ALLENTOWN It was just two years ago that media reporters, including myself, sat down in a hotel suite at the Holiday Inn in Fogelsville with Bill O'Brien as he was navigating his way through the first month of being Penn State's new head football coach.

On Saturday, I once again found myself in that same posiition as James Franklin, now Penn State's new head man, entered the doors of the Lehigh Valley Nike Coaches Clinic with an energy that swelled through the lobby.High school football coaches, who were just finishing their afternoon seminars were hanging around the lobby awaiting Franklin's arrival. Meaning, the message in his opening press conference back on January 11th, 'calling all Pennsylvania high school football coaches to band together to make Penn State historic once again' looked to be delivered.Before the interview got started, Franklin was signing footballs for charity, and the "PA guy" just oozed out of him. Franklin is through and through a Pennsylvania guy, as he talked about how comforting it was to be back in his home state and around "home." He talked about the crazy weather and how he has to get used to it again, which most people from the area know is one of our number one conversation starters. You know what I'm talking about, when you walk into your local store and the old guy grabbing a paper goes "how about this weather, is it ever going to end?"Simply put, Franklin just talked. He was personal, and radiated a trusting demeanor, which is something most Pennsylvania people hang their hat on.Of course, being a "PA guy" is great, but what Penn State Alumni and supporters want to know is what kind of product is he going to put on the field.Back in January, when Franklin was introduced as Penn State's new haed coach, it was evident from his remarks that he was going to take an aggressive approach to building a successful program.His most meomorable statement from that press conference, one that is still creating buzz to this day, was "dominate the state," a reference to Penn State's new recruiting philosophy."To be honest, it wasn't a slogan that I thought up before hand or anything, I just kind of said it during the press conference," said Franklin. "I think that's a similar philosophy anywhere you're going to be. You better do a good job 4-6 hours from where you are because that's where you're going to have the best ability to go out and connect with people."Obviously, the philosophy was magnified with me being a Pennsylvania guy and I take a lot of pride in that. The fact that I went to East Stroudsburg University and all my buddies are now teachers and coaches in Pennsylvania plays a big part in all of this as well. We just have so many connections throughout the state."Franklin has also been taking a lot of media heat for luring five Vanderbilt 2014 recruits to Penn State. Most recently, a tractor trailer with a Penn State logo and the word 'football' on the side of it picked up Franklin's belongings in Nashville. These things have bothered some fans and even got new Vanderbilt coach Derek Mason to issue a challenge saying "we would play Penn State anywhere and anytime."Franklin was able to explain the difficulties in leaving Vanderbilt and how they struggled with the decision, but at the end of the day, personally and professionally taking the Penn State job was the right move."Because of the way we like to build a program and the relationships we make within that process, it made it really hard to make this decision," said Franklin. "If it was just a job to us, it would've been a lot easier. We would've got on a plane in the middle of the night, like a lot of coaches do and you're just gone."But that's not us, so we struggled with it. I love Nashville, I love Vanderbilt, and it was a great experience that I'll always be thankful for. That being said, when the Penn State job came up I felt like it was an opportunity we couldn't turn down. I'll tell you one thing though, calling that team meeting and telling those guys, with about 2,500 fans out on the street in support of us that we were leaving, was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do."It's way too early to tell what Franklin's reign at Penn State is going to entail. It's unkown if he'll ever win a national title or bring Penn State back to the prominant program it once was in the 80s and early 90s. One thing looks to be for sure though and that is Franklin has the passion to make all those things happen."I want us to be the fastest team in the Big Ten," said Franklin. "I don't just mean at running back and wide receiver either. I mean everywhere on the field. I want us to play with passion and play violent out there on the football field. I want us to fly around and do it all with a blue collar, hard-working approach. I think if we do that we can be a very successful football progarm."