On3 places James Franklin in unique spot in ranking of Big Ten coaches
One could argue James Franklin and the Nittany Lions are coming off their best season in recent memory as they come off a Rose Bowl win. They defeated Utah handily while showcasing their complete roster of veterans mixed with a youth investment from the 2022 freshman class.
Despite all that success both on the field and off, it appears that On3 is snubbing the work that Franklin has done.
On Wednesday, On3 published their updated Big Ten coach rankings and of course, Jim Harbaugh and Ryan Day are the kings of the mountain. A sad fact but it is a reality, and usually, James Franklin follows them.
Not this time, however.
On3 ranks conference newcomer Luke Fickell ahead of James Franklin and have the Penn State coach ranked fourth. They highlight reasons to like Fickell, who is the new head coach at Wisconsin after a successful stint at Cincinnati, as “only a couple of coaches in America have won with more consistency and produced more NFL talent in recent years than Luke Fickell. A year ago, the former Buckeye became the first coach to lead a Group of 5 program to the College Football Playoff and sent nine players to the NFL Draft…”
They also note that his work upgrading his staff and hitting the transfer portal hard to bring in new quarterbacks are reasons he went above Franklin.
When discussing Franklin they point out he was coming off two down years but the “Nittany Lions bounced back with an 11-2 campaign in 2022 and return one of the best rosters in the nation in 2023. Franklin has four 11-win seasons in State College, and has signed his best two recruiting classes during his nine-year run the last two cycles…”
They do hold some fair criticisms against Franklin pointing out that his record against conference rivals is lacking. He is just 4-14 in his career against Ohio State and Michigan and that type of success is only sustainable for so long.
His job isn’t in trouble but very soon it could turn from a slight drizzle into a bonafide thunderstorm. The more Franklin uses the portal and continues to recruit impactful players to be developed by his staff the more he will find sustained success and prove to be one of the best coaches in the country and not just the Big Ten.
