With the return of Penn State football, one question rests on the minds of those within the program and those on the outside.
Will Micah Parsons return?
"Yeah, you always keep the door open," James Franklin said on a Zoom call Friday. "But there's obviously a big difference between somebody that opted out a week ago compared to someone who opted out several weeks ago. "We'll see how it all plays out, but it makes it more complicated the longer they've been gone. But I also know that Micah probably wouldn't be in this situation if it wasn't for the circumstances we're under."
Those complications come in large part because the 2020 preseason All-America linebacker made the decision last month to opt out of the 2020 football season, which would've been his junior season, due to the coronavirus and having a young son. Additionally, he's a possible first-round pick in the 2021NFL Draft.
Parsons himself seems to know he has a few hefty decisions to make in the next few days.
At this age I never seen so many hard decisions I’ve been faced with!
— Micah Parsons (@MicahhParsons11) September 17, 2020
Following his initial decision, he signed with representatives from Athletes First, which under normal circumstances would render him unavailable to come back to Penn State. It is unclear whether he's accepted anything financially so far.
The star from Harrisburg has also started a Cameo page where users can pay to have him reach out and say something to them. Signing an agent and making money off your own name are big no-nos in the NCAA.
"I don't think that anybody, the NCAA, the Big Ten, Penn State specifically, can just kind of put this back into the same box that it's always been in, because nothing right now is like it's always been,” Franklin said. “So we'll see. As you know, I'm a positive guy so I'm going to try to see if there's a way we can work it out and get him back here if it's in everybody's best interest, most importantly Micah’s.”
The door hasn't yet closed on the possibility of Parsons suiting up for the Nittany Lions once again, but it's not going to be easy to get him back into the No. 11 jersey he once adorned. The NCAA is also known for having a multitude of loopholes throughout their rules and regulations which are sure to be tested by not only Penn State but also many throughout the country.
Franklin has a season to focus on, and his own players to take care of and coach up, but this is far from over.
"I think you'd like to say okay who's in is in,” Franklin said. “But I just don't know if it's going to be that clean. We're just going to have to be flexible and make the best of it we possibly can.”