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College Football Legend Explains Why He’s Still Mad at James Franklin

Penn State coach James Franklin fell to 1-15 against top-five teams with a loss to Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 in Miami.
James Franklin ahead of the Nittany Lions matchup against the Irish in the Orange Bowl.

A college football legend is still mad at James Franklin.

Steve Slaton is preparing to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, there’s one aspect of his career he may never be fully over. Before he became a West Virginia legend, Slaton was all set to accept a full scholarship from Maryland. That was until then Maryland assistant Franklin pulled his scholarship in favor of another recruit ย who didnโ€™t become a Hall of Famer.

While none of that really matters at this point and Franklin has done well for himself in coaching, Slaton still wants an opportunity to discuss the with the now Penn State head coach.

Slaton shared his thoughts about what happened all those year ago with WV Sports Now’s Mike Asti during an appearance on the “Mountaineer Report” show. Itโ€™s safe to say Slaton still has some strong feelings towards Franklin.

“As anybody in life, not just with sports, you have those moments where your determination has to ignite. You have to ‘hey, I’m gonna prove you wong,’ And that was the moment for me that was always in the back of my head,” said Slaton about how what Franklin did motivated him throughout his career.

Unfortunately for Slaton, he never got to seek his revenge on the field against James Franklin. By the time Slaton had his monster performance against Maryland in the third game of the 2006 season, Franklin was at Kansas State and already two years removed from leaving Maryland.

Slaton will forever wish he got that chance to “run it down his neck” against a Franklin-coached team.

“James gotta see me. We never spoke and I don’t know if anybody ever asked him the question, but he gotta see me,” said Slaton.

“We gotta have a conversation. I mean. we’ll laugh about it but we all make mistakes,” he added.

But it’s clear that Slaton is also not interested in any excuse James Franklin may want to offer in a future meeting between the two. To sum up Slaton’s feelings, he has one way to describe how Franklin handled the situation.

“It was handled like bs,” he said with a smile.

 

Instead of calling Slaton directly to let a player he was personally recruiting know he was pulling his scholarship, Slaton claims a Maryland reporter broke the news to him first.

What transpired next is history.

Slaton, widely regarded as the greatest running back in WVU history, totaled 3,923 rushing yards, averaged 5.9 yards per carry and scored 50 touchdowns on the ground in his three years in Morgantown. He also made 65 receptions for 805 yards. Slaton earned consensus All-American status in 2006 and was a key part of some of the most successful teams in program history.

Selected in the third round of the 2008 NFL Draft by Houston, Slaton played four years with the Texans before concluding his career with the Dolphins in 2011. He played with the Toronto Argonauts in the CFL for one season before retiring from football and pursuing a career in the culinary arts as a personal chef and kitchen consultant in Houston. He was inducted into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame in 2018.

The 2025 College Football Hall of Fame Class will officially be inducted during the 67th NFF Annual Awards Dinner Presented by Las Vegas on Dec. 9, 2025, at Bellagio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.

This story initially appeared on our sister site WV Sports Now.

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