Penn State head coach James Franklin press conference: Video
Penn State head coach James Franklin spoke to the media for just over 20 minutes on Wednesday and touched on several topics fielded by the media. However, the main topics of conversation were NIL and the transfer portal.
Penn State and the competitive NIL market
At one point, towards the end of the press conference, Franklin was what monetary figure Penn State would need annually to stay competitive in college football. The question was about Ohio State head coach Ryan Day saying that his team would need $13 million annually to maintain their roster and prevent poaching from other schools.
While no one referenced Ohio State directly, Franklin was blunt with his response,
“If we want to compete with the schools that you guys all write articles about us competing against, why wouldn’t our number be the same as others?”
When pressed on the topic, and when subsequent questions came up about the size of that number, Franklin responded with intensity about Penn State’s spot in the landscape.
“Who determines the number? If you’re selling your house, do you determine your number? No, you don’t. The market determines the value of your house. So if the number is huge everywhere, then what?”
Demioun Robinson enrolls at Penn State
Another key topic was former high four-star defensive end Demioun Robinson officially enrolling at Penn State this week. He fills a significant need for the Nittany Lions with pass-rushing skills they didn’t have on the roster,
“We have very high expectations, obviously. He [Robinson] played as a true freshman in this conference already, so that helps. There’s still a lot of work to do to transition to a full-time defensive end as well as learn the system and the playbook and all those types of things…but we have really high expectations, but just like everyone else, he’ll get what he earns.”
Franklin mentioned during spring practice that the team needed a player that could push the edge of the pocket, which is what Robinson does as a player. Right now, the only other player with pass-rushing prowess on the roster is fellow defensive end Adisa Isaac. They’ll be joined by true freshman Dani Dennis-Sutton later this summer. That trio will have to find a way to get pressure for Penn State next fall.
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