INDIANAPOLIS -- Like Bubba Chandler, Lonnie White, Jr. has a decision to make: play professional baseball or go to college and play football and baseball at Penn State.
That decision has yet to be made according to Penn State head coach James Franklin, who spoke to members of the media at Big Ten Media Day Thursday afternoon.
"A few days ago I thought it was a done deal," Franklin said. " I just got a text message that it changed in a new direction."
Whatever direction that may be wasn't disclosed, but White has a multitude of leverage with whatever decision he comes to. Should he sign with the Pirates, he will make over seven figures, though, once he reports to the minor leagues the money he will make will pale in comparison to the signing bonus.
If he were to fulfill his commitment with the Nittany Lions, he would have the opportunity to make money, albeit not as much through the recently passed name, image and likeness legislation. White would also be able to strap on shoulder pads and play in front of 107,000 fans at Beaver Stadium.
Franklin has a close relationship with White and his family as Franklin went to East Stroudsburg University with White's parents and recently hosted them on campus for an official visit.
"I just got a text message from his mom. I think you guys know I went to college with mom and dad so I got a really good relationship with them." Franklin said. "They came up a few weeks ago which was great. It was really strange. I forget all the time, but they've never been in the building. So having them come up and sit down and talk. I thought was really important, had a really good conversation with them whenever they were on campus. And then we've been talking a lot since."
Throughout his tenure, Franklin has preached a family atmosphere at Penn State and even with the decision of White looming, it's still the same from Franklin.
"I just want Lonnie to be successful and I want Lonnie to be happy. And if that means Penn State and playing football and baseball and hopefully get his degree from Penn State play in the NFL and possibly Major League Baseball then awesome," Franklin said. "If that means him going to play baseball right now and chasing that dream. I just want him to have all the information and be able to make an educated decision, and then go from there."
It's a great situation to be in for White and his family as they exhaust their options and look to make a final decision. This type of situation isn't something many are familiar with especially Franklin although, a dual-commit in baseball and football has been done before with former Penn State wide receiver Mac Hippenhammer.
"I've never been in this position before, so does the leverage of having Penn State football as an option, does that help you? Does it hurt you? Because some of these guys that he's competing against, they have no other option, right?" Franklin said. "He's got a pretty attractive situation, being on full scholarship with the way I understand with baseball that isn't necessarily the case."
Full-rides in baseball are extremely rare as much of the scholarship pool is split among those on the roster and many players are able to earn academic scholarships to help offset the difference. Financially speaking, the money from the signing-bonus is slotted at $1.05 million though it should go pretty significantly beyond that.
"It's still a lot of money, don't get me wrong, and I don't want to understate that, but when you also understand that they're not really getting paid by the clubs that are living off of that, during their entire journey, and paying for their own development," Franklin said. "And if they want to be great and they want to be special, then they better be investing a large percentage of that money. It's interesting. I've learned a lot going through this process."
The athletic scholarships doled out go far beyond just education with the support and amenities players get as student-athletes. Those benefits alone are worth thousands of dollars in the long run.
"A lot of these kids are going to play college baseball or going to go into a university because now all of your training and development is paid for by the university," Franklin said. "You think about all the people that are helping this young man develop that, hopefully three years down the road, he's in a better position to capitalize on this for his family."
There's still a lot for White and his family to process as they near their final decision, a decision that they can take their time on according to Franklin.
"Hopefully, we'll know here soon. He essentially has up till training camp, we probably could push it all the way up till the start of school. But there is some flexibility there for him. And for us," Franklin said. " At the end of the day, I just I want the kid and the family to be happy and make the right decision."
That decision while for Penn State is needed by training camp, it's needed by August 1 by the MLB. No matter what decision White makes, it's a win-win for all involved. The Pirates get one of their guys or Penn State gets one of theirs, but it's far from a bad thing for the program should White go pro.
"I think it's it's a tremendous compliment to the university. I think it's a tremendous compliment to the family. It's hard," Franklin said. "They're saying, 'let's not make the best decision for next year. Let's make the best decision for our son's future long term.' So I think they're approaching it the right way."
