16 nationally in red zone offense (.897). This was a dream job for me. In addition to the guaranteed money, Franklin's contract has incentives including $800,000 for a national title, $400,000 for a College Football Playoff appearance and $350,000 for winning the Big Ten Championship Game. So I think for all of our female student-athletes to look and see her in her position I think it is empowering for all of our student-athletes [and] to see someone, you know, like me sitting in the head coaching position it is empowering.. 11 Washington in the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl. display:inline-block; Franklin finished his Vanderbilt career with a record of 2415 (an average of 8 wins per year). This collection consists of the personal papers of Berenice Harriet Jewett Bradshaw. The following season, he took over as the coach of the defensive secondary for his alma mater, East Stroudsburg. First winning record in the regular season since 1982. Franklin graduated having broken or tied 23 school records. It was only the third nine-win season in school history, also was the first time since 1935 that Vandy won five SEC games in a year and the first time in 30 years that they won at home against Tennessee. [7] Friedgen retained Franklin as the wide receivers coach, one of only two assistants to be kept on the new coaching staff (running backs coach Mike Locksley was the other).[8]. 1995 - Kutztown University (Wide Receivers). "He has been through the most thorough vetting process that any individual has gone through at the university," Erickson said after a press conference at Beaver Stadium where Franklin made his first official appearance as a leader of Penn State. If Bill O'Brien was a transition, James Franklin is an era a rarity for a program that had been dominated by one man. Head coach James Franklin is entering his eighth season leading the Penn State Nittany Lions football program after he joined the program in 2014. Even as Jeffries took to the sideline, nobody knew how it would go, or how long it would be before another black coach would lead a football team at the D1 level. He also encourages them to visit. [4], Franklin began his coaching career in 1995 coaching wide receivers at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania. border-top:3px solid #091F40; 1 month ago. A big and significant development in the coaching carousel occurred Monday night when it was reported that Penn State head coach James Franklin switched agents, Franklin said on Tuesday that he switched representation over the summer. Barkley was selected as the Graham-George Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year, Ameche-Dayne Big Ten Running Back of the Year and Chicago Tribune Silver Football winner for the conferences top player. "And I've told them, 'Trust me. Even with a losing record, the 2011 team outscored their opponents 347 to 281. Franklin and former Nittany Lion head coach Bill OBrien (running backs) were Maryland assistant coaches in 2003 and 2004 under Friedgen. Franklin is one of four current Big Ten coaches (Ryan Day, Kirk Ferentz, Jim Harbaugh) to have won a Big Ten Championship and became the first African American head coach to win a Big Ten title after Penn States 2016 victory. And in many ways that makes sense. Early years. on. 7 Penn State Nittany Lions lost 1 of the ugliest games in college football history on Saturday in State College, falling to unranked Illinois 20-18 in 9 (yes, really, 9 . Analysis of James Franklin's switch to superagent Jimmy Sexton. James Franklin was named Penn State's 43rd Annual Renaissance Fund honoree in 2019. He was the first Penn State quarterback to win all-conference honors since Daryll Clark in 2009. Donald Driver was among the top receivers in the NFL, ranking second in receptions and eighth in receiving yards, with a then-career-high 86 catches for 1,221 yards. During an appearance in the NFL Network's "NFL Now," Friday, Franklin revealed that his wife and two. Idaho State ranked ninth nationally in total offense that year. He received a six-year contract, which paid him $4.3 million for the 2014 season, including a $300,000 retention bonus payable if he was Penn State's coach on December 31, 2014. The Penn State special teams unit made big gains in 2019, recording three blocked punts to finish third in the nation and four blocked kicks overall, which was sixth. In his first 11 years as a head coach, Franklin mentored 90 players who have gone on to the NFL ranks. James Franklin, the Nittany Lions' head coach, is building a championship culture at Penn State football. I have them with my close friends, I have them with the staff, with a small circle, and with my wife, you know things like that. In the last six seasons under Franklin, Penn State is one of six teams to rank in the top 12 of the CFP final rankings at least four times, joining Ohio State, Alabama, Georgia, Clemson and Oklahoma. The first time in Vanderbilt history a player (Zac Stacy) had rushed for over 1,000 yards back to back years. Last fall, Penn State's head football coach, James Franklin, received a 10-year contract extension making a guaranteed $7 million each year. And if they dont, he would have to contend with State Colleges status as a blue town. I got into a lot of fights in elementary school and got in some fights in junior high. width:50px; When his father (who met Franklins mother while stationed at an Air Force base in Manchester, England) became an absent participant in Franklins life, the contrast was only stronger. Franklin has served as the head football coach at Penn State University since 2014 and previously served in the same position at Vanderbilt University from 2011 to 2013. The 3.83 average star ranking for the 2019 class was the highest in program history since the inception of the 247Sports Composite in 2000. Born outside of Philadelphia to a white mother and black father, Franklin was a product of those two different Americas. Sometimes painful, in more ways than one. Defensively, the Nittany Lions were seventh in FBS in scoring average (16.5 ppg) and sacks (3.23 spg), while coming in 17th in total defense (329.5). Franklin left the Wildcat coaching staff prior to Ron Prince's 2008 dismissal, and subsequent return of Coach Bill Snyder. I think geographic [plays a part in that]. I didnt know if it would go outside of the family you know, the Penn State family, and the coaching tree that was here. There are no new white faces setting the racial achievement bar higher for people like them to chase and beat. However, after an injury sustained by quarterback Sean Clifford, the team struggled towards the end of the season winning just two out of their final seven games. One hundred eleven of the 205 signees (54 percent) under Franklin are from within a 250-mile radius of State College. I think thats the greatest opportunity for growth is when youre having those discussions.. They then lost their bowl game to 3128. I think a lot of people that are in this type of position, they know that theres a little extra emphasis there. All of this is the setting for Franklins improbable journey to where he is today, seated at a long table inside the buildings biggest office, at the head one of the most prestigious college football programs in the nation. 7 in the Associated Press and Amway Coaches polls. 17 Memphis in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic. Franklin is second all-time in winning percentage by an FBS African American head coach (minimum 80 wins) and is third in total wins. Despite missing five of Penn States nine games due to a season-ending injury, Freiermuth led all Big Ten tight ends in receiving yards (310). During that season, Green Bay ranked third in the NFL in receptions (383) and seventh in receiving yards (3,766). [5] Since then, he has been considered a top recruiter. Penn State posted its fourth-straight top 12 finish in the final CFP rankings, coming in 10th. Penn State finished the season 112, ranked #8 in both the AP and Coaches Poll. James Franklin is ranked #10th among the best college football coaches while Alabama's Nick Saban, Clemson Tigers' Dabo Swinney, and LSU's Ed Orgeron are 1st, 2nd, and 3rd respectively. There is no hiding from this chapter of American history, a time when segregation was state-sponsored and constitutional rights were trampled thanks to decades of legal gymnastics. He was a guest analyst on ESPNs coverage from the site of college footballs National Championship game, spending a day appearing on various ESPN platforms in 2013 and 2014. A brief glance across the conference and those figures are comparable with Ohio State, Michigan State, Michigan and Iowa all having at least three assistant coaches of color. From building team camaraderie, to recruiting, to coaching spring ball, he ha Prior to the 2018 season, Penn State lost several key contributors from the previous seasons. Franklins first season was bookended with a pair of thrilling victories for the Nittany Lions. Franklin has also been an ardent supporter of "Be the Match," encouraging community members to join the national bone marrow registry. . Official Fan Travel and Hospitality Services, Video Platform powered by CBS Sports Digital, Music City: Beat North Carolina State, 38-24, New Era Pinstripe: Beat Boston College, 31-30 (OT). The Nittany Lions posted their third-straight season with at least nine wins in 2018 with a 9-4 overall record. Franklin served as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Kansas State during the 2006-07 seasons under head coach Ron Prince. Bonfire Old-Fashioned BBQ Opens on East College Avenue, Decision to Approve License for Nittany Mall Casino Appealed to Pa. Supreme Court, State College Landlord Accused of Unfair and Deceptive Practices Files Lawsuit Against Penn State, Pa. Attorney General. Franklin has 27 years of coaching experience at the collegiate and NFL level. Everything is magnified, especially when you exist against the grain, against what has always been the safe hire. In that position, he set seven school records and was a Division II player of the year nominee in 1994. font-size:1.10em; I would love to have more open discussions about politics. [15] They took graphic photos and videos of the rape. Franklin was among five finalists for the Bear Bryant National Coach of the Year award in 2012. In Franklins first season at Penn State, he helped Mike Hull to the Butkus-Fitzgerald Big Ten Linebacker of the Year award to carry on the Linebacker U tradition. Penn State Coach James Franklin, center, with his players at Beaver Stadium, is the highest-paid state employee in Pennsylvania, at more than $4 million per year. Jonathan Sutherland led the way with a pair of blocked punts in the season-opener against Idaho, marking the first time since 2000 the Nittany Lions had two blocks in a game. Diversity is important. Penn State continued to be among the nations elite in 2017, climbing as high as No. Mark. While serving as the tight ends coach at Washington State, Franklin first met his wife Fumi (then a student at Washington State) in 1998. The 2015 season also saw Christian Hackenberg break every Penn State career passing record, including passing yards, passing touchdowns and completions, and true freshman Saquon Barkley set the freshman season rushing record with a 1,000-yard campaign. But in a lot of ways, whether you agree with a lot of the policies or not, having a guy like Obama in office I do think changes things. Wide receiver Jordan Matthews broke the Vanderbilt season receiving record with 1,363 yards on 94 catches. [12] Franklin was the first half African American to be head coach of a major sport at Vanderbilt, and the third to be a head football coach in the Southeastern Conference (after Sylvester Croom, formerly at Mississippi State, and former Kentucky head coach Joker Phillips).[13]. And if he can come across as guarded, its not for a lack of wanting to share. Pittsburgh was the home of his black roots, the emotional center of what family he had left, all the while his white mother, still close to her now former husbands family, was raising Franklin across the state. In 2019 the idea of a multiracial family is far less divisive than it once was, and in turn those experiences have helped Franklin in life more than he might have ever imagined, well after the long days and nights. When Franklin was three, Frank Robinson was hired by the Cleveland Indians, the first black manager in Major League Baseball history, breaking a new barrier in the sport some 19 years after Jackie Robinson had retired from the game.