Shoutout to Penn State head coach James Franklin for being a class act.
Being a coach never stops, at least not for James Franklin. Though he’s had countless classes of players come and go, he’s always consider himself the coach of anyone who has went through Penn State. That means that he’ll do whatever it takes to be there for his guys, even if it means driving all around the state of Maryland in one night.
Franklin knew that his two former players, Olumuyiwa Fashanu and Chop Robinson, had a good chance of going in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft. The only issue was that despite the plethora of mock drafts out there, there was no telling when the two former Penn State players could get picked.
But because of projections, James Franklin started out in Waldorf, Maryland, where Fashuna and his friends and family were gathered. Sure enough, the New York Jets switched picks (with the Minnesota Vikings) from 10 to 11 and drafted offensive tackle Olumuyiwa Fashanu.
Franklin was there to celebrate:
But not for long, because coach Franklin knew that he needed to then get to Gaithersburg, Maryland, which is his other former player Chop Robinson’s hometown. With the towns being an hour apart, the Penn State head coach had to book it to get to the second draft party.
And based on this video, Franklin and a media person following him made it literally in the nick of time. With the 21st pick, the Miami Dolphins selected edge rusher Chop Robinson, and miraculously, coach Franklin made it there with only seconds to spare:
That’s pretty cool right there.
It was a crazy night for James Franklin, though I’m sure he would do the exact same thing if he had to do it all over again. Not only because he got to celebrate such an important moment with his former players, but also because he apparently ran into Jelly Roll at one point.
You never know what’s going to happen on draft night…
