Penn State Football: Top-25 players of the James Franklin Era

Throughout his seven seasons as head coach of the Penn State football program, James Franklin has had his fair share of star players.

Between All-Americans, All-Conference players, and even first-round draft picks, Franklin has brought in some of the best players in the history of this storied program.

With that said, here are the top-25 players during the James Franklin era.

We kick off our top-25 players to play for James Franklin with one of the better offensive linemen the program has seen in the last ten years. During his time in Happy Valley, Brendan Mahon went from being one of the top players in New Jersey to an anchor for Franklin, helping the Nittany Lions rebuild the program back to being one of the best in the Big Ten.

A four-year starter at Penn State, Mahon paved the way for star running back Saquon Barkley, starting over forty games, and eventually becoming an All-Big Ten player. He was on the line for Franklin’s first season in Happy Valley back in 2014, and while offensive linemen do not get much of the spotlight, he was a big reason why Barkley ended up the No. 2 overall pick in 2018.