ALTOONA, Pa. -- Penn State has the No. 3 recruiting class in the country right now, and it's that class that has Nittany Lion fans extremely optimistic about the future of the program.
But there's also a lot of consternation about the recruiting class because of the uncertainty surrounding James Franklin's future.
If Franklin stays, the recruiting class likely remains mostly intact, and the Lions finish with a national recruiting ranking in the 5-7 range.
But if Franklin goes to USC or LSU, there's a lot of concern -- panic even -- about the class falling apart. Because if that were to happen, it could set the program back in a big way for multiple years.
Here are two questions for Penn State fans to ponder:
1. Do you want Franklin to stay because you think he's the best coach for the program? Or ...
2. Do you want Franklin to stay because you don't want the recruiting class to fall apart?
Following is part of a lengthy, wide-ranging and informative roundtable discussion between me, Jarrod Prugar of DK Pittsburgh Sports and Joe Lodanosky from the Pennsylvania Sports Network about Penn State recruiting and how it might be affected by whatever happens with Franklin and potential subsequent moves.
We've broken out some key elements of the discussion, and you can hear the entire thing in our podcast below.
Q: Do you think Penn State fans want Franklin to stay because of his coaching or because of the recruiting class?
Lodanosky: "Well, I think all those things can be true, right. I think that the affinity for James Franklin stems from the fact that he's fared so well on the recruiting trail. And let's be honest, we're not that far removed from having our hearts broken by Justin Fields. I think the the latest clamor over Drew Allar certainly added to that.
"But at the end of the day ... you can go back and look at the recruiting classes from the last however many years, it is not coincidence that the playoff rankings, three years later, often reflect that. Alabama, I'm sure Nick Saban is the greatest coach of all time. But he's also had the greatest run of recruiting all time."
Prugar: "He's never going to be the guy that lights the world on fire on game days. I don't think that's his MO. He is the CEO, and that's perfectly fine. I think that's the way things are going -- you put things in the hands of your coordinators, and they live up to it. ... Who are you going to get that's better? I know we've talked about (Luke) Fickell and whether he'd be a good fit at Penn State, or even Matt Rhule, who I think would be the dream candidate or the dream hire if you're going to go in another direction. Should Franklin leave, it's who are you going to get that's better because you're in this five to 15 range, is there going to be that good type of caliber a coach?
Q: How concerned should Penn State fans be about the recruiting class with four games to go in the season and all the Franklin uncertainty?
Prugar: "I think the biggest thing is, who's committed to the school and who's committed to the coach? That's one of the biggest things that you have to look at in the scope of college athletics, because how many people are committing to a school because of James Franklin, and how many are committing to that because of Pennsylvania State University? And I think that's a big factor in, obviously, the academics at Penn State. ... These kids are there to go to school, as well, and the Penn State education is a little bit different.
"Att the same time, how many of those kids commit to just Franklin and his staff? You bring Drew Allar in and, hey, it's a Mike Yurcich guy, or you bring in one of these guys and it's a Ja'Juan Seider guy or a Taylor Stubblefield guy. ... That's something to be concerned about, depending on who goes where."
Q: If Franklin leaves, and Yurcich leaves, as well, does Drew Allar come to Penn State?
Lodanosky: "Probably not. I mean, that's the (concern). So here's the deal, OK, because 98 percent of us that speak to this have no idea as to what we're talking about, because we've never been there. I got news for you, Micah Parsons didn't go to Penn State because of the education. ... The guys that go to Duke and Kentucky (for basketball) aren't going there for the the Econ program. They're going there to get to the league. And I think that's the element of this that a lot of us can't really grasp."
Q: Is Franklin really interested in leaving for the right opportunity, or is all of this about just getting more money and resources out of Penn State?
Prugar: "Opportunities have to be there, but I do think a lot of this is really just trying to set Penn State up, whether it's with assistant money. I think you can empty the Brinks truck for Brent Pry and the job that he's done recently. You want to keep Yurcich, and you want to keep those guys and keep your staff intact. And the way to do that, when they're successful, is to pay the money. Now, Penn State really hasn't been successful over the last two years. You can say what you want about last year -- I mean, COVID whatever. -- but Penn State needs serious upgrades, and they're doing that to the Lasch Building.
"Let's be real, Beaver Stadium is not the most pleasant stadium, but it's an incredible atmosphere inside the stadium. But to drive up to the stadium, it doesn't look nearly as good as, say, an Ohio State or a Big House. So, you have to put the money into the program."
Giger: "I think James Franklin wants to win a national championship, and whether this ticks off Penn State fans or not, USC has a better chance to win a national championship than Penn State. I honestly believe that 100 percent. I think this notion that James is just doing this for more (money), he makes $6 million dollars a year, he went 4-5 last year. ... He has no leverage. He's 1-7 against Ohio State, and that came on a miracle play. To me, I'm sick of this notion that James Franklin can hold Penn State hostage every two years because somebody else comes along."
There's MUCH more to check out regarding this discussion in our podcast here:
