Franklin

[MacNit7]

Watching him on the sidelines and especially singing the alma mater at the end of the game, it appears that we have our guy for the long haul.

Hopefully we have the sense to be patient and allow the talent level and death rise the to the level of what it will take to be an annual Top 10/Top 15 Team.

We are heading in the right direction!

 

[Doc-M]

Franklin is going to do Joepa gig. He will make his mark at Penn State. Fans need to be patient, give him a couple of more years, Nitts will be very competitive.

 

[blion72]

Franklin is going to do Joepa gig. He will make his mark at Penn State. Fans need to be patient, give him a couple of more years, Nitts will be very competitive.

I think we can be patient. JF's problem is the recruits may be less patient. Right or wrong, the media and all the experts painted LAST year as the LOW point from the sanctions. he was 7-6 last year, so this year most everyone is looking for 8-5 or better after the bowl game. IF for any reason he took a step back - and didn't even make a bowl game it would be large setback for his image (fair or not). my guess is that failure to make a bowl game will unravel the current class to a great degree. I think any of us who think these top players are patient, understanding and/or loyal have a big misconception of star players. we now have Sanders wavering when he can look at our current players and realize he can come in and get immediate PT.

if JF falters on his turn around path, he will have a very hard time recruiting the talent to return to the top.

my concern is that this team looks bad enough w/o SB that it may not make a bowl game.

 

[Doc-M]

blion, this year may also be a down year. Who knows? JF can recruit, no doubt. He will turn it around, he is tireless. The team needs continuing fan support through thick and thin. I believe!

 

[lions#1]

Next year will be a struggle also - no #95, #98, #99, #9, #10, #66, and probably Hack.

Franklin needs to prove this year he's a game day Coach. Getting rid of Donovan would be a good start

 

[marshall23]

He won't lose a significant # of recruits. Many are lured by by the game atmosphere and the opportunity to play right away. As for this being a critical year to prove he's a game day coach....only to those who post here. He's got at least 3 more years no matter.

 

[Madsol]

Next year will be a struggle also - no #95, #98, #99, #9, #10, #66, and probably Hack.

Franklin needs to prove this year he's a game day Coach. Getting rid of Donovan would be a good start

#99 could come back; #66 is routinely regarded as a liability on the OL; #10 is at a position where have recruited well. #9, #95, and #98 will be big losses. Just adding a little perspective/wishful thinking.

 

[harjeff]

Losing anyone on the OL will probably be a good thing as it goives someone else a chance to show something. The only major losses IMO are 98 and 99(if he leaves early) all others should be replaced by better players. The DB's on theroster are pretty talented as a group. Reid(true fresh) looks great, Haley is solid, Campbell can play, and we have several other top recruits waiting in the wings. Framer at safety I think will be a beast and hopefully Wartman gets another year.

 

[hagberg]

#99 could come back; #66 is routinely regarded as a liability on the OL; #10 is at a position where have recruited well. #9, #95, and #98 will be big losses. Just adding a little perspective/wishful thinking.

I'll be happily surprised if Johnson comes back; he's already been impressing NFL people to the point I think he'd go by the end of the second round. I wouldn't call Mangiro a liability, but I don't think there will be much of a drop off to Laurent, based on what little we've seen of him. Next year and beyond, we have McGovern on board, who is thought highly of as a center. The other four starting OL will be back and - we hope - stronger and better, we have a lot of young (and really BIG!) talent already on board, and some very good ones coming in.

I agree that Lucas will be a loss, but Apke is getting some quality reps, and his speed is an upgrade from Lucas. I just hope his "football speed" catches up, which is where Lucas shines. As long as Allen fully recovers from whatever put him in a sling against SDSU, we should be okay at safety. Remember we also have Petrishen, Farmer and Oruwariye waiting in the wings, Taylor/Monroe/Miller red-shirting as true freshmen, and Pryts incoming.

I agree with you that losing Williams will not hurt too much, especially with Reid getting a ton of playing time. We also have Haley and Campbell for a couple more years, with Hill (I have faith - or hope - that he won't flip) and McPhearson (CB or S) incoming.

Losing Zettel, Nassib, and (probably, IMO) Johnson will be felt more than anything, but the guys behind them have looked pretty good, even when they come in as a whole replacement unit. We have Sickels back, and I think he'll be much improved with a year as a starter under his belt. Also at DE we have Brown, Cothran and Schwan who are all seeing the field quite a bit, Buchholz, Carter and Miller as true freshmen, and Simmons and Dioubate coming in. At DT we've got Cothren and White coming back and Colon and Jordan coming in.

I don't know about people thinking last year would be the nadir for this team. I'd mostly heard 2017 or even 2018 would be the lowest, considering the sanctions would be in effect through 2016, and it would take time to recover. That was modified to 2015 or 2016 once the sanctions were lifted early. I'm not expecting a championship next year, especially with probably having a new starting QB, but I think we'll be better overall than we are now. I believe we'll be competitive with just about anybody in 2017.

 

[Westcoast24]

I'll be happily surprised if Johnson comes back; he's already been impressing NFL people to the point I think he'd go by the end of the second round. I wouldn't call Mangiro a liability, but I don't think there will be much of a drop off to Laurent, based on what little we've seen of him. Next year and beyond, we have McGovern on board, who is thought highly of as a center. The other four starting OL will be back and - we hope - stronger and better, we have a lot of young (and really BIG!) talent already on board, and some very good ones coming in.

I agree that Lucas will be a loss, but Apke is getting some quality reps, and his speed is an upgrade from Lucas. I just hope his "football speed" catches up, which is where Lucas shines. As long as Allen fully recovers from whatever put him in a sling against SDSU, we should be okay at safety. Remember we also have Petrishen, Farmer and Oruwariye waiting in the wings, Taylor/Monroe/Miller red-shirting as true freshmen, and Pryts incoming.

I agree with you that losing Williams will not hurt too much, especially with Reid getting a ton of playing time. We also have Haley and Campbell for a couple more years, with Hill (I have faith - or hope - that he won't flip) and McPhearson (CB or S) incoming.

Losing Zettel, Nassib, and (probably, IMO) Johnson will be felt more than anything, but the guys behind them have looked pretty good, even when they come in as a whole replacement unit. We have Sickels back, and I think he'll be much improved with a year as a starter under his belt. Also at DE we have Brown, Cothran and Schwan who are all seeing the field quite a bit, Buchholz, Carter and Miller as true freshmen, and Simmons and Dioubate coming in. At DT we've got Cothren and White coming back and Colon and Jordan coming in.

I don't know about people thinking last year would be the nadir for this team. I'd mostly heard 2017 or even 2018 would be the lowest, considering the sanctions would be in effect through 2016, and it would take time to recover. That was modified to 2015 or 2016 once the sanctions were lifted early. I'm not expecting a championship next year, especially with probably having a new starting QB, but I think we'll be better overall than we are now. I believe we'll be competitive with just about anybody in 2017.

Very nice break down of the team. Thank you.

 

[broey]

Franklin is the man. Anybody who says he's not doing a hell of a job with what he walked into is just fooling themselves. Does that mean he is perfect 100% of the time???? No, but there is no coaching staff that is. Hopefully he's around for 15-20 more years.

 

[tallahasseelion]

Watching him on the sidelines and especially singing the alma mater at the end of the game, it appears that we have our guy for the long haul.

Hopefully we have the sense to be patient and allow the talent level and death rise the to the level of what it will take to be an annual Top 10/Top 15 Team.

We are heading in the right direction!

I think he was singing "we don't know the goddamn words".