Friday, December 17, 2010

Time to Get Excited, People

Whether you're harboring doubts about James Franklin or optimistic about this hire (for what it's worth, I am emphatically in the optimistic camp), this news release from Vanderbilt is worth a read.

Among the pieces of information about our man CJF that you will either learn or be reminded of are the following:

On recruiting:
In addition to his offensive acumen, Franklin is regarded as one of the nation’s top recruiters and has helped the Terrapins sign 10 four-star recruits in the past two classes. Rivals.com has cited Franklin among the nation’s Top 25 recruiters on at least four occasions, including the last two years.

On character (from Tampa Bay Bucs head coach Raheem Morris):
He is a first class coach, and a perfect fit for a university like Vanderbilt. He’s a tremendous motivator of men, and inspires character in each of his players. He works really hard to be the best that he can be as a coach, and has the toughness to build up a program in the SEC. He will no doubt be a great representative of Vanderbilt University.

On personality (from the AD who hired him at Maryland):
Coach Franklin is a terrific fit for Vanderbilt ... an overachiever who maximizes every opportunity. He will bring with him a relentless work ethic and a staff that does the same. Working hard and working smart are his trademarks, along with expectations of academic excellence.

On results:
Franklin also has a history of developing outstanding talent. Two of his recent pupils – Maryland receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey and Kansas State quarterback Josh Freeman – were chosen in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft.

Franklin has ties with Green Bay, having spent the 2005 season as the Packers’ wide receivers coach under head coach Mike Sherman. That year, Donald Driver established a number of new career-high marks with 86 receptions for 1,221 receiving yards.

This season, Franklin molded redshirt freshman quarterback Danny O’Brien into the Atlantic Coast Conference Rookie of the Year. O’Brien ranked third among freshmen nationally with a pass efficiency rating of 135.2, and threw for 21 touchdowns after becoming the team’s starter in week four.

8 comments:

Bobby O'Shea said...

I'll say it. I'm excited. I like CJF and have a very good feeling about him. Vanderbilt got their 2nd choice, who in the end, might actually be a better fit than a certain Auburn coordinator would have been. First things first, let's hear what CJF has to say and the staff he puts together. But I think the characterizations of his as a "bad hire" are premature.

Seamus O'Toole said...

Like I said before, getting our second choice reflects badly on no one: not Franklin, not David Williams, not Vanderbilt. This is a guy who in all likelihood is going to be able to sit down with parents of high-caliber players and convince them that Vanderbilt is the right place for their sons. Check your gripes at the door start thinking about all the ways a young, energetic, offensive-minded, talented recruiter and motivator like Franklin can turn around our program.

Anonymous said...

We'll see how "happy" things are for Pus Malzone when Auburn loses to the Ducks and Cam takes a pay cut off in the NFL.

VU will get the last laugh in this.

Book it.

Mahoney said...

Yep, let's give him a chance. And let's give VCDW a little credit. The man knows much more than all of us put together about this search, and I'm quite sure has his reasons for hiring Franklin. He's not an idiot - if Franklin wasn't right, he wouldn't have gotten the job. While we all like the idea of Roman et al, either Roman didn't like us, or VCDW saw something he didn't like, and we should respect that. Franklin should be a good recruiter, with ties to regions we haven't traditionally exploited, and he seems young and energetic. Malzhan was just doing it for the money, I believe, and his heart probably wouldn't have been in the right place.

I also like that this negoitation took a few days to sort out - shows Franklin wasn't just going to roll over and jump at the chance to be HC in the SEC. He most likely had real ideas about improvements, his compensation, and fitting the program to his image that he wasn't going to compromise on. I like it.

Happy Festivus.

Seamus O'Toole said...

Anonymous 12:37, if you're suggesting that Vandy will be more successful under Franklin than Auburn will be with Malzahn, we may need to recalibrate expectations just a tad. Of course, that doesn't mean we won't be bowl-bound next year under a fiery CJF. On a gut feeling, I'll go ahead and predict that we will. And yeah, "book it."

Anonymous said...

What reflects poorly on David Williams is that Franklin was our second choice in the first place.

Anonymous said...

This hire SUCKS! I'll say it again and again, you can put lipstick on this pig all day long but 85th offense in the country in the mediocre ACC! SOV SOV SOV. I hate you DW.

Anonymous said...

Maryland was 42nd in scoring offense...(i)CRC/Kiser/SOV was 112th

Which would you rather be?

42nd or 112th?

They say the best way to win a ball game is to score more than the other team. It works for VU in hoops and baseball.