAre @coachjfranklin @Coachpoindexter @CoachTerryPSU @PennStateFball pic.twitter.com/yz1GHqV9J7
— Matt Sieg 4 ⭐️ ATH (@matt_sieg) November 2, 2024
Fans booed, chanted “Fire Franklin” and said other things that we’d rather not print.
One fan was close enough to Franklin for the coach to hear him, and Franklin had a response.
James Franklin responded to heckling Penn State fans after the loss to Ohio State: “If you’re gonna be man enough to talk, what’s your name?” pic.twitter.com/kILxOn8UqU
— Seth Engle (@bigsengtweets) November 2, 2024
But Sieg is sticking with Penn State— not that anyone would have expected him to de-commit within four hours— and talked about his reaction to the criticism in an exclusive with Nittany Sports Now.
WHAT SIEG SAID
Matt Sieg
“I mean, he doesn’t, they don’t… none of the staff deserves that,” Sieg said. “I mean you look at what they’ve done over the past couple of years. I mean, they win a lot. Wins are hard to come by in college football. I mean it’s the highest level you can play at before the NFL. So I mean, I think people are just being a little greedy, you know what I mean? If you really look at what they’ve done, they really can’t complain, and then there’s bigger things to come over in the coming years. So I definitely think that wasn’t deserved and I think people will see that.”
FRANKLIN’S MESSAGE TO PENN STATE FANS
Minutes after Franklin left the Beaver Stadium field to boos, he had to face the media. A reporter asked him what his message would be to those who booed him and even threw objects on the field.
James Franklin said he understood the frustration but still feels Penn State’s main goal— winning a national title— is in play.
“Guys in the locker room are just as frustrated, if not more,” Franklin said.” But college football has changed and we have an opportunity moving forward to write some wrongs from today, and that’s what we’re going to focus on. I get it. We get an unbelievable crowd here, we get unbelievable support, you don’t do that without passion, and there’s great things that come from that and there’s hard things that come from that. That’s part of the job. That’s part of the job, and I own it all. I own it all.”
Penn State plays Washington Saturday at 8 on Peacock.
