Penn State’s James Franklin gets added police escort, but it’s not about protection

Penn State football coach James Franklin had enhanced security at the final two home games at Beaver Stadium but it was not the result of any specific threat, according to a university official.

Having beefy uniformed Pennsylvania State Police troopers tailing the coach — in addition to the two university police officers who usually escort him — was part of a new community relations/recruitment initiative, according to state police.

“Four troopers from the Recruitment Services Section and the Office of Community Engagement have been specially selected to be present with the team at home games to positively interact with the players and engage with them on life and career experience,” said state police Lt. Adam Reed in an email.

He didn’t respond to a question about how the partnership got started. Franklin’s spokeswoman Kris Peterson said she didn’t know about how it came about. It’s also unclear as to how escorting Franklin around the field serves either purpose.

“It’s not anything that necessarily has to do with security or making coach feel any safer,” Peterson said. “It’s truly a partnership of helping with recruitment and educating our young men in our program and also providing them some examples of what they can do in the future if they’d like to join the Pennsylvania State Police.”

She confirmed what Reed indicated in his email that taxpayers — not Penn State — are picking up the tab for the four troopers’ time. Reed said the troopers’ time at the games was part of their scheduled shift for the day.

He also said the troopers would not be traveling to away games with the team.

Along with the additional security they provide Franklin, Reed said the troopers also have the opportunity to address and interact with the team outside of game days, including educational sessions at team meetings, career fairs and occasional practices.

“Each of the troopers are former college athletes, with two playing professional and semi-professional football prior to their careers with PSP,” Reed said.

Further, he added, “feedback on the partnership has been positive and we hope to continue to cultivate these important relationships.”

A follow-up question about whether this initiative would be expanded to other colleges and universities did not draw a response by Wednesday afternoon.

This initiative is launched at a time when the state police are facing what Pennsylvania State Troopers Association President David Kennedy said at a House policy committee meeting earlier in the year was not just a staffing crisis but rather “a full scale catastrophe. We simply don’t have enough officers to protect the citizens of this commonwealth. That’s the truth.”

Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration has launched an effort to address a shortage of state police cadet applicants that removes college credits as a requirement to enter the state police academy and an anticipated wave of roughly 800 possible trooper retirements this year.