"It's probably not for them": Penn State GM warns potential athletes purely focused on football

Penn State Nittany Lions general manager Andy Frank believes the program is not just about football, but rather about developing humans.

Frank says athletes coming into Penn State can't be solely focused on football, as it won't work out. Instead, he says they are using their program as a development tool in not just football, but in life, which is why he believes the program has success.

"For us here at Penn State, they are searching for success in everything. It's just purely about football, it's probably not the place for them. We view ourselves as a developmental program," Frank said to Adam Breneman.

"We have a guy in the NFL right now that never started here. If there's a salary cap, and it functions this way, this is how we are going to operate. If there's a version of the salary cap, this is how we are going to operate. And you have to function in today's world planning if both are going to be possible."

It's an interesting comment from Frank as he believes football-only focused players won't succeed at Penn State.

Although Frank and the Nittany Lions want good football players, he is also looking for the right characters to fit in and make Penn State a team.

So far, Frank has done a good job of doing that, as Penn State is one of the best football programs in the country.

Penn State coach explains what needs to happen to win national title

The Penn State Nittany Lions made it to the college football playoff semifinals last season and enter 2025 with expectations of winning it all.

Penn State has Drew Allar back at quarterback and is expected to be one of the best teams in the country. Heading into 2025, Penn State coach James Franklin spoke to ReadingEagle and explained what is needed for the team to get over the hump.

"It’s continuing to invest and continuing to work with the alignment that we have. It’s everything," Franklin coach. "I would not have been able to hire (offensive coordinator) Andy Kotelnicki under the old regime. It would not have happened, let alone (hiring) Jim Knowles. I’ve said this before and it hasn’t always been interpreted the right way. When you say the expectation is to win a national championship, then everything has to align with that.

"You can’t say the expectations are to win a national championship and we’re going to hold you accountable, but then these 15 things don’t align with that. We have to be willing to compete in everything. You can’t pick and choose that we’re going to compete in these things but not in those things. The people we’re competing with don’t do that. We’re competing like that for the first time these last two years."

Penn State enters 2025 with the third-best odds of winning the title at +750.

The Nittany Lions open their college football season on Aug. 30 against Nevada.