New Penn State head football coach Matt Campbell addresses Nittany Lion Club members above during his introduction press conference at Beaver Stadium on Monday afternoon. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski

Due to the dismissal of James Franklin as the head football coach at Penn State, almost all of the 2026 recruits have deserted Penn State and gone to other schools.

Most notably, many of them will join Franklin, the new head coach at Virginia Tech.

I think they are making a big mistake by placing too much importance on Franklin’s promises and his persuasiveness.

The decision to join a college football program should include an evaluation of the total football program at the college.

This includes whether it has the stature of a national program, will it receive media exposure and does it have the potential to be nationally ranked.

The prowess of the high school football programs in the region should be evaluated. The school’s graduation rate and whether the graduates make it into the pros are important.

The adequacy of the training facilities should be looked at.

The size of the fan base and alumni support are other important criteria. Finally, the financial resources available to the football program are vital for recruiting and retaining players. The Penn State football program addresses and excels in meeting all of these criteria.

The long-term potential for the Penn State football program is very positive based on the elements described in the previous paragraph.

It attracts outstanding players, and Matt Campbell, the new head football coach, will bring the impetus, recruiting prowess and overall coaching ability to bring back Penn State football back to prominence.

Also, I envision a number of former Penn State 2026 recruits deciding to transfer to Penn State after one year at their new schools.

Donald Moskowitz

Londonderry, N.H.

Despite Kraft, Lions landed right guy

I don’t know why Pat Kraft insisted upon trying to land guys who were never going to accept our offer — especially Kalani Sitake, a BYU alum, a Mormon who recruited using that base and a guy who never coached east of Utah.

Maybe that’s why it has been reported that the Board of Control took control of the process in recent days when Kraft apparently was pursuing Brian Daboll, with Neeli Bendapudi sealing the deal.

I don’t know that Matt Campbell is a significant upgrade over James Franklin, but Franklin’s act had gotten old.

Something was horribly wrong inside the program — a team had become individuals with their own agenda. And Franklin’s refusal to ride Kaytron Allen was inexcusable.

Franklin’s 1-18 record vs. Top-10 Big Ten teams was shockingly inept. When it was clear that he had lost this year’s team, he had to go.

Campbell is highly regarded as having perhaps the nation’s best scouting department and is known for finding and mining talent. He did at Iowa State what hardly anybody thought was possible. Oh, and he’s 4-6 vs. Top-10 teams.

Not bad considering the program’s pedigree. Just ask Iowa State’s fans about their sadness right now. They think they’re going back to the days of 1-11 teams.

Given Kraft’s malfeasance — and that regrettable, profanity-laced tirade in the leaked locker room audio — I’d say we landed on our feet beautifully.

Rick Weber

Fort Myers, Fla.