Between a Big Ten Championship, a Rose Bowl apperance, back-to-back 10 win seasons, and now the Fiesta Bowl, in some ways fans might not realize how quickly things have turned around for the Penn State Football program.
Sanctions and coaching changes brought uncertainty at times, but the type of players that PSU has consistently recruited during those years have been key to righting the ship.
Linebacker Jason Cabina says that the stability the team needed came with coach James Franklin and the results speak for themselves.
“I think, right now, you look at the locker room and everyone is pulling the rope in the same direction now,” Cabinda said. “I think that’s the biggest thing about it. If you look at the first couple of year here, you had a bunch of guys that three, four head coaches. That’s tough.
“That’s one thing that gets lost in college football, when coaches change and coaches get fired, that’s big. You’re breaking up a family is really what you’re doing. We’ve been able to progressively get better and better and I think that’s a big reason why we’ve been able to have the success that we’ve had over the years.”