Social networks give Franklin a glimpse
When it comes to getting the skinny on behavior of potential Penn State prospects, coach James Franklin says his staff will go through as many character evaluations as possible.
He said no decision can be made with just one or two pieces of information. So the staff talks to coaches, teammates, teachers, lunch ladies and custodians. They scour a kid’s transcript for courses, tardy marks, absentees and of course the gradepoint average. If a kid comes from a single-parent home Franklin said that one parent “better be strong.”
At a time when many people document their lives 140 characters at a time, Franklin said social media gives the staff a window into who a prospect is based on his tweets, retweets, likes and follows. It can turn them on or off to a kid based on what they find.
“All those things paint a picture of what you’re investing in,” Franklin said Friday at Big Ten Conference media days in Chicago. “Not every kid is going to have a 4.0 GPA and be an Eagle Scout. Some of the most rewarding experiences are the kids who maybe came from a tough situation and just needed structure and an opportunity.”
Social media posts in the wee hours of the morning on school nights or repeated posts with inappropriate content can be met with a red flag from the staff. Franklin, who majored in psychology as an undergraduate at East Stroudsburg University, said sometimes he also can learn a little more about a kid if he direct messages him at 5 a.m. on a weekend and receives a quick reply.
Looking for trends of positive or negative behavior is all part of figuring out if a student-athlete is worth the investment, he said.
“There’s that fine line and I don’t really know exactly what the answer is and I don’t know if anybody does,” he said. “You look at the NFL, they spend more money than anybody to do research and they make mistakes.”
Haslett the perfect storm
Franklin hired Jim Haslett in late June, naming the former New Orleans Saints head coach and Washington Redskins defensive coordinator Penn State’s “consultant.”
Haslett, an Avalon native, will be a sounding board for the entire staff, but come Saturdays, he will have another priority.
“His father-in-law lives in State College,” Franklin said. “His son is going to be a senior quarterback at IUP this year and he’s never had a chance to see him play, so he said I’m not even going to pursue a job this year, I’m going to sit out so I can see my son play, just all these things aligned.
“I know there were a bunch of conspiracy theories going around about what his actual role was, why I really hired him. ... We had a guy who has been coaching for 30 years, been a head coach, been a coordinator and we basically can get this guy for free and now I can bounce ideas off him.”
Most underrated player?
Senior safety Jordan Lucas didn’t even need two seconds to answer.
When asked who he thinks is the most underrated player who will contribute this year, the name of defensive tackle Tarow Barney poured out. Barney played in 10 games last year and recorded a sack against Massachusetts and Michigan. This 6-foot-1, 306pound senior came to Penn State in January 2014 after two years at Northwest Mississippi Community College.
“I see a different guy,” Lucas said. “First of all I didn’t know how fast he was. Watch him run in a straight line and you’ll be amazed. For 300-some pounds, for him to run as fast as he does is kind of ridiculous.”
Barney’s strength didn’t go unnoticed at the summer Lift for Life fundraiser where he bench-pressed 225 pounds 34 times. Penn State likes to rotate its defensive linemen during the course of the game, last season at times throwing four fresh players out for a series or two.
With returning starters Anthony Zettel and Austin Johnson, Barney and redshirt sophomore Parker Cothren should help solidify one of the team’s deepest positions.
A string of unlikely results, combined with too much drama elsewhere in the Pac-12 South to even list, was enough to take the Wildcats to its first division title, its first appearance in the conference championship and a berth in the Fiesta Bowl. It is also a reminder of how close the division will be again this year. With that in mind, Arizona isn’t sweating being picked to finish fourth in the South this season.
“You can go out there and get beat any week, so you can’t take that drop off or think, ‘Oh, we’re playing this team so we can get by,‘” receiver David Richards said.