Penn State's James Franklin wants to makes history as African-American coach

Without fail, James Franklin remains famously focused on the next opponent every week.

Don’t ask him about next week, next month or next year. None of that matters to Penn State’s coach as much as getting ready to try and go — in his words — “1-0.”

So it was a mild surprise Tuesday when he only uttered the word “Michigan” 17 times at his weekly news conference.

With the No. 17 Wolverines coming to No. 7 Penn State for an important Big Ten showdown Saturday night, Franklin happily discussed a few off-topic items. Such as:

• The hope that he’ll one day get to coach another KJ Hamler.

• How he would like to make history as an African-American.

• The importance of the extra-curricular activities surrounding the game, including the White Out and the appearance of ESPN’s “College Gameday” on campus.

First, the Hamler hope.

He has been Penn State’s big-play wide receiver over the past two seasons. In that time, he has averaged nearly 18 yards a reception, with 68 catches for 1,209 yards and 10 touchdowns.

“Not only is he a dynamic player, but he’s a dynamic personality,” Franklin said. “He walks into team meetings, he walks into interviews, he comes out to practice every single day, and 99.9% of the time, he lights up the room. He brings energy. It’s infectious. It’s fun. You want to be around him.”

“You know, he’s got two great parents (Latonya Gooding and Thomas Hamler). I’ve said this before. I’m going to try to send Mom and Dad away on a romantic vacation up in the Poconos with those old heart-shaped beds that they used to have in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Mount Airy Lodge, and the champagne glass, hot tubs they used to have up there and try to get another Hamler here.

“I’ve enjoyed having KJ as part of our program.”

Clearly, Franklin, whose team is 6-0, was clearly in a good mood Tuesday.

He even reluctantly talked about his recent comment on HBO about wanting to be the first African-American coach to win a national championship.

“Obviously, I’d like to talk about being 1-0 this week, but I did open this up,” he said when asked to identify some African-American coaches he considers role models.

“You know, obviously, Tony Dungy I think played a big part. You look at that first Super Bowl (with two African-American coaches) with Tony (of the Indianapolis Colts) and Lovie (Smith of the Chicago Bears).

“I think that had a profound impact on the sport and the game and on coaches that look like me and look like Lovie and look like Tony.

“Then when you saw it happen at the NFL level and felt like that was an important moment within the sport, and, hopefully, opened up some opportunities for others, that, hopefully, the same thing could happen in college football.”

Franklin appreciates the White Out for the energy it brings to the stadium and the interest it attracts, especially from recruits.

“I remember (former Penn State tight end) Jesse James talking about if you come to the White Out, it’s almost impossible for you not to come to Penn State,” Franklin said.

“I’ve been telling (wide receivers) coach (Gerad) Parker what it’s going to be like because even though some of these guys have been coaching college football for a long time, it’s different.

“I tell people, literally, I’ll have that eight seconds where I’m standing there in the tunnel and you see it and you hear it, but you literally feel it. You literally feel it. I’ll enjoy it for that eight seconds, and then you run out and you’re so consumed doing your job from that point on, it’s kind of hard (to think about it).”

“I don’t want you guys to misinterpret what I’m saying. I want our guys to enjoy it. I want our guys to appreciate it,” he said.

Meanwhile, ESPN will bring “College Gameday” to State College for the third consecutive season.

“I think that speaks volumes about how people perceive our program right now and what we’re doing,” he said.