Inside its National Signing Day war room on Wednesday, Penn State football had a family and brotherhood-type feel, which it communicated to the world via Facebook Live.
The Nittany Lions utilized the social platform throughout the day as coach James Franklin, assistant and coordinators, fans, donors and cheerleaders welcomed the newest recruits and their families to Happy Valley, even sharing on Facebook Live the first signee (D.J. Brown, defensive back, College Park, Ga.) faxing in his National Letter of Intent.
Quarterback Sean Clifford of Cincinnati, Ohio was the first recruit to speak with Franklin and the coaching staff on the social platform. But before Franklin addressed Clifford, he told him to “stand up and give mom and dad a hug for me,” a phrase he expressed to the other recruits as well.
“Ever since you were the first commitment to jump in this class, you’ve been a leader in every way. … You really jumped on board and believed in us before there was any evidence. You’ve stuck with us and you’ve led every step of the way,” Franklin continued.
“We’re going to take care of your boy and we’re going to work together to build on the foundation that you guys have laid,” he told Clifford’s parents.
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Charles Huff, Special Teams Coordinator and Running Backs coach, spoke to the second signee Journey Brown (running back, Meadville, Pa.) and his mom and sister, saying “Thank you guys for trusting us. Appreciate all of your hard work. Obviously we still have a lot of work left to do. We’re going to be with you every step of the way. Mom, he’s in good hands.”
As the signees continued to roll in, Franklin had some fun at the expense of one his recruits, linebacker Ellis Brooks of Mechanicsville, Va.
“Your brother got the athleticism but I see you got all of the looks,” said Franklin to Ellis’ sister, Alexis. “Ellis, you got the short end of the stick on the looks, man.”
“I don’t know about all of that,” Ellis laughed back.