Penn State's James Franklin Discusses Expecations, Coaching Life in New Interview

James Franklin says he has a high tolerance for expectations. As the Penn State football coach, he certainly should. But those expectations are different this year. The 2025 season marks the first for Franklin in which his Nittany Lions are top-line national-championship contenders. Penn State's preseason ranking will be its highest since at least 1999.

So how is Franklin reacting to those expectations? With his long-standing tactic of acceptance, as Franklin told Rich Scarcella of the Reading Eagle in a recent interview.

"I chose a place that has really high expectations, where you can win 13 games in a season and a portion of the fan base is hissed off," Franklin said in the interview. "But I chose that and I signed up for that. The players chose that and they signed up for that. Drew Allar, you signed up for this. You chose this. There are probably 15 other schools in the country that are similar. It’s part of the deal."

The entire interview is a worthwhile read, as Franklin discusses Penn State's perspective on NIL and the transfer portal, defensive coordinator Jim Knowles' assimilation period and his team's championship hopes. Franklin also provided a rare glimpse into his family's life in State College over the past 11 years.

"Growing up as kids in a small college town where your dad is the head football coach and things aren’t always perfect, it’s not easy," Franklin said in the interview. "Neither one of my daughters goes to public school anymore. For me to sit here and act like it’s all been great, it hasn’t. It’s a personal challenge and it’s a professional challenge every day."

That led to an interesting follow-up question: So why stay? Franklin has had several opportunities to leave Penn State before signing a 10-year contract in 2021.

"We’ve worked so hard to get this program back to where we’re now part of these [championship] conversations," Franklin said. "To walk away from it didn’t make a whole lot of sense."

Check out the complete interview with Franklin.

Penn State Football News and Notes

Penn State has two quarterbacks committed to the 2026 recruiting class, both of whom were in State College this past weekend for the Elite 11 regional competition. Here's a look at how Peyton Falzone and Troy Huhn looked at the camp.

Speaking of quarterbacks, did you know that Trace McSorley is on the Nittany Lions' coaching staff? Franklin recently hired his three-year starter as assistant quarterbacks coach.

Remember when college football players enrolled in January to get on campus for spring drills? How quaint. Now they're graduating early and reclassifying a year ahead. Penn State has had two players make that decision in the past two years. The latest is defensive end Daniel Jennings, a 2026 recruit who will enroll for in time for the 2025 season instead.

Some Penn State football kickoff times should be released soon. Here's our look at what to expect, including a proper White Out.