Sports

Agent Accidentally Shops Current PSU Player To James Franklin In Hopes Of Gauging Transfer Interest

#College Football
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James Franklin on the sidelines during a Penn State football game.

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James Franklin was blindsided by an email he received from an agent this season. The Penn State head coach was sent a list of prospective transfers in hopes of gauging interest.

What the agent did not realize was that a current Nittany Lions player was on that list – and he wasn’t even in the portal!

We’ve officially entered the Wild, Wild West of college football. NIL and the transfer portal have turned the offseason into unrestricted free agency as players do anything and everything to test the market.

Not only are coaches dealing with recruiting high school players as they’ve done in the past, they’re also now tasked with convincing their current players to stay on campus rather than chase the bag.

A number of stars have entered the portal this season in order to find their worth.

In some cases, we’re hearing about seven-figure offers from suitors looking to pry kids away from their original schools in order to quickly bolster their own rosters.

Now, there is a process that’s supposed to be followed in these transfer decisions.

A player must first enter the portal, then they can decide whether or not they would like to contact programs directly or have others reach out to them.

NIL is not supposed to be used as a recruiting tool.

With little regulation or punishment for wrongdoers, a few of those steps are often skipped over.

Using backstreet channels, coaches and players relay information back and forth in hopes of striking a deal, and money has become maybe the most important instrument of persuasion.

Penn State head coach James Franklin dealt with this tampering firsthand, caught in an interesting situation that involved one of his own players.

An agent reportedly contacted Franklin in hopes of gauging interest in a list of potential transfers. On that list was a current Penn State player who wasn’t in the portal.

Athletic director Pat Kraft spoke on that particular situation.

Tampering not unique to James Franklin, Penn State

Rich Rodriguez chimed in on the tampering that’s invaded his Jacksonville State program. In just its first year at the Group of Five level, he called out an unnamed Power Five school for making an NIL offer against NCAA rule.

“Clearly tampered with before he got in the portal,” Rodriguez said about a player that recently opted to transfer. “And I know that because I talked to him before he was in the portal. He told me what school it was, and he told me the amount that they were going to pay him.”

He continued on to blast the program by saying, “That doesn’t happen independently. Some guy is not going to get a certain amount without somebody on that other staff alright facilitating that move.”

Rodriguez attempted to contact the coach of that unnamed team but got no response.

The head coach warned his players of making a move solely based on money, particularly if that offer isn’t life changing. He referenced his own professional mistakes in that message.

“I’ve done the same thing, I’m happy, and then I made a move I shouldn’t have,” noting his move from West Virginia to Michigan. After nearly leading the Moutaineers to a national championship appearance, he bolted for Ann Arbor where he was fired after three seasons.

Rich Rod has rediscovered happiness in the Group of Five, leading the Gamecocks to a 9-4 overall record. Jacksonville State picked up its first ever FBS bowl win earlier this month, and he celebrated on Bourbon Street with the team.

Things have reached another level in college recruiting, and it seems loyalty often takes a backseat to the almighty dollar.  Roster management is near impossible to navigate, and until the NCAA does something to rein in the nefarious activity, college coaches’ jobs will be that much tougher.