A Look At James Franklin’s Hectic Past Two Weeks
James Franklin has held the head coaching job at Penn State for just about two weeks now and he has already made his away not only around the campus, but the entire state. Here’s a list of all the major happenings and announcements from those two weeks:
Jan 11: James Franklin is officially hired as the 16th Penn State head football coach. “Dominate the State” is born. In his first day on the job, he brings in two Vanderbilt recruits: defensive tackle Chance Sorrell and defensive end Lloyd Tubman.
Jan 12: It’s a day of #OneTeam festivities. Franklin spends the day attending various Penn State sporting events including the volleyball team banquet, wrestling match, and the women’s basketball game. He ends the day with his first team meeting.
Jan 13: Franklin begins his first day of work at 4:53 a.m. Several assistants from Vanderbilt join his staff in Happy Valley. Rumors start to swirl that Larry Johnson is leaving Happy Valley. Franklin takes a break much later in the day to attend his first hockey game in Happy Valley. Selfies with Franklin become a thing.
And all in a day’s work, he picks up another recruit, offensive tackle Brendan Brosnan.
Jan 15: Two additional position coaches are identified: Ricky Rahne, quarterbacks, and Josh Gattis, wide receivers. Larry Johnson officially announces that he is leaving Penn State to coach at Ohio State. Christian Hackenberg reiterates that Penn State is where he wants to be.
Jan 16: Franklin pays respect for his time at Vanderbilt and takes out an ad in a Nashville paper thanking the state for its support during his time there. Four-star tackle Thomas Holley flips his commitment from Penn State to Florida. Vanderbilt offensive coordinator John Donovan and defensive line coach Sean Spencer are added to Penn State’s directory.
Jan 17: Franklin continues his recruiting blitz by stopping at Archbishop Wood, Imhotep Charter, La Salle, and St. Joseph’s Prep in an effort to #DominatetheState. He also makes a stop at the Board of Trustees meeting.
Jan 18: First football pump up video for the Franklin Era is released.
Jan 20: Franklin lands two more of his former Vanderbilt recruits, Trace McSorley and Grant Haley. Tight end recruit Mike Gesicki reaffirms his commitment to Penn State on Twitter after a Franklin and Josh Gattis (wide receiver coach) visit to his basketball game in New Jersey over the weekend.
I’m stayin at Penn State no question where I’ll be in June. #WEARE
— G (@mikegesicki) January 20, 2014
Jan 23: Announcement comes that 50 football players earn at least a 3.0 GPA in the Fall 2013 semester. Franklin announces a new signing day event at the BJC on February 5.
Jan 24: Franklin holds a press conference to announce his new coaching staff. Each new coach gets a chance at the podium and makes promising proclamations about the future.
Jan 26: In the late hours of Sunday night, Franklin lands a big commitment from 4-star wide receiver Saeed Blacknall.
With all of this happening in less than two weeks were excited to see what he has in store for the rest of the “off season.”
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