Penn State's James Franklin hopes Big Ten presidents don't cancel season before getting 'more information'

With tan lines on his face from wearing his mask at practice, Penn State coach James Franklin said Tuesday that there is no need to decide immediately on the fate of college football.

“I’m not saying we should cancel the season at this point. I’m not saying we should definitely play,” Franklin said on ESPN’s “Get Up.”

“But the decision doesn’t need to be made right now. There’s still time. There’s still information that we need to gather. My point is why cancel the season right now when we don’t have all the information and we don’t have all the answers.

“Most importantly, we want to keep our players safe and healthy, but we also want to give them the best opportunity to continue to play the game they love. So why not press pause and find out more information?”

Franklin spoke minutes before Big Ten presidents were expected to meet Tuesday morning and vote on the conference’s next move in the midst of the coronavirus.

Franklin said he has met with players and their parents on seven separate occasions, including Monday night, to explain Penn State’s safety protocols and allow people to air their concerns.

Franklin said Penn State tested 150 people connected to the program Monday — players, coaches and staff.

“Let’s get that feedback back (before making a decision),” he said. “Why would we cancel the season right now when we don’t even have the answers for what that may mean?”

He said he has been approached with a series of questions concerning what a postponement or cancellation might mean to scholarships and players’ eligibility.

“What does it mean for the fifth-year seniors? What does it mean for the underclassmen?” he said.

“Is one program going to be over their scholarship numbers based on incoming recruits and being at 100 and another program being at 85?

“People ask you, ‘Coach, what does this mean for my future?’ and we don’t have any of those answers right now.”

Asked about the possibility of postponing the season until the winter and spring of 2021, Franklin offered one solution — use the domed stadiums within the Big Ten footprint in Detroit, Minneapolis and Indianapolis.

“Do Big Ten weekends at those venues,” he said. “We have a bunch of really intelligent, people. We have a bunch of creative people. Let’s spend the next month coming up with solutions, rather than just calling it quits.”

Nebraska coach Scott Frost asserted Monday that his university “is committed to playing, no matter what,” including configuring a new schedule outside the Big Ten if presidents vote to cancel.

Franklin said, “I have a responsibility to my players and their families to exhaust every opportunity and option that’s out there.”

Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh said his university has administered 353 tests without a positive result.

Alabama’s Nick Saban said players are safer on campuses than at home, which is where many of them will go if the season is canceled.

“I know I’ll be criticized no matter what I say, that I don’t care about the players’ safety,” Saban told ESPN. “Look, players are a lot safer with us than they are running around at home.

“We have around a 2% positive ratio on our team since July 4. It’s a lot higher than that in society.

“We act like guys can’t get this unless they play football. They can get it anywhere, whether they are in a bar or just hanging out.”

Sources: ACC ADs met today and are "moving forward in an attempt to play," in the words of one staffer. League presidents could be meeting today as well.

— Pat Forde (@ByPatForde) August 10, 2020

While Big Ten presidents meet, the Pac-12 planned a presidents’ meeting for Tuesday. ACC athletic directors met Monday and are “moving forward in an attempt to play,” Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde reported.

Big 12 officials also will meet Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Pa. Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Lehigh Valley) said he believes college football can be conducted safely this year.

“If it wasn’t clear before today, it now is: college football players and coaches want to be on the field this fall,” he said in a statement released by his office. “I support them in this effort and I am confident that conferences and programs can develop protocols that will allow this to safely happen.”

Texas AD Chris Del Conte says today’s Big 12 meetings is “for us to inform the presidents of the medical guidelines of each school,” so they feel informed about how fall sports would be handled. Doctors, ADs, presidents and commissioner. Not necessarily a yes/no vote on fall FB.

— Pat Forde (@ByPatForde) August 11, 2020

The Mid-American Conference and Mountain West, plus the UConn, UMass and Old Dominion, have decided to cancel sports for the fall.