James Franklin and his staff will once again coach at a high school football camp in non-Big Ten country, likely in an effort to scout and woo out-of-state talent.

According to Hampton Roads.com, the bunch will pair up with Old Dominion’s coaches to host a spring camp in Norfolk, Va. that, per Old Dominion’s Bobby Wilder, will attract dozens of top recruits.

Last year, the Franklin-led group worked at camps in Georgia State and Stetson, schools deep in SEC recruiting hotbeds.

“This is a win for both schools, but I think it’s a bigger win for us,” Wilder is quoted as saying in Hampton Roads. “Penn State’s name will attract a lot of quality players, some four- and five-star kids on campus who’ve never been here before.”

“This will help Penn State. It gives them access to kids who may not be able to travel to State College,” he added. “But it also helps us. Penn State can’t recruit every good football player.”

Hampton Roads reports that this is the brainchild of Penn State director of player personnel Andy Frank, who contacted ODU quarterback coach Ron Whitcomb, who also runs summer camps, expressing interest in hosting a camp in Virginia. Franklin and Whitcomb know each other from Franklin’s Vanderbilt days, and helped set up an ODU-Vandy game played earlier this year.

The news comes a day after Bob Shoop tweeted his commitment to stay with Franklin and Penn State as the team’s defensive coordinator. He was being targeted for the same job at LSU.

Photo: Bobby Chen