The Joel Klatt Show: A College Football Podcast - James Franklin on the Perception of Penn State & a crazy NFL Draft Night | Big Noon Conversations

Episode Date: July 22, 2024

FOX Sports’ lead college football analyst Joel Klatt sits down with Penn State Head Coach James Franklin to discuss the Nittany Lions’ program entering the 2024 season. Coach Franklin breaks down the changes on the coaching staff including what new OC Andy Kotelnicki will bring to the offense. Klatt and Coach discuss the impact of having an exclusive 4-team Playoff over the last 10 years and how it has affected the perception of both Franklin and his program. They also share optimism towards the new 12-team format and consider what a potential Playoff game in December at Beaver Stadium would look like. Coach Franklin tells his 2024 NFL Draft night story where he raced across the state of Maryland to try to be with two of his players before they heard their names called in the First Round. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I'm still getting comfortable with the whole idea that we have packed 12 teams, you know, in the Big Ten. Well, now they're just Big Ten teams. I know. I'm still working through. Most influential people in the sport talking about the sport globally. This time on Big Noon Conversations, I talk with the head coach of Penn State, James Franklin. Coach James Franklin, head coach of Penn State. Thanks for joining us, man. Always appreciate the opportunity.

How are you, first of all? Good. Yeah, good. It's that time of year. Just got done meet with every player on the team and surviving the spring transfer portal. But it's been good. It's been really good. Had a great spring ball. And now all the coaches are on the road recruiting right now. And then we'll be getting back together here pretty soon. I've opened every interview like this and I'll do the same with you. What is the best part about being the head coach at Penn State? Yeah, I think first of all, obviously the history. the tradition of the place, right? And then on top of that, you know,

I grew up just outside of Philadelphia, so this is home for me at a place that a lot of ways is magical. And to be honestly, that I probably didn't think was realistic, you know, when I was coming up in this profession to be the head coach there. So it's, in a lot of ways, it's humbling. When did you maybe realize that that could be

your future because you were having a lot of success you had a tremendous amount of success at vandy was it was it there that you thought you said okay that's that's a location i could be at you know to be honest i can't remember uh if that really had kind of switched in my mind um but you know i don't know if you know this but me and billy o'brien worked together to university of maryland so we were close and then obviously when he left and i got contacted then i reached out to him right away and talked to him probably 10 15 times but um but i'm not really sure You're just so busy doing the job that you don't really kind of spend a whole lot of time on those types of things. And to be honest, I struggled leaving Vanderbilt.

I'm just, I'm a guy that's so loyal to the people and the kids that I struggled. I struggled leaving there. I remember being in my office, emotional as anything with my wife and my agent at the time and really struggling to say goodbye to those kids. And yet, you know, you look up at the end of the day. and the success that you were having at Vandy leads you to a place where I think, and I would argue, you can have more success, especially in what we would consider kind of the overarching college football world. Yeah, I think that was probably the deciding factor for me. I had a couple different opportunities going on.

And I think at the end of the day, I wanted to make sure that I could be transparent and honest with kids. And when you're able to bring them into a place like Penn State and all, them and their family an opportunity to achieve all their dreams. You can do that at Penn State, you know, where at maybe at some other places you're selling something that you're hoping, but there's really no evidence of it. So being at a place like Penn State, even though we showed up at a challenging time, there was still the opportunity there. So that was important to me.

Some changes going on internally with you and the coaching staff. So you're going to have two new coordinators. Three new coordinators is exactly. I don't want to shortchange the specialist. But I think the big one, at least for people on the outside, is bringing in Andy Kodlnicki to be the offensive coordinator. He did a tremendous job at Kansas. As soon as I heard that name floated around and I thought to myself,

that is a really good hire, certainly from the outside. What made you gravitate towards coach Kodlnicki? And what do you think he can provide you guys? Yeah, so I think the first thing is, had been tracking and following and getting to know Coach K, which is easier for people to say. For a long time, we played Buffalo, thought they did a really good job. I got a ton of respect for Lance. I think Lance has done a great job.

Ever since we played, we developed a relationship. They came up and visited a couple times. And then I actually had a tight ends job open that I interviewed them for and ended up hiring a letterman. and it was the right thing at the right time, but we just kind of stayed in touch. And then when this job, when this opportunity came open, I kind of was coming up with my list of who I wanted to hire and why and the data backing it all up,

and he was on a short list. And then I got to give Kansas, their athletic director, and Lance credit, because they didn't make it easy. To me, it showed a true commitment from Kansas. They made it hard. And obviously, he didn't. He'd been with Lance for like 11 plus years,

so that was a big part of it as well. But it's been great. And you think he's done a great job. Just very creative, does a ton of different things that I think cause defense's stress from scheme, from motioning, from shifts, from tempo. He really kind of does it all. And I think if you just do one thing

and you do that one thing all the time, even if it's tempo, people can get used to that. And I think that you look at the canvas that he has, You got talented players. I remember a quick story a couple years ago. We're sitting at Purdue opener. You remember this? Oh, you do I remember, yeah.

Gus and I and Ginny were there to call the game. I believe it was a weeknight opener, like a Thursday night opener that year, a Friday night opener. Open the season, I think. Yeah. And I'm sitting there and I'm watching Drew Aller throw the football. Now, he's not going to play. Sean's going to play.

Sean Clifford's going to play, and he's the starter. And I'm just looking at this big quarterback throw the football. and I was just, and I noticed somebody standing by me, but I honestly didn't know who it was. And I just said, like, I was like, that's beautiful. And it was you. You were standing there, and you were, you started laughing at me kind of gawking. Yeah, that's right.

Yeah. It's effortless when he throws the ball. And, you know, obviously that size is the first thing that gets your attention. And you see the ball come out of his hand. He's got a combination of traits that get you excited. There's also going to be changed on the defensive side. you bring in Tom Allen to be the defensive coordinator. And obviously, I've known Tom for a long time.

What's it like to bring in a guy that has head coaching experience to be a coordinator for you, which is the exact same thing that you had with Manny Diaz who ended up leaving for the opportunity at Duke? Yeah, I think it's valuable. I think you have to be careful to try to kind of recreate, you know, lightning in the bottle type of deal with Manny. But we've been fortunate, whether it was Bob Shoup, you know, whether it was Brent Pry, whether it was Manny Diaz. We've played really good defense. And Penn State has a history of playing really good defense as well.

So for me to find somebody who's a scheme fit, a four-down, attacking front, aggressive, blitz, man coverage, those types of things. You're kind of trying to find somebody in the country that makes sense. Because where we're at as a program, we really don't want to start over. You know, you can be able to tweak. Nor should you. Your defense has been fantastic. Correct.

So finding somebody, it was comfortable. And it's kind of a funny story. which I think you'll appreciate. So Tom comes in, but it's during bowl practice. You know, we're recruiting. It's bowl, so you bring them in for the interview. We do about two hours at night. And I'm like, you know, Tom, I need you to stay.

Could you stay, you know, another, you know, can you stay the night? We'll get together again tomorrow when I have time in between practices and meetings. We'll sit down. And he's like, yeah, that'll get me an opportunity to be around the kids and be around the staff. That'll be good. Well, that went on for like a week. I'm not exaggerating. Went on for like a week.

He was just there. Two hours. Two hours, two hours. But it ended up being really good because he had a ton of, you know, where he's at in his career, he didn't have to take a job. That's right. So it allowed him to be really kind of strategic and calculated and allowed us to do the same thing.

And I think by the end of it, he felt really comfortable. I felt really comfortably. He needed to go talk to his wife. But it's been great. He's very different than Mani, which I respect and appreciate that he's comfortable in his own skin and who he is. and it's been great. He's very relational as a leader,

which is kind of how I'm wired, so that's been good too. And it's been great. The class that you recruited in 2021, they're all going to be in their third year. And this is a class that I certainly have been looking at for a long time. It's a talented class of young players. Now, there are real NFL players in this class,

not just in your third year, but you got fourth year guys as well, but specifically Drew at quarterback, your two running backs, K-Tron as well as Nick Singleton. Abdul Carter has switched to move to edge to maybe promote some more of the pass rush. I think that the fans have even circled a year like this with this class and these players. Do you feel that building towards this fall? Well, I think your point is a fair one that when these guys were freshmen, we're like,

you know, this has been an impressive class when they showed up on campus. A lot of times you think guys are going to play as freshmen, but they aren't really able to do it. These guys all did and not just play. They made splash plays. They made game changing type plays. So we felt like in two years we would have a chance to make a run at this thing. So things continue to evolve. Obviously you'd prefer not to have the coaching turnover that we've had,

but that's a little bit the nature of college football now. So we're excited. We need to have a great training camp and a great summer, but we're excited with the opportunities. I imagine a number of these guys are going to get drafted. So the question becomes, are you going to try to replicate hitting both your players or three players draft night like you were able to do with Olu

and Chop Robinson? I don't know how you did that. Take us through draft night. You hit both Olu who gets selected in the first round and Chop Robinson. You were able to get to both of their draft parties. So we're fortunate. Both are from Maryland, which is unusual.

That doesn't happen very often, but they're both from Maryland, both about an hour apart from each other. Literally, we get to Oulu's house. There's a bunch of players there, ton of family, have a great experience. But you're trying to feel weird because you're trying to give them a hug and celebrate. But like the same hand, you're trying to run out the door, right? So I'm like, hey, I got to get the chops.

We run out of there. We jump in the car literally, my guy Kevin Threlkill, who's been with me for 17 years, like 95 miles an hour on the beltway, right? And in the car, the guys in the back are saying, I hope that Chop doesn't get drafted before we get there. I'm like, I hope he does get drafted before we get there. That could be the difference. like $6 million.

So we pull up. We get a call that he's getting drafted. I'm like running down the sidewalk into the house. And like it couldn't have timed up perfect. I come in and a family was so supportive. And friends are like, coach, get up front. Get up there. Get up there.

And his mom and dad said, get up there. And like literally as soon as I got up there, the pick comes in and it's the dolphin. So it was really an awesome night. And that's what you want, right? You want these guys to have great careers, which they did at Penn State. and then be able to chase their dreams at the next level. You know, the way a lot of coaches will put it, and I certainly agree with this,

and we've talked about this at times as well, is the opportunity to create value, you know, and these players are trying to find the best spot where they can create the most amount of value for themselves. And that looks different for every player. Some of those guys, let's be honest, some players in your team are creating value through their experience, yes, as a football player,

but more so their education at Penn State University. Some are trying to create value based on winning and performing and getting to that point where they can have their name called in the National Football League. And I continue to stress to fans that we are in a great moment in college football, even with the growing pains that we're going through. With all that being said, where do you think we're at right now? And what do you think is working in college football? Yeah, so that is a huge question, right? And what we're going to spend the next couple of days talking here in the Big Ten? But I think you've been around the game long enough.

I think you're very strategic. I think you're extremely smart. I think you understand both levels. And I think the reality is more times than not, I think the fans struggle with this sometimes. But more times than not, what is good for the player is typically good for the institution and the team and vice versa. And that's really what you're trying to create as much as you possibly can. Right now, obviously, I think we're at a critical point in college athletics history as well as college football's history. You take probably two of the biggest changes in our industry, maybe ever, and they both happen at the same time, NILN transfer portal, that I think some decisions are going to have to be made by very, very intelligent people.

But I think one of the things that's happening right now, which I don't know if has always happened in the past, is with input of the practitioners. With coaches having input in what this is going to look like. And I'm fortunate because I'm at a place with an athletic director and Pat Kraft and a president in Neely Bendiputi where they call me. I know that sounds crazy, but that doesn't always happen. I was going to say that's, in a lot of cases, that's unique, which is wild, but it is unique and you have it. Correct. So like the president is at a president's meeting and they're discussing a topic and she'll call me or text me and say, hey, what's your opinion on this? That is really valuable in a lot of different ways, right?

You feel appreciated, but also just so they're equipped with the information from the people that are out there actually doing it on day-to-day basis. So I think you're going to see, you know, obviously revenue sharing is coming. I think we're going to end up with some form of collective bargaining agreement, which again, back to my original point, what's good for the players they're going to have to give and take. And so are the institutions. And I think you can get your arms around us a little bit and it needs to. There are fans that will come up to me or comment on the show. And they're like, why would we want a collective bargaining agreement?

This would be terrible. And I just bring up this one fact. And this is one of many. Why wouldn't we want a collective bargaining agreement that would force third party agents to register so that we can get these shady characters. out of our sport that are preying on the players. That's what I don't think people realize is that in a lot of cases, these players are dealing with people that do not have their best interest in mind

and are taking things in perpetuity as far as earnings go and entering into agreements that are not advantageous for the player or the player's family for the future. That's one of a litany of different things that would improve if we could get to a CBA and actually collectively bargain with the players. Yeah, I agree. And right, there's levels to this, right? There's levels to jobs and coaches and ADs and agents.

You know, a lot of times the agent that could get your guy when he's being projected as a six or fifth round draft choice, that guy comes back to school and ends up being a second or a first round draft choice. He's probably not signing with that agent anymore. There's different types of agents that they're going to have the opportunity to work with. So I think that's a great example of many. I think the biggest thing is making decisions. that in my opinion are hopefully in the best interest of everybody. What's in the best interest of the student athlete?

What's in the best interest of the university, the community, the coaches, so that everybody can understand. Right now, it's hard for people to understand because everybody's kind of working under different rules and parameters. Yeah, and the more centralized those rules can get, the better. The better for everybody. The better for everybody. Those are monumental shifts that you brought up, two of them,

NIL and Transfer Portal, and they're ongoing. And we as an entity, you know, those of us that are in the sport are working through them. There also is a gigantic shift happening in terms of the structure of our sport this fall. Two things. One, obviously, expansion to a 12-team playoff. And the Big Ten expanding all the way out west and becoming one of two, let's face it, super conferences that we have, a mega-conference in college football. Now, coach, this is me talking here.

I believe that Penn State is in a position to benefit maybe more than anybody else from those two things that are happening in college football. And the reason that I say that is that if you just take a quick snapshot of the recent past, eight years, 10 years, you'll see that no team in America would have made more playoffs than Penn State. if it would have been 12 teams versus four of the teams that did not get in. You're also in a division that was incredibly lopsided and in a conference that we all knew all the strength was in the east with the three relevant brands and programs that could actually win a Big Ten championship and yet they were stuck in one division. So now you're not going to have divisions in the Big Ten and you've got a 12-team playoff. that's why I say I think Penn State, I think your program is in a position to really flourish in the next few years in particular.

Well, good. I'm glad you're doing that way. Yeah, I agree with you. I mean, obviously, whether it was the year we won the conference championship and didn't get in or years that we had really good years, it's interesting because things have changed so much, right? You go to the Rose Bowl, and the Rose Bowl is not a part of the playoffs anyway, and it doesn't seem like as big of a deal. when we grew up, you go into the Rose Bowl. I mean, you just had a phenomenal year. So I think it's going to be good for college football. You could make the argument in some ways, and I'm not trying to go down this path, but the more teams we could have into better, because I do worry about the bowls and the teams that don't get into the playoffs. Is that going to be even more

challenging than what it's been in terms of opt-outs and things like that? But yeah, I think we're very aware of kind of where we're at. I'm still getting comfortable with the whole eye. idea that we have, you know, packed 12 teams, you know, in the Big Ten. Well, now they're just Big Ten teams. I know. It's, it's, I'm still working through it. Like, we're out here and welcoming them. How come when Maryland and Ruckers joined the league, we didn't go to Atlantic City, New Jersey?

You didn't go to the Boardwalk? Yeah, we didn't do that. So I'm not totally sure about that. But I do think once this thing settles, which I think it's, it's starting to do that, I do think it's going to make for really exciting football, really great games that are going be captivating. We're about to play arguably, you know, maybe one of the most exciting schedules that Penn State's ever played before when you talk about regular seasons. So I think there's a lot of things to be excited about. And I think we have to be careful as college football,

coaches, ADs, analysts, fans that you focus on the things you struggle with rather than the positive because there are a lot of positives. I totally agree with that. I think that in a lot of ways, and I've said it on this show countless times, we're on the precipice of a real golden age of the sport, at least, I believe. You brought up something, this definition of success. I've been pounding the table for this. I actually have made the argument. I think that the four-team playoff in a lot of ways was a detraction from the sport

because it minimized the number of programs that could define themselves as successful. You could no longer go to the Rose Bowl and say that was a great year if it wasn't in the playoff. And you weren't one of these four teams. So in a lot of ways, the expansion is important. Penn State, you would have been in six of the last eight playoffs if it was a 12-team format versus the four-team format. Just from a definition of success and a perception standpoint,

how do you think that would have changed where you're sitting and the perception of you, your program as it stands? Yeah, dramatically. Let's be honest, dramatically, because programs like Penn State And however many there are out there, the playoffs made things even more challenging because now the definition to your point has shifted. It was playoffs or bust, which also makes some of those games challenging when literally your players are being told by the fans in the media that you have one loss. The season's almost over in some ways. So I think it's really long term going to be really good for college football.

know it's going to be good for Penn State. And I also think it's going to create some, you know, fantastic matchups in the playoffs. I agree. So I think there's going to be some unique games and unique opportunities that are presented. To that point, I keep thinking about, you know, these years where you guys were just outside of the four, well, now, that position would be a host of a playoff game. And I keep thinking about Beaver Stadium in December, bring any. in the country. I don't care who it is. Bring anybody into that environment. I've been to that stadium. I just ranked your environment the number one most difficult environment in the Big Ten. I strongly

believe that. It's loud. I talk with opposing coaches that have to go in there with excellent teams and they are nervous about playing your squad in your building. And I keep thinking about this idea of Penn State hosting a playoff game and I'm like, man, that would be incredible. It's funny you say that because I'm sitting at lunch just a minute ago and all the coaches. Have you selected your whiteout game yet? Because nobody wants to get selected as the whiteout game, which I get. Obviously, in a perfect world for us, we'd love that to be a night game, just, you know, those white jerseys and the night sky. You don't want to see me because that means we're kicking at noon.

It's challenging. It's challenging. So that's taking a lot of time and strategy. But, yeah, I think your point is a great one. you know, you're going to have some teams that are going to get buys based on the rankings. Then you're going to have the next highest ranked teams for a home playoff team. And if you're a Northeast team, there's a huge advantage. No different than a few years ago, I was worried about going to Auburn to open the season.

That's exactly right. Like that's not a great environment for Penn State. That's not a great climate for Penn State at that time of year. It's just hard to prepare for that. We got that big old stadium with all the exposed pipes. That's one of the reasons why we're doing some of the, enhancements to the stadium right now because literally that stadium can't really support itself in certain times a year in terms of all the exposed pipes and things like that. So I think it would be

fantastic. There's a lot of things that we're still working through in terms of these playoffs are not like bowl games like we're used to. It's like an away game. Well, if you're traveling across the country and you have to practice there, where are you going to practice? There's some logistics that still have to get worked out. But I could not be more excited about the opportunity to, first of all, have a buy. But if not, a home game at Beaver Stadium would be phenomenal. The structure moving forward, I think in 26 and beyond, if you win your conference, get a buy, you should also host a play. I think the second round should be hosted on campus as well.

I'm a fan of campus football because I come to these games and stadiums and environments, and I see not only the advantage that it gives the home team, but also the job. joy that it brings the fans, you know, to root for their team in their building. Well, the bars and the restaurants and the hotels and State College, Pennsylvania would agree with you. Exactly. And that shouldn't be minimized, by the way, the economic impact that those games could bring to a lot of these cities. Which some of those things, again, I think, would help with the fans and the fan base and the community getting their arms around the understanding of how college football has changed when they're receiving some of the benefit

from it as well. Couldn't agree more. Couldn't agree more. And that's the playoff. We're also Also, like you touched on expanding the Big Ten, have you prepared any differently for what this conference could look like, will look like? And how do you think this is all going to play out in this expanded league? Yeah, we spent a ton of time. You've probably already done this, but if you look at the numbers, East Coast teams flying West, whether it's college or NFL, the win percentage is not very good. West Coast teams flying east is a little bit better. So what can you learn from these NFL teams that have done it? What can you learn from these college teams that have done it in terms of the best way to do it?

Are there some policies that have to change at the university in terms of you'd be amazed. Some of these schools have policies in terms of when you can leave for an away game. The fact that I think we all went through COVID and done online classes, that helps with some of this. But when should you leave if you're playing a West Coast game? You know, hotels, travel, all of us. So we've done a ton of research on that. Gone out and done all the site visits as well. And then that also goes back to the playoff question as well.

Practice sites and things like that. If we're going to play on the West Coast, we play USC this year, you know, do we need to go out early enough two days in advance, adjust to the time zone, adjust to the weather, but then you need a practice site? So we've done a lot of research. but I think it's like anything else until you actually do it, that's when you're going to have a better idea of what works and what doesn't. It's tough to adjust to this weather, though,

isn't it, right? Very similar setting than Scranton, Pennsylvania and Happy Valley and Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Very, very similar. I love it. Very similar. I appreciate your time. I really love chatting with you about your team, specifically, but also the sport

and just the thoughtfulness as we walk through everything we're going through. in college football. So I appreciate your time. Appreciate you, a big fan. You got it.