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Everybody talked about when the sanctions first hit (in 2012) and about how that was going to be the hardest time. I didn’t really present it that way and nobody else really talked about it. In my conversations with the previous coaching staff and administration, everybody knew Year 3 (2014) and Year 4 (2015) were going to be the hardest years. When I had the initial press conference (when he was hired), I probably should have done a better job of talking about those things. We’ve made tremendous strides there, but it’s not a quick fix. Most people focus on the quarterback, the running back and the Mike (middle) linebacker, but the game of football is played up front, on the o-line and the d-line. Q: Do you feel like some fans haven’t grasped the impact of the NCAA sanctions and are impatient?Ī: When you talk to football people who have been in this business for a long time, and I tell them we had seven scholarship offensive linemen, they look at me like there’s something wrong with me. My staff, our players and I really embrace and love the expectations. It’s a small percentage, probably smaller than most places. That same percentage would be comfortable with wins and losses if you weren’t doing well in the other areas. As much as the true Penn Staters emphasize the importance of education, community service and of being well-rounded – we’ve been outstanding in those areas – it all comes down to wins and losses for a certain percentage. It’s clearly black and white to that 1 percent.

How do you convince the 1 percent that you’re on the right track?Ī: I don’t think you will. Q: You’ve said your greatest challenge is dealing with the expectations of the fans and that 99 percent of them have been supportive. There’s nothing been written on the game plan about going through a similar experience. I would probably say that’s magnified at a place like Penn State after everything we’ve been through. Until you get there and you get in the position, you don’t completely understand what you signed up for.

You can prepare all you want, (but) until you take the job you don’t really understand it. It’s no different than being an assistant coach and becoming a head coach.

Q: How would you describe your first two years here at Penn State?Ī: Probably interesting and a really good learning experience. If he was feeling any pressure after two 7-6 seasons in his first two years, Franklin didn’t show it during a 35-minute one-on-one interview 10 weeks before Penn State opens its 2016 season against Kent State Sept. Then there are some fans, who are impatient with the Lions’ progress four years after the severe NCAA sanctions were imposed.