James Franklin recently discussed Penn State football’s sideline props
Penn State football head coach James Franklin didn’t approve of the sideline props — but at the same time, he approves.
There have been multiple reasons why the Penn State football program has made headlines this week. One of the reasons happens to be the fact that the team dominated their Week 5 opponent, Maryland on the road, as they move to 4-0 on the season.
Another reason is that their young, first-time starting quarterback Sean Clifford broke a school record, along with finding himself mentioned in the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week category. Those two reasons alone are quite favorable for the program.
However, there’s always gotta be something that takes away from the bigger picture. The fun police were out on Friday as many Penn State, and even non-Penn State fans saw the team debut a sideline prop for the first time after an early touchdown by running back, Ricky Slade.
When Slade made his way back to the sidelines, he was donned with a silver chain that read “LawnBoyz,” which is the nickname issued to the backfield by their position’s coach, Ja’Juan Seider. Similar to the famous turnover chain in Miami, Penn State backs will only wear it when they score.
Some thought it was cool, as the chain shows off some of the player’s personalities. Not everybody liked it though. In fact, tons of negativity built up on Friday and beyond regarding the sideline prop. It became such a hot topic last week that James Franklin was even asked about it on Tuesday.
James Franklin’s opinion on the ‘LawnBoyz’
Typically, head coaches would like to be consulted about specific sideline props before they get utilized. An approval would be necessary, just to be safe. That didn’t happen with the LawnBoyz chain though. The backfield knew better than to ask James Franklin.
“I’ve got things more important on my list,” Franklin stated on Tuesday at his weekly press conference. “The overall culture, our guys know what’s acceptable and what’s not.”
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“For me, there’s a fine line with it. Ultimately, I want to make sure we’re playing a brand of football people can respect and can feel good about how they conduct themselves and play — you’ve gotta allow them to have some personality.”
The LawnBoyz chain is appropriate in the eyes of Coach Franklin. While he doesn’t particularly rave about the idea, the Lions’ head coach is all for showing personality. As Penn State safety LaMont Wade mentioned on Sunday, this group of players will forever respect and keep up with the school’s tradition — but at the same time — they are working on creating their own as well.