Watch Penn State head coach James Franklin's Feb. 2 press conference
Penn State head coach James Franklin met with the media Wednesday to discuss a variety of topics in his first press conference since the Outback Bowl.
With today being National Signing Day, recruiting was of course a popular topic. However, there’s been plenty of other news to discuss since the end of Penn State’s 2021 football season.
Franklin was asked about the news concerning former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores and his lawsuit to open the press conference. Specifically, he was asked how he can help improve the ratio of minority coaches in college football. Franklin was also asked about former defensive end Bryce Mostella, who’s no longer with the Penn State football program but had some interesting tweets over the weekend about his mental health.
Link: James Franklin says that defensive end Bryce Mostella ‘not currently enrolled’
Franklin then switched to the recruiting calendar, specifically the transfer portal. He suggested that Penn State’s admissions process needs to improve if his staff are going to maximize their potential.
“I think it’s a really good example of how much college football has changed dramatically over the past five years, and specifically the last two years,” Franklin said. “I think it’s a really good example of your need to be flexible as a football program. You’re gonna need to be flexible as an athletic department and as a university to make sure you are positioning your program and your school in the best position you can to take advantage of these rules.
Link: Penn State lands Vega Ioane on National Signing day
“I think a really good example is that our spring semester starts earlier than most. When guys are looking to get into the transfer portal and be somewhere for spring ball, we can’t use the normal admissions process that’s always existed to get a guy in. There’s gonna have to be some flexibility. There was a fairly prominent school that just got some guys on their campus and on their class, and they have a similar academic schedule that we have, and they were able to get guys into school.
“I just think it’s something that not only the NCAA and Big Ten have to look at, but these individual institutions and say, ‘these are the new rules, these are the new realities, and are we willing and what do we need to do to position our program in the best light to take advantage of these things.’ Flexibility is probably as important as it’s ever been.”
Penn State fans can watch Franklin’s complete press conference above.
