James Franklin and Virginia Tech will host Old Dominion this weekend at Lane Stadium in a matchup of two very good friends. ODU coach Ricky Rahne is a former Franklin assistant coach from his days at Penn State, where he also worked with former Hokies head coach and now defensive coordinator Brent Pry.
On Monday, both coaches met with the media and discussed the upcoming matchup between 1-0 teams. However, Rahne was asked about Franklin and whether he is undervalued based on his previous stops.
“Certainly, at the last program it was. I think his impact on that program is undervalued,” Rahne said.
Well, that would be an understatement. To consider where the program was when he took over and where it was when he left, it was night and day. However, Nittany Lions fans don't want to acknowledge that and want to admit that where the program was when he started to where it is now is night and day.
Ricky Rahne takes a subtle jab at Penn State fans over James Franklin
As Rahne pointed out, winning 10 or 11 games in college football in this day and age isn't easy. Especially at a Power 4 conference school. However, like so many other coaches, he came up short in winning a National Championship.
“Ten or 11 wins every year is really hard. It’s very difficult,'' added Rahne. "Did he want to win a national championship there? More than people can even know. It consumed him. It didn’t happen but that doesn’t mean he’s not a great football coach.”
Franklin has a history of not winning the big game, and that is going to be something that follows him until he gets over the hump. That is something that he's hoping to do at Virginia Tech.
Now it is easy for Penn State fans, who live and breathe every single thing Franklin does at Virginia Tech, they blame Franklin for everything that goes wrong at Penn State, and they will until Matt Campbell gets them over the hump. Until then, poor Matt Campbell will always live in Franklin's shadow in State College.
Rahne's comments defending Franklin are going to do nothing but draw the ire of Nittany Lions fans, and of course, that's what happened on social media. Who would have guessed it? Anyway, Rahne also pointed out that expectations might be set too high at times within the fanbase, which is a cruel reality for a fanbase living in the shadow of Ohio State, Michigan, Oregon, and Indiana in the Big Ten.
“I was six years old the last time Penn State won a national championship,” Rahne said. “So I think people’s expectations and what was going on there was not quite equal to what’s really been transpiring.''
Add us as a preferred source on Google