Penn State's James Franklin describes what he's thankful for as the Nittany Lions' head football coach.
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00:00 I love the players that I've been able to get to know and their families on a significant
00:19 level over the last 10 years.
00:25 I've probably become more aware of that, even to be honest with you, because of Vanderbilt.
00:36 It's amazing how many of those players that played for us at Vanderbilt have stayed in
00:40 touch, have come here to visit, that I connect with when I'm out of town.
00:49 Those relationships are real significant relationships.
00:54 You see players coming back to games here or on the road.
01:03 The relationships with the players and the ups and downs and twists and turns of what
01:09 healthy relationships go through with the staff, all the people that work in Lash Building,
01:18 all the different roles.
01:22 I think about the people on campus that I've been able to develop relationships, whether
01:29 it's Neely Bendapudi, or whether it's Michael Wade Smith, or Pat Craft, or Vinny, Matt Schuyler.
01:39 I think back to people like Dave Joyner, who hired me and gave me this opportunity, and
01:45 Sandy, and Eric Barron.
01:49 I just think about the people.
01:52 I think about the quarterback club, which was something I was against when I got here.
01:57 I'm like, "I'm going to go over during the week."
02:01 That relationship, I look forward to that now with the quarterback club.
02:07 Sometimes you don't necessarily want to go to the press conference and answer questions.
02:11 Sometimes you don't want to go to the quarterback club and answer questions.
02:16 I'd say the people, Steve Jones and Jack Ham, and just the people.
02:26 With Chris or Greg, I think at the end of the day, that's really what it is.
02:34 It's about relationships and people.
02:37 You got your family, and then you have your extended family.
02:41 That's probably the thing I am most thankful for, is all the wonderful, different people
02:50 that I've gotten to know.
02:51 I think you guys have heard me talk about this before.
02:53 I think that's what's so great about college football, is the locker room is full of people
03:00 from totally, I mean totally different backgrounds.
03:07 I think our world can learn a lot from a college football locker room, because literally you
03:14 got people that could not be any more different from the way they were raised, from their
03:21 educational experience, ethnic backgrounds, religious diversity.
03:33 It's as good as it gets, in my opinion.
03:36 [BLANK_AUDIO]