UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Here we go again with the promise to be elite, only this time it's not James Franklin making the vow.
In all honesty, listening to new athletic director Pat Kraft promise it -- knowing he will be extremely influential in doing everything it takes behind the scenes to make it happen -- there's actually good reason to believe that, yeah, maybe Penn State can become an elite program.
Kraft was asked a question during Friday's Rose Bowl media day about his impressions of Franklin after being embedded with the team for much of the season.
Twice, Kraft said the word elite.
"James is an elite recruiter," the AD said. "I think he is a good man."
After telling a brief story about how Franklin takes the time to focus on his family as well as football, Kraft came back around to football and made this gigantic, enormous, whopper of a statement:
"Why I know we're going to be elite, and we're going to win a national championship and we're going to be great is because I believe he does everything the right way with those young men."
Now look, promising to become elite and winning a national title is one thing. Actually doing those things takes ... well, it takes an unbelievable commitment on everybody's part, it takes an incredible amount of skill in the program -- on and off the field -- and it takes some luck.
When Franklin made his infamous promise to become elite following a loss to Ohio State in 2018, it's probably safe to say that, no, Penn State was not doing absolutely everything it could in every single aspect to achieve the coach's goal of becoming elite.
And of course, Franklin has reminded us of that many times over the past couple years, in every single comment he's made about the 365-day commitment it takes from everybody involved to achieve the highest goals.
Hey, he's got that from Kraft, who is a football guy through and through, and one who also understands the business aspect of all this stuff.
"You've got to be able to go put your money where your mouth is," Kraft said. "If you are committed to go winning a national championship -- and I am in everything -- then we have to be able to do it and find the resources."
So, what we have here now is this: The AD loves the coach -- that's obvious with the way Kraft lights up when talking about Franklin -- and now the coach seemingly has the right person in the AD spot and other university leadership positions who can do all the things Penn State needs in order to reach the elite level.
That's not meant to be a knock on former AD Sandy Barbour. From all accounts, she worked hard behind the scenes to do all she could for Franklin and the program, up to and including giving him a new 10-year contract worth $85 million.
But there's something about Kraft that is distinctly different. And no, it's not about just having a man in the AD spot. What's different here is that Kraft was a football player, he's been in and around football his whole life, he has an incredible energy and passion about him that is infectious, and it's probably safe to say that his football background gives him an advantage when it comes to talking to boosters and other hard-core football fans and convincing them to help provide all the resources they can in order to help the program become elite.
When Franklin was asked to discuss what he has learned about Kraft so far, the coach actually started off his answer by praising the school's new president, Dr. Neeli Bendapudi.
"She spoke at the football banquet last Sunday, and she crushed it," Franklin said. "She's just so positive, so energetic. She just had the whole room kind of eating out of her hand.
"Pat is the same way. They love what they do. You never know when you take a new job, right? You take a new job, you don't know what it's going to be like. I think both of them are very, very happy at Penn State, being in Happy Valley."
Later on, Franklin said this about Kraft:
"He is passionate about Penn State, Penn State athletics, all the sports. I think he's going to have a strong voice. I think he's going to be vocal from a Big Ten perspective in terms of representing our school. I think you're going to see it on a national level, as well."
OK, so Kraft is going to be the loudest cheerleader and one with a whole lot of influence when it comes to giving Franklin all he needs to succeed.
That's all well and good, but there's still the actual football aspect of becoming elite. In that regard, with a 10-2 season and Rose Bowl berth, plus a roster that looks very, very good for the coming years, there's no denying that Penn State has a whole lot of momentum right now.
Whether he's talking to high school recruits, college guys in the transfer portal, the media, school officials or anybody else, Franklin has a whole lot of positive things to discuss right now. And the way everyone on the outside views the Nittany Lion program is certainly light years better than after the past two seasons, when Penn State went 4-5 and 7-6.
I asked Franklin if he has noticed any tangibles with the way people are talking about Penn State in a much better light.
"I think nationally you feel it a little bit more," he said. "When you're out traveling, talking to old-school football coaches, things like that, I think yes.
"Me personally, I would say I think this is kind of who really we've been. Obviously the last two years, I know everybody dealt with COVID, I think COVID affected us. But this is really who we've been. So, it's been my expectation and our expectation and our players' expectation.
"But I feel it out on the road recruiting. High school coaches, they respect not only the record but how our team has played. You hear it from other coaches, college coaches, NFL coaches, whatever it may be. You feel it on the road. It's obviously different conversations and things like that are going on."
Whether all of this will continue to add up and make Penn State elite or a national championship caliber program remains to be seen. It is extremely, extremely difficult to take the next step from really good to great to elite, as we saw with Penn State the past couple of years.
But with the College Football Playoff expanding to 12 teams in 2024, the definition of elite is going to change and expand, in all likelihood, to include the programs that are perennial playoff participants. And Penn State definitely should be one of those, given how easy it would seem to be for the Lions to finish in the top 12.
Can they go from finishing in the top 12 all the time to the ultimate goal of winning a national championship? Well, Kraft made that vow Friday, and he's going to be held to that standard until it happens, just as Franklin has been held to a higher standard ever since he made his "elite" promise four years ago.