B1G Coaches Rankings: Where does Penn State Football’s James Franklin land?

The Big Ten is home to some of the preeminent blue bloods program which means it is also home to some of the best coaches in the nation, including Penn State Football’s James Franklin. 

Keeping up with the theme from the past month, we will take a look at the coaches around the Big Ten and power rank them the way we did positional groups, including Penn State Football’s.

The conference rich with traditional blue blood powers is also rich with some of the best coaches in the country, so this is a tricky exercise as some really good head coaches will be forced to the lower end of our list.

Coaching might be more important in college football than any major sport, as the head man is in charge of every little thing that occurs on a daily basis within the confines of his program while making sure to keep focused on the recruiting trail.

2020 saw a breakthrough for some coaches in the Big Ten, while some took a step back and face a make or break season next fall.

Let’s take at our Big ten coaches power rankings, including how Penn State Football’s James Franklin stacks up:

14. Mike Locksley – Maryland Terrapins 

Mike Locksley returned to Maryland after serving as an assistant at Alabama under head coach Nick Saban during the 2017-’18 seasons.

Locksley has done a fantastic job in turning around recruiting at College Park as the Terps ranked 31st in the country in 2020 according to 247sports but broke through with their ’21 class ranking 18th in the nation and fourth in the Big Ten, two spots ahead of Penn State Football.

Locksley will now have to turn it around on the field, and start having the Terps compete in maybe the best division in college football, the Big Ten East. He seemingly has found his quarterback of the future in Taulia Tagovailoa who was sensational last season.

Last season was a step in the right direction, drubbing Penn State Football in Happy Valley, but will need to do that more consistently.