Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Penn State Football

Penn State Coach James Franklin’s July Words Aging Poorly

Penn State James Franklin USC
Penn State head coach James Franklin addresses the media after a 33-30 win over USC on Oct. 12, 2024. -- Alan Saunders / Nittany Sports Now

This July, Penn State coach James Franklin made a bold claim.

“This is the best combined personnel that I think we’ve had at Penn State,” Franklin told reporters at Big Ten Media Days. When I talk aboutpersonnel, I’m talking players and staff. From a depth, from a talent standpoint and from an experience standpoint, so we’re very excited about that.”

At the time, it made all the sense in the world.

Penn State had just gone to the College Football Playoff semifinal, returned most of its key players from that team.

It also added two top-notch coaches in defensive coordinator Jim Knowles and running backs coach Stan Drayton.

Well, now, Penn State is 3-2 and just lost to a horrible UCLA team.

Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.

So it was only fair to ask Franklin to revisit that statement.

“Obviously that question at this moment,” he said in his postgame presser. “I mean, how am I supposed to answer that when we lose the last two games?

That’s all that matters. We didn’t win the last two games.

But, yeah, obviously I felt that way, or I wouldn’t have said it. But after two losses, it’s hard for me to answer that question and say that’s the case.”

All Penn State can do now is focus on Northwestern, which it plays next week at 3:30.

Get NSN in your Inbox

Enter your email address to get notifications of new posts by email.

More from Nittany Sports Now

Penn State Football Recruiting

2s One of the top players in Penn State football’s 2027 recruiting class has flipped his commitment to an SEC school. It had been...

Penn State Wrestling

2s Penn State wrestling’s season doesn’t end in March: it just changes uniforms. That’s what makes Final X so compelling from a Penn State...

Penn State Wrestling

2s Five members of Penn State wrestling/Nittany Lion Wrestling Club will be representing Team USA on the world stage. At 61 KG, Marcus Blaze...

Penn State Football Recruiting

0s Penn State football’s most recent recruiting win is on the brink of joining the age. Bishop Hendricken High School, located in Warwick, Rhode...