PCAR Vice President of Public Relations Kristen Houser said in an interview with PennLive that the June 2013 incident, in which four Vanderbilt players are alleged to have raped a Vanderbilt student while she was unconscious in a dorm, should not be held against Franklin. While the players were immediately kicked off the team, a Buzzfeed article from September, which cites an anonymous source, alleges that Franklin instructed a player to delete footage of the incident from his phone — a claim Franklin denies.
Penn State was able to erase an early 2-0 deficit, but couldn't hold off the no. 1 Minnesota Gophers after Ben Marshall scored with four minutes left to give the Gophers the 3-2 victory in the first Big Ten game at Pegula. Penn State is now 4-11-1 on the year.
James Franklin will reportedly bring a bevy of people from his staff at Vanderbilt to Happy Valley: defensive coordinator/safeties Bob Shoop, chief-of-staff Jemal Griffin, assistant coach/co-defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Brent Pry, director of performance enhancement Dwight Galt, offensive recruiting coordinator/wide receivers coach Josh Gattis, and special teams coordinator/tight ends coach Charles Bankins.
It was 22 days since Penn State's last deal meet, but it was clear the team didn't miss a beat. The Nittany Lion wrestlers defeated Purdue 34-3 in Rec Hall Sunday afternoon, dropping only one bout to the Boilermakers. David Taylor added his 47th career pin, and four Nittany Lions had major decisions.