James Franklin calls for a change to Signing Day scheduling
It’s the busiest time of year for coaches as they balance Early Signing Day, the Transfer Portal, and the postseason. For Penn State head coach James Franklin, this season includes preparing for the Big Ten Championship Game.
With all of that on his plate, Franklin called for a change to the schedule during a press conference on the Early Signing Day.
“As you can imagine, I’d like to talk about Oregon, but I think it’s a fair question,” James Franklin said. “I don’t think it makes a whole lot of sense to have one of the most important days of the year, which is signing day, which is very complex in today’s college football, more complex than it’s ever been. Oh, and by the way, you’re about to play the number one team in the country in the conference championship. Don’t know if that makes a whole lot of sense.”
There are two signing days in college football, which is a relatively new system. Previously, there was just one signing day in February. That day is still there but the new one was added in December. This year, it came on Wednesday, December 4th. That was to help recruits, especially early enrollees, but it has made for a busy week when a coach like Franklin is preparing for a championship game and dealing with the Transfer Portal.
“There’s been a lot of discussion for a long time that instead of kind of continuing to piecemeal and make changes to solve certain problems, we need to look at the whole thing holistically, the entire model, the rules, the calendar, but it is what it is,” Franklin said. “And I was pleased with our staff and how they handled it.”
Amid all of that, Franklin has recruited well at Penn State. Through the Early Signing Day, Penn State has the 16th-ranked recruiting class in the 2025 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Football Team Recruiting Rankings. That’s a class that includes 12 four-star recruits. Of course, there is still time to add to that class.
This week, Penn State is preparing to play Oregon. The Ducks are the only unbeaten team in the country and there is plenty on the line in this game. Beyond the opportunity to win a Big Ten Championship, the winner is likely going to be the first overall seed in the College Football Playoff. That means earning the first round bye. The loser, on the other hand, will still presumably be in the Playoff and will most likely end up hosting in the first round. However, they will have lost a week off to prepare for that game.
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