UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State head football coach James Franklin will be a special guest on multiple ESPN programs Thursday during the network’s coverage of the College Football Playoff National Championship game.
Franklin will appear from ESPN’s set location at Sundance Square Plaza in Fort Worth, Texas, near Monday’s title game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. His first appearance Thursday is set for approximately 11:30 a.m. on "SportsCenter" on ESPN, when he will be part of a coaches’ roundtable segment.
Franklin’s second "SportsCenter" appearance will be at approximately 12:20 p.m. The Nittany Lions’ coach will also tape segments for the "Championship Drive" programs, which will air Sunday starting at 8 p.m. on ESPN2 and ESPNews.
Franklin is serving as an ESPN guest analyst at college’s football title game for the second consecutive year.
In his first season as the Nittany Lions’ head coach, Franklin became just the third Penn State coach to lead the team to at least seven wins in his first season, joining Dick Harlow (1915) and Bill O’Brien (2012). Penn State capped the 2014 season with a 31-30 overtime win over Boston College in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl, rallying from a 21-7 deficit late in the third quarter. The 14-point deficit was tied for the largest the Nittany Lions have overcome in their 45 bowl games all-time.
From Langhorne, Pa., Franklin is entering his fifth year as collegiate head coach, leading his first four squads to a bowl game, with post-season victories the past three years. He owns a 31-21 career record, with three consecutive winning seasons.
Penn State returns 15 starters (seven offense, seven defense, one specialist), and 14 additional players who have started, for the 2015 season. The Blue-White Game is Saturday, April 18, in Beaver Stadium. The Nittany Lions open next season on Saturday, Sept. 5, versus Temple at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.
Penn State Football is on Twitter (@PennStateFball) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/PSUFball).