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In two-plus years, we’ve learned that Franklin is an excellent representative of Penn State and has strong recruiting, leadership and communication skills.
There are far more questions about his coaching ability, but even that’s not entirely fair because he’s less than halfway through his first contract after inheriting a depleted roster and a lingering cloud over the program.
So regardless of how he managed or mismanaged Christian Hackenberg, it’s not fair to fully judge Franklin’s body of work on the field on this small of a sample size.
What he says behind a microphone and how he handles himself off the field?
That’s a different story, something he can be judged on, and other than beating the drums too loudly with his hiring-day catch phrases like “dominate the state” and #107K, Franklin has almost always said the right thing.
That’s why his role in the Penn State related storyline out of Chicago earlier this week – after he allegedly accused rival Big Ten schools of telling Nittany Lion recruits that further NCAA sanctions could await – was surprising.
Franklin and athletic director Sandy Barbour both expressed frustration with teams stretching the truth to gain a recruiting edge.
Though negative recruiting has taken place forever, for Big Ten schools – supposed allies, though rivals, too – to dip to the Sandusky factor and make up lies about the Lions facing more double-secret probation is indeed low.
Barbour didn’t name names, but in a June interview with the Reading Eagle, Franklin did – specifically mentioning Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State and Notre Dame.
When Urban Meyer and Mark Dantonio were asked about it this week, the Buckeye and Spartan bosses denied it.
So, too, did Franklin, saying his comments were taken out of context.
After meeting with Franklin, Meyer dismissed the issue, and accused the writer, Rich Scarcella, of “creating” what he called a non-story.
Just as these coaches are suddenly talking in lockstep, I have no problem siding with the media here.
Scarcella may be the most respected member of the Penn State beat; he’s certainly one of them, having fairly and thoroughly covered the program for 35-plus years.
He didn’t make anything up. Read the interview at readingeagle.com. Scarcella printed what was said. End of story.
In fact, Franklin’s allegation came in response to the general question, “Where do you see the program in 2018?”
Obviously this has been on Franklin’s mind and, just as obviously, he and Barbour – instead of dealing with it internally within the Big Ten – had no problem getting it out before the conference’s media days.
Which they did, and while they may have raised awareness in the Big Ten offices, the bottom line on this one is Franklin tripped over himself, it backfired, and now he’s in damage-control mode.
It’s not the biggest mistake Franklin will make, and he’ll learn from it. But it doesn’t make the rebuilding road easier.
For one thing, few outside of Pennsylvania have sympathy for Penn State, and the Lions have enough going against them that there’s no reason to stoke opponents who are already superior. The likes of Ohio State, Michigan and Michigan State don’t need more motivation.
Is it fair that schools resort to cheap tactics? Of course not.
There’s only one way to silence it: Beat them, and since the Nittany Lions are likely a year away from moving into the upper tier of the Big Ten’s East Division, there are times when you just have to bite your tongue.