Penn State news, notes, and updates for July 5 include another set of Big Ten head coach rankings plus headlines of the day and more.
It’s time to dive into Friday’s top tweets and stories about the Nittany Lions and college athletics.
Penn State tweets of the day
The Big Ten looks different this year. But, James Franklin’s spot in the conference’s coaching hierarchy does not, according to national college football writer Tom Fornelli of CBS Sports. He kept the 11th-year leader of the Lions at No. 4 in this year’s list of the league’s best program leaders. Ohio State’s Ryan Day ascended to the top spot while newcomers Dan Lanning (Oregon) and Lincoln Riley (USC) occupy the only other spots ahead of Franklin. Wisconsin’s Luke Fickell rounds out the top five.
“It’s been argued no coach’s reputation stands to benefit more from the expanded playoff than Franklin’s, who, over the years at Penn State, has struggled to break through Ohio State and Michigan but would’ve earned numerous playoff berths if the expanded field had existed the entire time,” Fornelli writes. “I don’t know how different things would be because he’s well-respected already! He’s fourth in the Big Ten and 11th among coaching in the Power Four. After a couple of disappointing seasons, the Nittany Lions have rebounded to go 21-5 the last two years and are now finally free of being in a division with the Buckeyes and Wolverines.”
Headlines of the day
Penn State tight end Kyle Brady talks undefeated 1994 season, Joe Paterno, Bill Belichick: McGonigal, PennLive
Five recruits who could provide fireworks by committing to Penn State: Snyder, BWI
Ten Years of James Franklin’s Penn State Teams, From Worst to Best: Wogenrich, SI
Five Penn State sophomores who could push for playing time: Carr, BWI
Film review | Penn State WR commit Jeff Exinor Jr. brings elite playmaking upside: Hill, Daily Collegian
Penn State legacy hoping for Nittany Lions offer after strong June camp performance: Fitz, BWI
Quote of the day
“Parcells is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Belichick certainly will be. Coughlin probably will be in for what he did in Jacksonville and with the Giants. And Paterno, obviously, is one of the greatest of all-time in college. I actually go out and do speaking engagements sometimes in corporate settings, and I talk about what it was like playing for those coaches. There are a lot of commonalities. They’re all John Wooden kind of guys. Attention to detail, work your butt off, do your job every single day. One of the things that will tear a team apart faster than anything is dissenion, factions and finger pointing. Those guys emphasized putting the team first. Look at Joe Paterno with the no names and black cleats. It’s all about the team.”
–PSU alum Kyle Brady to PennLive on the themes shared by all of his coaches, from Joe Paterno to Bill Belichick, Bill Parcells, and Tom Coughlin.
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