Throughout the spring and summer, more shocking revelations about Joe Paterno have emerged. These findings further damn his legacy. Prior to this year, it was widely known that Paterno was made aware of the fact that his defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky was a child rapist.
What we’ve learned in 2016 is that Paterno knew his second-in-command was a child rapist as far back as 1976. It goes without saying how awful this fact is, and how that affects the Penn State football brand.
That damaged brand obviously affects recruiting, and provides serious obstacles for James Franklin.
Today, this topic concluded the podium session for Penn State Head Coach James Franklin at Big Ten Media Day. Here’s a transcript of the Q&A (via ASAP Sports).
Q. “I know one of the things you mentioned in the past is that every time something comes up Sandusky-related with negative recruiting you then have to go do damage control, so to speak. Can you take me through that process when something happens like that like this summer, when new things surfaced, what you then have to do on the recruiting trip?”
COACH FRANKLIN: “I think it’s no different than anything else. You just have to be prepared. You have to have a plan.
And it’s kind of a unique situation, because you’re having conversations about things that you, your staff, your players have nothing to do with and happened over 40 years ago.
But you just want to make sure that you have open lines of communication, that you’re as transparent as you possibly can be. You get on the phone and reach out to people and answer questions and be open and be honest and be truthful.
And I think like anything in life, people just want to understand. And they want to make sure that they understand what the future holds and the direction. And that’s what we have to do.
So whenever information comes out or anything comes up that we have to deal with, it’s getting on the phone as quickly as you possibly can with the high school coaches, with the recruits, with their families, and just make sure that they’re understanding it.
And also providing resources of where they can get the answers that they’re looking for, either from us or from other sources as well. But there’s been things that have been said and done that cause concern and that you need to be able to answer those questions.”
Later, during the journalist breakout sessions, more media members asked Franklin all about it.
“Negative recruiting happens all over the country, everybody is dealing with it,” Franklin said.
“Obviously, for us, there’s some sensitive subjects out there. Some people choose to use it and some people don’t.”
“What we’re there to do is to try to talk about Penn State, focus on all the wonderful opportunities that Penn State offers — academically, athletically, socially, spiritually, those types of things — but also be able to answer the tough questions. We’re probably in a position where we probably have to answer more tough questions.
“Fortunately,” Franklin added, “the families and the young men that have been open and said, ‘Look, this is what we’re hearing, can you help us with this?’ We were able to answer those questions and also provide people that can help.”
Franklin did not name names or get into specifics about what rival schools have done in the negative recruiting realm. That was very wise of him, as really nothing good can come out of answering that question.
Franklin was then asked if he believes that some programs have crossed the line, but he evaded that question.
“I’ll leave my statement as what I’ve already stated,” Franklin said.
However, there are reports claiming that both Michigan State and Ohio State engaged in this sort of negative recruiting. Both MSU Coach Mark Dantonio and Ohio State Coach Urban Meyer said that they were unaware of any such practices having taken place.
Mark Dantonio Denies Negatively Recruiting Against Penn St. — 'I was surprised when I read that. That’s not our MO https://t.co/5fPCxjz8Bm
— MO Radio Show (@MORadioShow) July 26, 2016
Urban Meyer on Franklin accusation of negative recruiting: “Absolutely not. First time I've heard of that. … That's a strong allegation.”
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) July 26, 2016
Urban Meyer denies negatively recruiting Penn State. “Absolutely not … I’ll address that with Coach Franklin if I have to.”
— Land-Grant Holy Land (@Landgrant33) July 26, 2016
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes regularly to the Chicago Tribune’s RedEye publication.
He also consistently appears on numerous talk shows all across the country. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram