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STATE COLLEGE — Always a morning person, James Franklin arrived at his office around sunrise earlier this month, entered the upstairs lobby and turned on the lights.
He liked what he saw.
“Winning the Big Ten championship and having that trophy sitting on (the front) desk when I come walking in,” the Penn State coach said. “You’ve got the Big Ten East trophy. For a while there we had a dozen roses that were delivered from the Rose Bowl that was right in the middle, and then we had the Big Ten championship (trophy) off to the side.
“I remember the first day walking back into the building and seeing that. It was kind of early in the morning, it’s dark, I turned on the lights and there it was. And it put a smile on my face, to be honest with you.”
The flowers are already gone. But those two trophies were flanking him on Friday in the Beaver Stadium media room during Penn State’s Rose Bowl media day.
They are symbols of the Nittany Lions’ success this season, but they also represent an entirely new set of challenges for the team beyond the matchup with USC in Pasadena.
Right at the top of the list — retaining as much of this 11-2 squad as possible.
With high-profile wins comes high-profile opportunities for assistant coaches. Franklin said that three members of his staff had already been “approached for multiple head coaching jobs.”
Though he didn’t reveal any names, one of them was first-year offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead, whose banner season reportedly earned him an interview for the Purdue job this month.
The Boilermakers ultimately hired Western Kentucky head coach Jeff Brohm. And though there are currently no FBS head coaching jobs still vacant, that could change as the NFL carousel spins faster as the regular season winds down.
“I think that’s a compliment,” Franklin said. “I think whenever you have assistant coaches being approached and people trying to hire your staff, that means that you’re doing something right, and they want to kind of get a piece of it.”
It has a much different feel from last winter when Franklin fired John Donovan to bring in Moorhead and then watched highly regarded assistants Bob Shoop and Herb Hand make lateral moves to SEC programs.
Despite having to overhaul a third of his staff, all of Franklin’s move paid off this season as Moorhead, offensive line coach Matt Limegrover and safeties coach Tim Banks all fit in well. Brent Pry excelled after being promoted to defensive coordinator despite losing three defensive line starters to the NFL and dealing with an early season injury epidemic to his linebackers.
As it is, the entire staff is expected to be in place for the Rose Bowl.
“I’m hoping that we’re going to be able to keep the staff together as long as we possibly can,” Franklin said. “But they’re talented guys and guys who are going to leave at some point for head coaching opportunities. We want that for them, but we want to try to keep the staff together as long as we possibly can.”
The same goes for Penn State’s roster, which saw one last sizable wave of transfers and early exits last offseason as the effects of the NCAA sanctions finally fade.
This winter, there are no slam-dunk NFL prospects like quarterback Christian Hackenberg and defensive tackle Austin Johnson last year. Both skipped their final season of eligibility and were drafted in the second round.
Still, Penn State — like most every program — will have some juniors apply for draft evaluations. Franklin wouldn’t name any names on Friday but acknowledged it’s something the Lions are dealing with.
“It is a little bit of a distraction right now for the players, for the coaches, for everybody, trying to kind of manage all those things,” Franklin said. “But it’s an important decision.”
Up to five players from the program are allowed to apply for the evaluation, which returns a first-round grade, a second-round grade or a recommendation to stay in school.
“The problem is that even that’s a little bit gray,” Franklin said. “I think one of the things that I saw the other day, I think there’s 96 players right now in the country with first-round grades.”
And, of course, only 32 first-round picks.
One breakout player remained coy about his situation on Friday when asked if he had applied.
“Am I allowed to answer that question?” tight end Mike Gesicki said with a broad smile and a laugh, not wanting to irk any of his coaches. “I’m not really sure if I’m allowed to answer that question. But you can take it how it is.”
Gesicki’s 6-foot-6 frame and his tremendous spike in production as a junior would certainly draw NFL interest. Other possible candidates for an evaluation would be wideout Chris Godwin and safety Marcus Allen.
But there is an acknowledgment that the Lions, with only a handful of seniors set to leave, could be poised for another run at the College Football Playoff in 2017.
“Coaches are staying in place, a lot of players are staying in place,” Gesicki said. “For the most part, this team will be staying together. Which I think is awesome for this team, especially our offense. We’re only gonna improve.”
Mahon still out
Two players expected to return for a fifth season are injured tackles Brendan Mahon and Andrew Nelson. Ryan Bates, who has filled in at tackle in their absence, said both are planning to be back in 2017.
Nelson’s season ended back in October with a serious knee injury. Mahon hasn’t played since suffering an apparent foot or ankle injury in early November and was at one point hospitalized at Hershey Medical Center with an undisclosed ailment.
Franklin had previously left the door open that Mahon might return this season, but he ruled him out for the Rose Bowl on Friday.
Mahon had been away from the team for most of November but was on the field celebrating the Big Ten title with them at the start of this month.
“It was awesome,” senior center Brian Gaia said. “He’s one of my best friends, so obviously I want him out there all the time. But it was great to get him out there for the big game.”
