The Penn State Nittany Lions must have been terrified of the word “orange” for some time now. James Franklin and the boys made it to the playoffs. But sheer bad luck! Marcus Freeman’s squad left them to mere specks of dust in a 24-27 feat. In 2024, Franklin’s program went 11-1 in the regular season and secured a spot in the Big 10 Championship but failed to make it to the national championship run. The biggest reason behind the loss? 

Their wide receivers’ room! This transfer season, they have lost a couple of the wide receivers. However, a Penn State insider still sounds confident. That’s when the CFB insider shared his clear stance on the situation. Just to add a touch of hope, a Nittany Lions legend brushed upon what the future holds for Franklin’s squad. 

James Franklin’s ‘infinity stone’ to hit the pedal in the national title chase

There was no quieter area of Penn State’s locker room than where the wide receivers were sitting. Well, now that’s no surprise! After all, Franklin’s boys showed clear weakness in the wide receiver position in 2024. In that case, the Orange Bowl did open the eyes widely. During the playoffs, the Nittany Lions’ wide receiver room failed to record a single catch. While Franklin and Co. look forward to addressing the loopholes in their WR room, they failed to land one of its top WR targets in the 2026 class. That’s none other than the 4-star WR recruit Connor Salmin, who committed to Dabo Swinney’s Clemson. On that note, analyst J.D. PicKell shares what Blue White Illustrated analyst Sean Fitz thinks about the situation. 

“If we go over to Blue White Illustrated and check in with our guy Sean Fitz and he’s saying “Y’all, I mean we don’t need to go to the portal for a receiver post-spring.”” Even though this made PicKell shocked, he got to where Fitz was heading when he refuted the ‘Penn State WR room is a mess’ narrative. Now what’s the reason behind such confidence? After all, they had lost their key receivers, Trey Wallace and Omari Evans, to the portal. But so what? Franklin and Co. were aggressive in landing two wide receiver talents through the transfer portal. One is former USC WR Kyron Hudson and the other is former Troy pass catcher Devonte Ross before the 2025 season.

Hudson is a name that PicKell might count on to lead Franklin’s program to glory in the upcoming season. Yes, it’s the same WR who came up with two key catches in the 27-20 Trojans win over LSU. In addition to his highlight grab for 24 yards in the second quarter, he had set up a game-winning touchdown run by Woody Marks. So is PicKell now convinced? Definitely! He states, “Seeing him last year at USC I think he’s maybe one of the more lowkey impactful additions for Penn State. But if that’s the reality, y’all Penn State is a national title contender because that’s really the one missing infinity stone for James Franklin.”

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Meanwhile, the HC’s ‘Last Dance’ narrative is also trending.

Is James Franklin breathing new life into Penn State? 

No matter what’s happening in Penn State’s hood, Franklin is already turning their story for the better. Now come on, we all know how the Nittany Lions had somewhat of a lackluster season under Joe Bedenk. But as soon as Franklin steps in, the Nittany Lions fans must be getting flashbacks of their golden era under Joe Paterno. Here comes some input from the 2013 spring Penn State signee and now-turned-analyst Adam Breneman.

He stated, “You look at what coach Franklin has done at Penn State… The coaching job he has done in the last decade of college football is one of the best we’ve seen.” While there have been hits, misses also dominated Franklin’s 2024 stint. The Ohio State Buckeyes and Notre Dame games came off as massive speedbreakers. But so what?

As Penn State’s athletic director, Patrick Kraft in no way wants to rob away the spotlight from James Franklin. He stated, “…Yes, we want to win every single game—that’s the expectation for every program, but to see what he has done and that consistency is what’s remarkable to me.” Now will Franklin be able to touch JoePa’s record if he gets an extended ticket in Penn State? Paterno is the most victorious coach in NCAA Division 1 Football history with 409 wins. Penn State will begin its 2025 season with a matchup against Nevada on Aug. 30.