James Franklin shares strong message on college football officiating situation

One of the bigger issues in college football has been the state of officiating, as there has seemingly been a decrease in the quality of the officials, as highlighted by James Franklin.

The Penn State Nittany Lions coach hasn't been shy about the state of officiating, as there has been a decrease in the quality of officiating. Franklin posted a plea to people who believe they can be officials to sign up and begin their journeys, tweeting:

"Penn State Football recognizes the importance of officiating to the game of football & helping shape the next generation of student-athletes by demonstrating qualities like honesty, conflict resolution, empathy & respect.

"The state of officiating is at a critical point due to a rapidly declining pool of officials & lack of interest or incentive among younger populations to enter the field. We are committed to supporting the recruitment & retention of officials in our sport & encourage anyone interested in becoming an official to visit."

James Franklin hasn't been a stranger in terms of calling out officials, as he did so in December after the Big Ten Conference Championship Game loss to the Oregon Ducks.

"I don't want this to come off the wrong way, I give Oregon a ton of credit, but the penalties were pretty lopsided." h/t Sports Illustrated

Penn State made the College Football Playoff last season as they were the sixth seed. They beat the SMU Mustangs and the Boise State Broncos before losing in the CFP semifinals against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

---

James Franklin discusses defensive coordinator Jim Knowles

Coach James Franklin, looking to replace defensive coordinator Tom Allen, hired Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles.

On Tuesday, following the fourth practice, James Franklin discussed how the addition of Knowles has improved the team and how impressed he's with what Knowles has brought thus far (via On3):

"He's got a very good understanding of what hewants it to look like and how it's all supposed to fit together. I've been very impressed with how it's gone so far.

"Like every time you have tweaks on your offense and defense... there's different personalities of the coordinators and the position coaches whenever turnover happens, and all those things seem to be going very, very well. So I've been pleased."

Jim Knowles has been coaching since 1988. It will be interesting to see how the Nittany Lions defense looks with him coaching them.