Penn State's James Franklin fires Taylor Stubblefield as wide receivers coach

Jan. 15—Penn State football coach James Franklin announced Sunday night that he has fired wide receivers coach Taylor Stubblefield, who just completed his third season on his staff.

A Penn State statement said Stubblefield "has been relieved of his duties, effective immediately."

"I would like to thank Taylor for his efforts during his time with Penn State," Franklin said in the statement, "but (I) feel it is in our program's best interest to make a change at this time. I wish him and his family nothing but the best in the future."

About a half-hour before Penn State released Franklin's statement, the 40-year-old Stubblefield posted on social media that he was no longer on the staff.

"As my time at Penn State has drawn to a close, I want to extend a debt of gratitude to all of my players for trusting me," he wrote, "buying in, allowing me to coach them and for giving me their all.

"I'm so proud of the contributions the wide receivers have made to this team."

Less than an hour after Franklin's announcement, former Kent State wide receiver Dante Cephas tweeted that he has committed to Penn State.

The 6-1, 186-pound Cephas is a two-time All-Mid-American Conference first-team pick who caught 48 passes for 744 yards and three touchdowns in nine games last season for the Golden Flashes. A year earlier, he had 82 receptions for 1,240 yards and nine TDs.

He was a three-star prospect when he came out of Penn Hills High School in Pittsburgh.

With Parker Washington leaving the Nittany Lions for the NFL after three seasons and Mitchell Tinsley's eligibility expired, they've been struggling to recruit wide receivers from the NCAA transfer portal to join returning veterans KeAndre Lambert-Smith, Harrison Wallace III and Omari Evans.

Former North Carolina State wide receiver Devin Carter said he would transfer to Penn State late last month before flipping his commitment to West Virginia.

Stubblefield, a former Purdue All-American receiver, guided Washington, Tinsley and Jahan Dotson, who was drafted in the first round by the Washington Commanders last year after he made the All-Big Ten first team in the 2021 season.

"It has been an honor to help develop a first-round draft pick for the first time at this institution since 2003," Stubblefield wrote. "I'm thrilled that a Penn State receiver (Lambert-Smith) now holds the record for the longest reception in Rose Bowl history.

"I will always be deeply honored to see you have success. I believe in each of you and I'm confident that your impact will be felt far beyond the football field."

Stubblefield also thanked the Penn State community for supporting his family through the illness and then death last week of his wife's father.