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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