Penn State coach James Franklin hit another milestone in Saturday’s 52-6 win over Villanova where he matched Charles “Rip” Engle’s mark for the second most wins by a coach in program history.
For many nowadays, the biggest thing Engle did for Penn State was bring his two-way star from Brown University on his staff.
But Engle was a force in college football and was more than just bringing Joe Paterno with him.
Paterno told The Daily Collegian in 1983, when Engle passed what he meant to him.
“He was a true gentleman. He had a tremendous influence on me, not only in coaching, but in values, conduct and patience,” Paterno said. “a wonderful human being in the best sense of that definition.”
Engle was a rising star in the coaching profession for what he had done to resurrect Brown from the doormat of Eastern Independents to a combined 15-3 record in 1948 and 1949 (the Ivy League was formed in 1954).
Prior to Engle’s rebuild, it had been more than a decade since the Bears posted a season with eight or more wins.
While Engle’s Brown rebuild had great length considering it was in the infancy of college football really becoming organized, Franklin did things at Vanderbilt that hadn’t been done since literally the infancy of football.
Franklin’s consecutive 9-win campaigns at Vanderbilt have never been replicated in the 122 year history of the program. Prior to Franklin’s first nine-win season in 2012, Vanderbilt last won nine or more games in 1915 under coach Dan McGugin.
As both men had tremendous success, both were coveted.
Franklin was coveted by Texas after his tremendous success at Vanderbilt as both the Longhorns and Penn State dueled for Franklin’s services.
Engle was also highly coveted.
According to Lou Prato from his Penn State Football Encyclopedia, Engle was coveted by Pitt, Wisconsin and Yale.
Both men came to Penn State in tumultuous times for the football program.
Franklin arrived dealing with the fallout of the end of the Paterno era. There were factions around how that situation was handled.
Also, Franklin had to deal with NCAA postseason sanctions that were later lifted ahead of Franklin’s first season in 2014.
Engle also dealt with internal strife and factions upon his arrival to Penn State.
According to Prato, if Engle had wanted the job he not only had to keep the current staff in place but also had to retain Joe Bedenk, who Engle was succeeding as head coach.
Other issues that plagued Penn State was the scholarship program for football players, something Engle insisted on prior to his accepting.
Photo Courtesy of Penn State Athletics
Engle agreed to come to Penn State, but only if he could bring one assistant with him.
When none of Engle’s Brown assistants wanted to come to State College, he turned to his graduating quarterback in Paterno, who would accept, and the rest was history.
Despite the uneasiness to start his tenure, during Engle’s 16 seasons as head coach, there were only four coaching changes.
Despite the many changes that happen on Franklin’s staff now, Franklin is lauded for creating a culture both at home and in the office creating a stable atmosphere that rarely happens in the sport.
Both men can attribute their rise to transcendent running backs that are immortal or soon to be in football.
For Engle, it was “The Reading Rocket” Lenny Moore that changed the trajectory of the program. Moore became the first Penn State running back to rush for over 1,000 yards in a season in 1954.
Moore would go onto a Hall of Fame career with the Baltimore Colts, become a key figure on Baltimore’s legendary 1958 and 1959 championship teams, and was named one of the NFL’s Top 100 players of all time.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.James Franklin had Whitehall, Pennsylvania prodigy Saquon Barkley who was as dynamic as any running back Penn State ever had.
After consecutive Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year and Most Valuable Player selections, Barkley has continued his excellence with both the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles.
Barkley’s landmark 2024 season set numerous rushing records and was recognized as the NFL’s No. 1 player in its annual countdown.
The game that got Franklin’s program going was the 2016 showdown with No. 2 Ohio State.
It was Penn State’s first win at home against a Top 2 while being unranked since 1964, when Engle’s Lions took out Woody Hayes’ Buckeyes 27-0.
Both men have had immense impact at Penn State.
Engle’s vision materialized in creating one of the nation’s most consistent programs.
In an era where bowl games were scarce, Engle took Penn State to four consecutive (won three).
Penn State would win three Lambert-Meadowlands Trophies for top Eastern football teams, as well as finish ranked nationally in the Top 20 in seven of Engle’s seasons.
Franklin has been consistent as well, winning 10 or more games in six seasons, guiding Penn State to its most wins in program history and first playoff berth last year.
James Franklin will pass Engle at some point this season but it shouldn’t marginalize what Engle set in motion years ago and what Franklin continues to do today.
The impact of both reaches far beyond their win totals of 104, similarities coincidental, both Penn State legends.
