It has really gotten old listening to the Franklin apologists jump on Campbell for not out-recruiting Ohio State, et al, in his first few months on the job and starting from scratch. But they used every excuse in the book for Mr. “Great but not yet (and, as it turns out, never) Elite. Franklin’s “splash” coaching hires blew up in his face, his top recruits frequently flamed out or were underdeveloped by the crack coaching staff, and his record against OSU and in big games was pathetic. But by all means, criticize the new coach like you never did the previous one, then slink away when he gets things rolling in 2-3 years. And yes, it’s not going to happen overnight and nobody said it would.
2027 Recruiting Thread
- Thread starter Tom McAndrew
- Start date
Wow, I saw speculation (purely, as per fanboy usual) that Cliff got 400k, when did it stretch to half a million? LOL
I wish Liam well in his free agent pursuit with the Colts. "There was money there." Duh.....was it Ohio State money? Texas Tech money? Reportedly, Ohio State spent at least 7million more on the year that Dear Old State went "all in."
My reference was to a separate cache of funds that several schools targeted to sign premier 2026 recruits to NIL deals before the deadline (7/1/25) governing NIL agreements (clearinghouse). Having empty pockets, PSU missed out on Luke Wafle (who wanted to come to PSU) but couldn't pass up life changing (2.2-2.4 M) at USC......among others.
Again, I reference the genesis of the Franklin - Kraft divorce. Franklin was opposed to THE SCOPE of the stadium project at this time. His concern was that the timing would impact NIL cash at a critical time. Kraft was not swayed. Kraft asked Franklin to put aside his personal objections and support the project (even speak at gatherings to put on a unified front). Franklin did this with the understanding that cash would be available to nail down key 2026 recruits before the 7/1 NCAA NIL rules deadline.
It didn't materialize and the rest is history. Congratulations.....you are rid of Franklin. Give Kraft a hug. He's all yours.
If you are referring to me, then do so Omar. You can criticize Franklin all you want, but he is gone. He underperformed, as you said, but that is in the past. The current coach has pretty high expectations put on him now because the fanbase wasn’t satisfied with the previous coaches results and they want more. Plus, the AD publicly stated the standard was B1G and national championships. That’s the world we are living in right now. I’m tired of hearing how NIL is holding him back despite then being told (by the same people) that NIL is sufficient. The goalposts keep moving in this discussion. Long story short, Campbell will be judged on wins and losses. He will be afforded the luxury of a soft schedule in 2026, but that won’t always be the case. If you think recruits ranked 20 or lower in their own state will win games against OSU, Oregon, Michigan, etc, then keep telling yourself that. People generally don’t like hearing the truth, I guess that’s where you are right now. Talent will win big games period. You can’t expect to beat the big boys in our conference consistently without somewhat matching the talent. I’ve said it before. I think Campbell is a great coach and a great fit for PSU, but he has to bring in talent to succeed.
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Always the same 3 or 4 BGJ’s lover that comes to his rescue. That number will multiply by 5 on any negative news.
But, but, but you weren’t nice to James, so you can’t say that about the new coach.
Scurry away to VT morons
But, but, but you weren’t nice to James, so you can’t say that about the new coach.
Scurry away to VT morons
They can’t let a single post go that’s even a tiny bit critical of Franklin without responding with anger or a list of their ever-changing excuses.
It’s entertaining but sad. Mental health issues aren’t fun.
Some of you are totally missing the point while looking in the rear view mirror, but that isn’t surprising.
DeLuca also got well over his value because Franklin liked him.
Were not Adidas, PlayFly etc all supposed to be "record breaking" deals that were to fill PSU
"NIL" (buy players) coffers?
$300 MM from Adidas!
We are flush with cash money.
From the sounds of it, Franklin didn’t want money going to recruits. He wanted it to retain veterans who he then proceeded to not motivate to an acceptable level.
Your mancrush on James Franklin is a little embarrassing for a man your age.
It seems like both sites now are locked in on Gibson coming to PSU.
It's pretty obvious that that had a lot to with the apathy and incompetence, even by a veteran unit like the o-line that had a top 15 pick playing on it, displayed by the team as a whole in September and October. That team played like a very unmotivated and self-satisfied bunch that expected to win just by showing up, and it showed.
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Apologies, complete tangent coming - but man DeLuca was a disappointment last year. I can sort of understand why he may have warranted a decent check coming off of 2024 since he had some big impact plays toward the end of that season including a big pick 6 against SMU in the playoff game and seemed to be really coming into his own. Unfortunately, he just didn't have it physically to be an every down LB and turned out to be a liability against the run. Pretty big swing in perception of his value from the end of the 2024 season to the end of 2025.
Franklin won a lot of games, had many double digit win seasons, and won some big bowl games. He greatly improved the PSU football infrastructure. I'd be very happy with records similar to Franklin, but with a shift in who the wins are against, meaning I'd take a win over OSU in place of some other team.
Not disagreeing but he had to play out of position a majority of the season after King declared. Then Rojas got hurt and we were seemingly just throwing him out there as a warm body not even worrying about scheme fit.
Part of it too was Knowles - his system just didn't fit with the personnel. What happened to Zane Durant was another example.
The LB corp looked much better when Tatsch got in the game..which wasn’t often enough.
Can we keep this a thread about 2027 Recruiting please.
Aiden Oneil appears to be making the call tomorrow, live on CBS sports (10AM). Doesnt look so good for PSU. He's a DE that I really hoped PSU could land. ND sites are saying they think they have him.
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Aidan O'Neil - Don Bosco Prep - Edge
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