Less than 48 hours after James Franklin’s firing, major 4-star recruit decommits from Penn State

James Franklin’s firing is one of the biggest stories in college football at the moment. The 53-year-old was let go on Sunday after his team’s narrow loss to Northwestern on Saturday. Just days after the decision by the Nittany Lions, they have started dealing with one of the inevitable consequences: losing recruits.

Four-star cornerback Jaziel Hart announced his decommitment from Penn State on Tuesday, two days after Franklin was axed. Hart is the third recruit to decommit from the Nittany Lions over the past 48 hours, joining wide receiver prospects Davion Brown and Lavar Keys.

The four-star prospect out of Virginia committed to Penn State on May 22, choosing the program over offers from Michigan, NC State, and Virginia State. James Franklin’s firing definitely played a part in Hart’s decision, saying on Sunday that:

“It influences my recruitment kind of heavily, especially when Coach Franklin played a huge role in my recruitment. I didn’t think a year ago that he’d be getting fired, especially being ranked No. 2 preseason and going to the playoffs.”

Franklin was fired by Penn State following a three-game losing streak that started with a home loss to Oregon on Sept. 27. A loss against a struggling UCLA opened up the cracks left by the loss to Oregon. However, it was another home loss against Northwestern on Saturday that sealed Franklin’s fate.

Analyst predicts Penn State’s next head coach after James Franklin’s firing

Following James Franklin’s firing by Penn State, speculations are circulating on who the Nittany Lions’ next head coach will be. Joel Klatt predicted four names to take over the reins at Penn State during his show on Monday.

According to the analyst, Indiana’s Curt Cignetti, Duke’s Manny Diaz, Nebraska’s Matt Rhule, and Ohio State offensive coordinator Brian Hartline are leading candidates. Klatt believes the Penn State head coaching job will be a dream job for any coach chosen, describing it as the “apple of the cycle.” He said:

“To me, Penn State is the apple of the cycle. This is going to be the best job, and the reason is that the support is there. The athletic director is fantastic. They’re just putting in nine figures plus into that stadium, which is already one of the best environments in college football.”

Franklin was in his 12th season as Penn State coach before he was axed on Sunday.

About the author

Kayode is a College and High School Sports writer at Sportskeeda since June 2023. Hailing from Nigeria, he has an undergraduate degree in Linguistics and African Languages, and has previously had stints as an entertainment and politics writer for around 7 months. Adept at creating content around historical perspectives, he strives to report stories based only on verified information. His mantra is - truth is always more important than sensationalism.

A fan of the Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Kayode admires how Nick Saban developed talent at the team and delivered consistent results, and hopes that the post-Saban era is just as fruitful. He is thoroughly impressed by Johnny Manziel’s talent, and feels that Shedeur Sanders is massively underrated. Nick Saban is his all-time favorite college coach.

While Kayode believes there is little to separate college and mainstream sports, pro leagues absorbing the best athletes leads to their quality being higher. Witnessing the Colorado Buffaloes’ hot streak at start the 2023 football season was one of his all-time favorite college sports moments.

When not writing, Kayode enjoys reading and watching sports documentaries. His most recent watch was "Sir Alex Ferguson: Never Give In."

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Edited by Kayode Akinwumi