"One of the coolest moments of my life": James Franklin's new recruit reveals Saquon Barkley's promise to him

James Franklin and the Penn State Nittany Lions were close to winning their first natty since 1986. However, their hopes were crushed by the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the Orange Bowl showdown of the 12-team playoffs. Following the end of the 2024 season, Franklin is now hoping to end their drought this upcoming season.

Franklin and the Nittany Lions are currently in pursuit of RB CJ Cowley. He's a part of the recruiting class of 2027 and is regarded as the No.1 RB in the nation. Cowley has received scholarship offers from both Oregon and Penn State. However, Franklin's team went a step further to secure his commitment to the program.

During an interview with Rivals, CJ Cowley revealed that he had the opportunity to talk with Penn State legend and Eagles RB Saquon Barkley. According to the recruit, the Super Bowl LIX champ promised him his jersey No.26 if he committed to play for the Nittany Lions. Cowley described it as one of the highlights of his life.

"I actually talked to Saquon Barkley a few times about Penn State," Cowley said. "It was great, I'm not gonna lie. I was a fanboy to one of the best running backs in the world. A Super Bowl running back.

"Saquon was just like if I go to Penn State, he'll deliver 26 for me- the number. I didn't believe it! The coach says he's not lying. It's one of the coolest moments in my life."

CJ Cowley is taking his time in making his commitment decision for his collegiate career. He is planning on making visits to each of these programs in the offseason to get a better sense of his surroundings and decide which team fits him best.

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James Franklin opens up about the process of hiring Jim Knowles

James Franklin and the Nittany Lions brought in Jim Knowles from Ohio State as their new defensive coordinator. Knowles won the 2025 CFP national championship with the Buckeyes and is now looking to achieve the same results with his new team.

On Tuesday, Franklin talked about Knowles' hiring process at the Winter Press Conference. He opened up about how they already had past conversations with Knowles which resulted in his swift hiring from Ohio State.

"Time, it happened pretty quickly .... What I think helped with this is we spoke a couple years back when the position was open, so that helped," Franklin said. "We already had pretty good familiarity with each other. We were able to start conversations after the national championship game, obviously, and it went quickly." (TS- 4:40 onwards)

James Franklin completed 11 years with the Nittany Lions during their 2024 campaign. It will be interesting to see if he can finally win his first natty with the program this upcoming season.