Franks earns Penn State offer
Three-star offensive lineman Zachary Franks was the lone Class of 2019 prospect to leave Penn State’s Whiteout Camp Saturday with an offer from the Nittany Lion coaching staff.
A 6-foot-6, 280 pound offensive tackle from Gilman in Baltimore, Franks has had Penn State’s attention for months now, as he’s been regularly speaking with tight end coach Tyler Bowen on a weekly basis throughout the offseason. However, James Franklin and his assistants wanted to see him workout in-person before they took that next step. That gave him plenty of motivation heading in Saturday’s camp.
“It means a lot to me,” Franks said, when asked the offer from Penn State and the camp in . “I think it really proves to a lot of people what I already thought myself, which is that I can play big-time college football. I think some people doubted that, so I think this really puts all the doubters to rest.
“I went out and proved myself against some top competition, against some really good players that already had great offers. So, that was a really important camp for me. I think I proved myself.”
Franks got a taste for Penn State’s staff and football program back in April when he attended the Blue-White Game. They made it clear to him then that he was being seriously considered for an offer, but that feeling took another step in the right direction as soon as he walked into the Lasch Building this weekend.
“The first thing that stood out is the energy they bring to the room,” said Franks. “When I first walked in, Coach Franklin chased me down. Apparently, I walked right past him and I didn’t even realize it. He came over then and joked about how I’m going to walk right past him and not say hello. So, that was cool. He made me feel wanted right from the start.”
He also connected with offensive line coach Matt Limegrover throughout the camp. In fact, Franks said that he took to Limegrover’s coaching right from the start.
“It’s really easy to understand Coach Limegrover and what he’s trying to say and teach,” Franks said. “He would explain things one time and I pretty much got it right away.
“He would use different analogies to explain why you have to do something. I kept finding myself thinking, ‘yeah, that definitely makes sense. That’s a very good analogy.’ So, for me personally, I always find analogies as a good way to learn something. It’s easier for me to connect and learn that way, so I thought that was really cool. I liked Coach Limegrover a lot.”
So far, Franks has earned just shy of 30 scholarship offers. He took an official visit to Northwestern a few weeks ago and has also visited Duke, Rutgers and Virginia in recent months. Those schools and others will likely make his Top 10 when he’s ready to make that move later this summer, but it also appears as if Penn State is going to be a serious contender moving forward.
“Right now, everything is a bit discombobulated because this was a really big offer for me. My goal was to be done before the season, but I’m not sure if that’s ideal now. I just want to see how things progress. I’m in the process of eliminating some schools and narrowing my list and then I’ll go from there.”
Before heading home, Franks and his father discussed a return visit for Penn State’s Lasch Bash Barbecue, which will take place at the end of July. As of now, he said it’s likely that he returns. He’s also planning to take an official visit to California come September and would like to return to Penn State for a game when his schedule permits.