Whatever your opinion towards James Franklin’s firing is, nothing changes the fact that the key people affected by it are the players themselves.

Terry Smith outlined at his press conference that he and every single other person currently in the Lasch Building are there because of Franklin. Franklin came in and built up what he thought was the best staff possible to pursue a national championship, and his heart was always with his players.

Whatever he lacked as a coach or great football mind, Franklin made up for with his recruiting talents. Franklin knew how to get players on the team. He knew how to talk to them, knew how to portray the program to players’ families, and knew how to make players want to represent Penn State on the biggest stages in college football.

To see Franklin go has torn the players’ hearts. While they understand they have to move forward and focus on Iowa, there’s no denying that the Lasch Building will be an emotional place for the remainder of 2025. Franklin was the glue and the reason everybody in there got up and went to work every day.

Now, that time is over. The players are still working through their emotions and life without Franklin, but it’s difficult to close that chapter of Penn State football with so many deep ties to the former head coach all throughout the team.

“Coach Franklin was one of the only coaches to believe in me and give me an opportunity to play at my dream school and to chase my dreams of playing at Penn State,” linebacker Dom DeLuca said Tuesday. “It’s a very emotional time right now, and just trying to keep everything 1-0 and going about the week and just keeping sure everyone stays together.”

DeLuca committed to Penn State in March 2020 as a preferred walk-on. He played quarterback and safety in high school. It’s been a long journey for him through his recruitment days and through injuries, but DeLuca played his way to a team captain role and a starting linebacker spot as Penn State reached the College Football Playoff semifinal in the 2024 season. Franklin was there for all of it.

“I had no idea what I was going to do after high school. After tearing my ACL in my state championship game, called him crying. Don’t know what I was going to do. Was I going to go to the military? Was I going to go to JUCO? Was I going to go to trade school? I had no idea,” DeLuca said. “He pretty much told me he had a plan for me, and was able to settle me down, get my head straight, and be able to tell me what we’re going to do and how we’re going to go about it.”

DeLuca said he’s talked a lot with family and friends about Franklin’s firing to manage his emotions. He emphasized that Franklin always treated DeLuca’s family like his own and that he serves as a role model for everyone close to DeLuca. The redshirt senior linebacker will always carry Franklin’s teachings and mentorship with him.

“I’d definitely say his core values are the huge, huge thing for me. Just to be able to have that positive attitude, great work ethic, compete in everything you do, must be willing to sacrifice,” DeLuca said. “It’s a great way to just go about life and preparation and everything you need to do to be successful, and I’m definitely going to take that with me for the rest of my life.”

Wide receiver Devonte Ross also spoke on Franklin’s involvement in his recruiting process. While his and DeLuca’s situations coming out of high school were different, as Ross was a three-star recruit signed to Kentucky, Franklin was there for both of them and used his recruiting prowess to get them to Happy Valley. Ross transferred in from Troy ahead of the 2025 season.

“It’s funny, because when I came on my visit, I thought he was such a nice person. I was like, laughing with him and my parents just talking out loud, like this is probably the nicest they’ll ever be to me until I get here,” Ross said. “But he told me, straight up right then and there, ‘this is who I’m going to be every single day. So, I think that just speaks to who he is as a person.”

Ross reiterated that Franklin cared so much for the players. He always wanted to put them in their best position to succeed, and he really made families and recruits feel welcome and painted a vision for the Penn State life. He wasn’t just a coach, but someone who genuinely wanted to spread joy and comfort to his players.

It’s a little bit of a full-circle moment for Ross and his time at Penn State. He got on the Nittany Lions’ radar with an explosive five-catch, 142-yard, and two-touchdown performance against Iowa with Troy in September 2024. He also scored a 77-yard punt-return touchdown. Franklin heavily noted that game as Penn State’s inspiration to go out and snag Ross in the portal. Now, Franklin’s gone before Ross gets to travel back to Iowa City for another date against the Hawkeyes. Yet, Ross won’t forget what Franklin provided him with a move to Penn State.

“I got a lot of love for coach Franklin, man, for giving me the opportunity to be here at Penn State. So, coming from a smaller school and just getting this opportunity to be this stage and play for this school of this magnitude and with great tradition,” Ross said. “So, I think we want to just do a great job focusing on the rest of the season and remember coach Franklin’s legacy and trying to do our best to play our best for him and what he’s done for this school and program and for us as individuals.”