Franklin’s Recruiting Process
1) The Focus
James Franklin is consistently of the most well renowned recruiters in college football year after year. He has begun sending out letters to hopefully future Penn State recruits and it would be interesting to the Penn State football community to get a look behind the scenes of his magic.
2.) People in the Story
James Franklin would be the key source for this video, but it should certainly include his coaching and recruiting staff. There are current players that have either been recruited by Franklin, or switched commitments once they realized Franklin would be Penn State’s new head coach. Another group of people to talk to would be current prospects and their parents and families to see how Franklin goes about recruiting them and how he conducts himself.
3) Key Details
Recently, James Franklin sent out 107 letters to each future prospect. They all arrived at once, but it would be interesting to find out whether some of the prospects found this amusing or annoying. I would also like to find out if the prospects know why they are sent such a specific number of 107 letters.
4) The Beginning, Middle, and End
The beginning of the story could consist of some B-roll of the football team either practicing or playing and setting up the story. It could also include Franklin’s relationship with the players.
The middle would be talking with Franklin about why he recruits players the way he does. It should also include the current player’s thoughts on Franklin and his recruiting process. This is the part where players who have been recruited by Franklin should be included.
The ending would be talking with the prospects who have received the 107 letters from Franklin and getting their reactions to his recruiting process. It wouldn’t be proper journalism to ask if they believe they will commit to Penn State, so that question will definitely be left out.
5) Other Materials
This is a story that could last for over a year following Franklin’s recruiting process and keeping in contact with the recruits. If a recruit is highly considering committing to Penn State, that could become a story of its own.