James Franklin Appreciation Thread

pumpdog20

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Some Irish Bloke said:
I'm so curious why recruits would flock to Franklin, specifically. He was so weird and cringy at the Orange Bowl presser and he doesn't win the big games. He must be one helluva used car salesman.
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IDK, big games aside, he seems like a genuine dude that I can see recruits bonding to.
 
FOTY977

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NDMatt91 said:
Tom Lemming said he puts a lot of effort into recruiting and is good at building relationships. When Kelly was the HC, he said PSU would win a lot of recruiting battles against ND because Franklin would be the one that would be talking to the recruits or showing up at the schools, whereas Kelly would have the position coach or area recruiter do all of the heavy lifting.
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Also sounds like he’s not completely full of crap caring about people, stories of him writing letters of rec for players applying for jobs, etc.
 
Dale

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Some Irish Bloke said:
I'm so curious why recruits would flock to Franklin, specifically. He was so weird and cringy at the Orange Bowl presser and he doesn't win the big games. He must be one helluva used car salesman.
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Franklin has always been a dogged recruiter. But it’s also all the off field staff is heading to Blacksburg and I would guess at least a few position coaches
 
Jiggafini19Deux

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Virginia has a pretty solid history of scholastic football talent. There is probably some potential there even in this era like what we saw under Beamer from 1995-2011. It wasn't just those Vick years. I'd forgotten how good of a run they had. A lot of double digit win seasons. I'm sure he can dip into those VA areas that still produce ballers and go back to PA as well.

3 of the top ten recruits in the 2026 Virginia class are committed to Michigan. Disgusting. The only five star is an interior OL committed to South Carolina. There is an opportunity there for sure. Dig into Hampton, Newport News, Richmond, Chesapeake, etc. There is talent.

I've never doubted Franklin's recruiting prowess as a head coach, and you can't count out what he did at Vanderbilt prior to Penn State. He dragged PSU out of a horrific situation when that school institutionally failed on multiple, horrendous levels.

He's going to be judged right out of the gate on how he does in the big moments.
 
PolishDomer

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I have a funny story...flew into Philly today for my company's Holiday party and had an amazing conversation with my Uber driver.
He used to coach football at St Joes Prep and we talked ball on the way from the airport to my hotel. He said ND got screwed and deserved to be in.

He was a Penn State fan and he was pissed about them firing Franklin. I said I was surprised as well and he said it was personal to him, as James was a friend of his. He called Franklin up in the car and my jaw dropped as they started talking, about recruits and VT. The uber driver AL stated he had a ND grad in the car and I heard Franklin sigh...lol...I said Good luck at VT and tear up the ACC for me...he laughed and he said no problem...lol...

One of the most memorable Uber rides i ever had lol
 
tussin

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PolishDomer said:
I have a funny story...flew into Philly today for my company's Holiday party and had an amazing conversation with my Uber driver.
He used to coach football at St Joes Prep and we talked ball on the way from the airport to my hotel. He said ND got screwed and deserved to be in.

He was a Penn State fan and he was pissed about them firing Franklin. I said I was surprised as well and he said it was personal to him, as James was a friend of his. He called Franklin up in the car and my jaw dropped as they started talking, about recruits and VT. The uber driver AL stated he had a ND grad in the car and I heard Franklin sigh...lol...I said Good luck at VT and tear up the ACC for me...he laughed and he said no problem...lol...

One of the most memorable Uber rides i ever had lol
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That's a wild story. We can all rag on Franklin for days but it does go to show what a good recruiter that guy is.

Also, as a side note, SJP is not a big fan of Franklin or PSU right now.
 
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PolishDomer said:
I have a funny story...flew into Philly today for my company's Holiday party and had an amazing conversation with my Uber driver.
He used to coach football at St Joes Prep and we talked ball on the way from the airport to my hotel. He said ND got screwed and deserved to be in.

He was a Penn State fan and he was pissed about them firing Franklin. I said I was surprised as well and he said it was personal to him, as James was a friend of his. He called Franklin up in the car and my jaw dropped as they started talking, about recruits and VT. The uber driver AL stated he had a ND grad in the car and I heard Franklin sigh...lol...I said Good luck at VT and tear up the ACC for me...he laughed and he said no problem...lol...

One of the most memorable Uber rides i ever had lol
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That’s pretty hilarious PD
 
Irish du Nord

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tussin said:
That's a wild story. We can all rag on Franklin for days but it does go to show what a good recruiter that guy is.

Also, as a side note, SJP is not a big fan of Franklin or PSU right now.
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What burned the bridge? Didn't they have a guy go there in the '25 class?
 
tussin

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Irish du Nord said:
What burned the bridge? Didn't they have a guy go there in the '25 class?
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Things may have cooled down a bit but Franklin big-timed the SJP staff a few times and also had a situation in the 2023/24 class where they pulled a scholarship from a SJP commit for a better prospect.
 
TNUtoNotreDame

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JMU lost their coach and a bunch of players... I think they will be pretty average next year.
 
Irish#1

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Anyone know if the tweet about Franklin interviewing for the Steelers job is real or fantasy?
 
ulukinatme

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Irish#1 said:
Anyone know if the tweet about Franklin interviewing for the Steelers job is real or fantasy?
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Someone will end up getting that job, the Show Must Go On. It's hard to believe we've got yet another NFL job opening as Another One Bites the Dust. The Steelers must really be Under Pressure to have success. The coaching carousel can be ruthless, you have to really Play the Game or you'll be the next Hammer to Fall.
 
Jiggafini19Deux

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JF hired former Wake Forest OC Warren Ruggiero as an analyst. Ruggiero was in an analyst role last season at Iowa.
 
Rockin’Irish

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ulukinatme said:
Someone will end up getting that job, the Show Must Go On. It's hard to believe we've got yet another NFL job opening as Another One Bites the Dust. The Steelers must really be Under Pressure to have success. The coaching carousel can be ruthless, you have to really Play the Game or you'll be the next Hammer to Fall.
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I’m sure the Steelers will be united with One Vision.
 
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Franklin fits the Tomlin mold over the last 15 yrs. Win enough reg season games to keep your job then lose when it matters in the playoffs.
 
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