Penn State Nittany Lions interim head coach Terry Smith is shut with former head coach James Franklin.
Smith, who was the affiliate head coach and quarterbacks coach earlier than being promoted when Franklin was fired, has been at Penn State since 2014, not counting his time as a participant there from 1987 to 1991.
Meaning he was teaching alongside Franklin, now the pinnacle coach at Virginia Tech, for over 10 seasons earlier than Franklin was canned in mid-October. Nonetheless, the 2 stay in virtually fixed contact.
“I speak to him in all probability each different day,” Smith mentioned in a latest information convention, according to On3. “So I’m in communication with him.”
Terry Smith is aware of that James Franklin can nonetheless have an effect on Penn State Nittany Lions
Though the 2 are shut, it is price noting that Smith is cognizant of the precise hazard that Franklin poses to his previous program. Franklin recruited lots of the gamers on Penn State’s group in addition to the gamers of their 2026 and even 2027 recruiting lessons. Within the age of NIL offers and seemingly limitless switch portal entry, Franklin may very nicely use these connections to begin build up his new program at Virginia Tech.
Smith appears to be very conscious of that reality, and he is aware of the Nittany Lions are susceptible.
“The rapid menace is to take Penn State gamers,” Smith mentioned, discussing how Franklin can nonetheless affect Penn State within the right here and now. “Proper? With the uncertainty of the subsequent head coach. The locker room is — an important factor that we are able to do is to guard the locker room. In relation to recruits, highschool recruits, he has a bonus proper now as a result of we don’t have a everlasting head coach.”
Smith will definitely wish to throw his hat within the ring for the brand new head-coaching opening at Penn State, however for now, all he can do is be a very good steward of this system.
It is a big-time job, and the Nittany Lions might require a big-time identify to steer them into the long run, and Smith isn’t that at this level in his profession.
Potential targets for Penn State embrace Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz, Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea and Ohio State offensive coordinator Brian Hartline.
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