This Penn State Nittany Lions player has appeared to throw some shade at former head coach James Frankin.
The Penn State Nittany Lions entered the 2025 college football season with sky-high aspirations. Not only did they appear to be a shoo-in for the College Football Playoff, but they seemed to have a great chance of winning their first national championship since 1987.
Instead, catastrophe ensued.
Penn State went just 6-6 in a disastrous campaign that included the firing of head coach James Franklin after 12-and-a-half seasons with the program.
Franklin was canned after a three-game losing streak following a 3-0 start, including humiliating losses to UCLA and Northwestern.
The 53-year-old is now the head coach of the Virginia Tech Hokies and will almost certainly things around in Blacksburg, but he did not exactly leave a lasting legacy in Happy Valley.
In fact, Nittany Lions safety King Mack seemingly threw some shade at Franklin recently, questioning the culture that Franklin built at Penn State. At least in 2025.
Penn State Nittany Lions safety King Mack makes a tackle. Credit: Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images.“Not having all 100 people locked in and focused on one thing at one time, it’s hard to be successful," Mack said, via Kyle Golik of Nittany Sports Now.
Mack began his career at Penn State in 2023, transferred to Alabama in 2024 and then made his way back to the Nittany Lions ahead of this past season.
The Miami native registered 56 tackles, an interception and three passes defended this year, and he seems glad that Matt Campbell — who had previously coached Iowa State — is now in charge.
“When people on your ship aren’t all on one mission,” Mack said. “The fact that [Campbell] has seen that, he said it’s his job to fix that.”
That certainly seems like an indirect shot at Franklin, who went 104-45 throughout his time at Happy Valley but could never seem to win the big game for Penn State.
Prior to coaching the Nittany Lions, Franklin spent three seasons at Vanderbilt, where he went a rather uninspiring 24-15.
There is no question that Franklin did a lot of good things for Penn State, but his inability to get the Nittany Lions over the hump — especially against the Big Ten's top teams — has always been held against him, and clearly, he completely lost the locker room somewhere along the way.