Penn State coach James Franklin said Saturday he expects to be able to address his future at Penn State soon.
Barry Reeger | AP photo
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STATE COLLEGE — Behind closed doors, James Franklin has indicated he will be back for a ninth season as Penn State’s coach.
He wasn’t ready to give a definitive answer to reporters after Saturday’s win over Rutgers. But that could be coming soon.
Franklin speaks weekly to the State College Quarterback Club at luncheons during the season, and the Altoona Mirror reported that this past week’s session included Franklin telling a crowd of nearly 200 members, “I’m not going anywhere.”
On Saturday, Franklin confirmed he said that but indicated that it might have been slightly premature. He suggested that he’ll be able to address the situation publicly perhaps as soon as his next press conference.
“I made that statement because I thought something was going to happen a little bit sooner,” Franklin said. “Tuesday we can talk about that as much as you guys want to talk about that.
“… These things are more complicated than just simple yes and no answers. And with me, I’m just always trying to be transparent as possible and tell (media) what I know so when I say something, it’s going to happen. So if we could wait until Tuesday, I’d appreciate it.”
In what has become a nearly annual ritual, Franklin has been reportedly pursued for high-profile head coaching openings around the country. In most cases, Franklin has elected not to address them publicly as he has pushed for Penn State to invest more money in the program, particularly in continuing to overhaul some aging facilities.
This fall involved a double whammy with both USC and LSU firing their coaches early in the season, and Franklin’s name came up as a candidate for both jobs from both national outlets and reporters in Los Angeles and Baton Rouge.
Adding some extra spice to this latest round of speculation was that Franklin had changed agents late in the summer, switching to the formidable group headed by Jimmy Sexton, who also represents Alabama’s Nick Saban, among others.
Coincidentally or not, the reports of USC and LSU’s interest in Franklin seemed to wane as the Nittany Lions went from 5-0 and ranked No. 4 in the country to four losses in five games prior to Saturday’s victory.
While fans have understandably grumbled about Franklin’s name often popping up on the carousel, Penn State would be in a tough spot to have to replace its head coach right now.
The Lions are poised to sign one of the country’s top recruiting classes next month, as some services have Drew Allar and Nick Singleton as the country’s No. 1 quarterback and No. 1 running back, respectively. Wide receiver Kaden Saunders and defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton are also consensus top 100 overall recruits nationally.
Memories for Konigus
After four years spent predominately on the team’s development squad, Lake-Lehman Kaleb Konigus got his time on the field at Beaver Stadium before and during the game.
The walk-on offensive lineman was one of 32 players honored on senior day, getting his name called for a run out of the tunnel and hugs from Franklin and family members.
Then, with time winding down in a 28-0 win over the Scarlet Knights, Konigus got to make his college debut.
A standout in both football and wrestling in high school, Konigus can now he say he played for Penn State, entering at left guard on the offense’s final drive of the day.
Not a bad way to finish up his final game in the stadium.
Another District 2 alum, Wallenpaupack’s Dan Vasey, got the same treatment after his own senior day announcement, entering at defensive end late in the game.
Konigus is one of three former Wyoming Valley Conference players on the Lions roster this season along with linebackers Robbie Dwyer (Wyoming Valley West/Wyoming Seminary) and Dominic DeLuca (Wyoming Area), both of whom have seen the field on special teams.