Penn State's 16th head coach is on the ground in State College.
Now, with the sudden departure of Bill O'Brien, the 2013-14 Penn State football recruiting class is facing similar adversity. Keeping the recruiting class in tact is always one of the most important challenges with head coaching turnovers, especially with a class as good as the one O'Brien assembled for 2014. While some of the players have remained quiet, many of the 19 incoming players are sticking behind the school during its latest ordeal.
Most of Penn State's new staff is likely to be made up of Franklin's assistants from Vanderbilt, with a few unpredictable outside additions as well. For now, let's take a look at the coaches that helped Franklin turn Vanderbilt from a perpetual SEC bottom feeder to a respectable 24-15 in the last three seasons, many of whom are likely to be on the Beaver Stadium sidelines next season.
So, yes, a terrible incident did happen at Vanderbilt last year when Franklin was the coach, and now that he's our coach, it's worth knowing about. But rather than write some slipshod column based on half-truths and conjecture, let's focus on the facts of the matter and what is known.
Much will be said about James Franklin's hiring as Penn State's 16th head coach. One thing that isn't debatable is Franklin's charisma and positive attitude. Here are only five examples of Penn State's new coach being awesome.
I feel bad for Vanderbilt. I really and truly do. The betrayal we felt two weeks ago when Bill O'Brien abandoned us for the Texans is the same sort of betrayal I imagine Commodores are feeling in Nashville right now.