In some respects, 2024 was James Franklin’s breakthrough at Penn State. The Nittany Lions returned to the Big Ten title game, made the College Football Playoff for the first time, and were a drive away from the National Championship game. Still, in other ways, it was deeply unsatisfying.
Despite all of that success, Penn State’s two CFP wins came against SMU and Boise State, hardly the standard-bearers of the sport, and Franklin once again came up short against the best teams he found himself matched up against: Ohio State, Oregon, and Notre Dame.
The amount of talent returning to Happy Valley has set the expectation that the program will finally get over the hump, and maybe even, for the first time since 1986, win it all. Former Nittany Lions tight end and current Pittsburgh Steeler, Pat Freiermuth, believes that this is the year.
Pat Freiermuth excited about Penn State’s national championship chances
I caught up with Freiermuth at Steelers training camp in Latrobe, PA, on Wednesday and asked that burning question.
Is this the year for Penn State? Pat certainly thinks so... pic.twitter.com/AByvI0BMUT
— Victory Bell Rings (@VictoryBellRing) August 6, 2025
Now entering his fifth year in the league, Freiermuth still has one eye on Happy Valley and his Nittany Lions. He’s up on the portal additions of the offseason and the stable of tight ends that Penn State continues to produce.
Khalil Dinkins and Luke Reynolds appear to be next in line for Franklin’s program, which has produced Freiermuth, Mike Gesicki, Brenton Strange, Theo Johnson, and most recently, Tyler Warren. Freiermuth was impressed with what his former teammate accomplished in his redshirt senior season with the Nittany Lions.
Pat Freiermuth still rooting for Tyler Warren through NFL transition
“I was so proud of him,” Warren told me as he spoke about Warren’s historic final season with the Nittany Lions. “He took no shortcuts, went to college for five years. Just the way he’s gone about his process, held the standard, and it’s been great to see him thrive, and hopefully he does great every game except when they play us.”
That meeting between the Steelers and the Indianapolis Colts, who selected Warren with the 14th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, will come in Week 9 at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh.