James Franklin Wasted Little Time Working His Magic in Happy Valley

As expected, Penn State named James Franklin, now formerly of Vanderbilt, their new head coach on Saturday. There was a late push for the university not to hire him out of fear that Franklin may have covered for the Vanderbilt player accused of rape. The powers at be decided not to be scared off though.

So they hired him--and the man wasted no time in showing why the folks at Vanderbilt are going to miss him.

@PennLive/Twitter

When Franklin first captured my attention was during the press conference for the Music City Bowl two year ago. During it a fan in the audience said some nice words about Franklin and his work with the Commodores. What doe Franklin do? He come out from behind the table and gave the man a hug!

Franklin bring a passion and a personal touch like few can. He know how to draw you in--football player, fan, coach, etc--and make you believe. What in? Him. The team. Love for the game. Family.

You know, a lot of things that many coaches overlook.

He wasted little time in making the folk in Happy Valley feel start to feel the same way. When he arrived for his welcoming press conference rather than head to the waiting media throng like most would he went over and said hi to two little girls.



Skeptics will likely say it is a calculated move; one designed to make us think he is this great guy. To them I say this--turn your television off.

A lot of people on this planet suck, but not everyone does.

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