First, I apologize for the length of this post. I know most don’t want to read a lot of diatribe from a blow-hard dad but I thought, a full year plus into the staff change, I would share this with you all to let you know what I think is important about our head coach and staff here at Penn State.
Most know that I am Chance Sorrell’s dad. What some may not know is how we became a Penn State family, literally in an instant, with very little introduction. I think this may hopefully give you a perspective not really seen before.
Chance was widely recruited. He definitely passed the “eye-ball” test as his height was very good and his physique was excellent. Although Chance had these things going for him, he still was missing the films to become an elite prospect.
Chance had little films because his HS offense ran the triple option (rarely passed and low accuracy when they did), his QB’s ran the ball a lot (now an OSU Standout) and Chance was bitten by the injury bug. Although he Varsity Lettered 12 times (all 4 years in football, basketball & track), he did so while fighting through and recovering in extraordinary time from 2 broken ankles (freshman hoops & junior football seasons, hence the nickname “IronAnkle” from screws in one of the ankles), the usual ankle sprains and dings (for a year-round athlete), and another major injury right before his senior year of football. No films for recruiting means lots of camps if you want to be a prospect.
A couple days after attending the June 1st Tennessee OL camp and the UT coaches evaluating the camp-film, Chance got his coveted offer from UT. They were, however, asking about his injury that occurred on the very last live rep at their camp. A couple days later when they found that the severity was still unknown (doctors arguing about it so we were going for a 3rd opinion), they rescinded the scholarship offer. If the injury was major, Chance would likely miss his Senior year of football on top of missing the last 6 games of his Junior year due to the broken ankle. Not a good recipe for successful recruiting.
During this same hot recruiting timeframe, Chance continued to visit a few schools. He loved Coach Franklin and his staff and already had an offer at Vanderbilt. Chance was ready for the process to be over. When we ran the schools through our recruiting matrix (decision maker), Vanderbilt actually came out on top so he committed to Coach Franklin and Vanderbilt following a visit during that same period. The last we were told regarding his recent injury was that it was likely fine, only inflamed, and Chance would play his Senior Year. He just needed to rest it for now. The very next day after Chance committed was the day we really learned a lot about Coach Franklin’s character.
The day after Chance committed to Vandy, we received a call from the surgeon in Cincinnati (our 3rd opinion as the 2 from our local office disagreed on Chance’s injury). He confirmed that Chance would require immediate surgery. He would miss his Senior football season. Chance was crushed. Not only would he miss his senior year, but we felt that he could potentially lose his scholarship offer from Vanderbilt and others. We’ve seen other offers pulled for similar and lesser issues and UT rescinded their offer a week or so earlier as they took a “wait and see” approach. We also knew that some schools pulled offers from commits just a few days before signing the National Letter of Intent so nothing was out of the realm of possibility
Once the injury was confirmed, Chance decided that we needed to call Coach Franklin and let him know immediately. As a father, that is a call that I’ll never forget as I sat with him while he made it. My son was absolutely sick.
When Coach Franklin answered his phone, he was exactly who you’d expect. Positive, upbeat, energetic Coach Franklin. He knew it was Chance from caller ID and greeted him very enthusiastically. Once Chance began to speak and greet Coach back, Coach Franklin immediately asked Chance what was wrong.
Chance explained to Coach Franklin that he had a serious injury from the UT camp on June 1st and just received confirmation that he would require surgery and likely miss his entire Senior football season. Chance also told Coach Franklin that he completely understood if Coach Franklin needed to pull his scholarship offer and go with someone else better known or less risky. It was in the responding statement that I understood that Coach Franklin was so different from the rest.
Coach Franklin told Chance, “when you committed to me, I committed to you. You have my back and I have yours. If you never play college football again, you will graduate from Vanderbilt University on a football scholarship”. Coach Franklin then went on to talk to me and say the only thing he asked is that we let the Vanderbilt trainer know what was going on and keep him apprised so he could help advise us. He also let me know that he loved Chance and believed in his ability to recover. We soon after selected the Chief of Surgery at Vanderbilt Medical Center (perhaps one of the best in the country) to evaluate Chance and decide on the care. If Chance was going to go to Vandy, we wanted the team doctors there to have the background on him and give him the best opportunity for the future.
As it ended up, the surgeon told Chance that the damage was done and would be very painful but really couldn’t get any worse. He suggested that Chance go ahead and play his Senior year and then have the surgery immediately following Chance’s last game. Chance would have to go very limited in practice so as not to inflame it too much and cut out certain weight lifting exercises. This worked out perfectly and Chance recovered fully at an accelerated pace and ended up playing the last half of the basketball season too, helping his team to the Sweet 16 in Ohio.
When I heard those words from Coach Franklin, his commitment and sincerity towards my son, I knew they were genuine. At that point, I wanted this man, more than any school or individual, leading the individuals who would continue to develop one of my most prized possessions, my son.
On the same day Coach Franklin officially took the job at Penn State, he called Chance and offered Chance a scholarship with the Nittany Lions. There was no hesitation in us accepting and committing to Penn State. Any stigma associated with the school really didn’t matter. Although I was not as educated with the facts as I am now, I still didn’t buy into the hysteria that the “scandal” was reflective of the program or any of the staff. I knew who I wanted to coach my son at this point.
Our journey’s reality is that James Franklin got us to Penn State, have no doubt. But it’s everything else about it that makes us part of this community until we draw our last breaths. There is nothing that we don’t embrace and enjoy about the entire Penn State experience. Furthermore, I’d say that Coach Franklin is the perfect fit and what he is doing is going to be great for the program, community and fans for many years to come. It is a continuance of Success with Honor, just with a contemporary twist.
Again, I’m sorry this has been so long. I wanted to give you a glimpse into big-time recruiting and truly understand exactly why We Are!
We Are and we couldn’t be more thankful!
Most know that I am Chance Sorrell’s dad. What some may not know is how we became a Penn State family, literally in an instant, with very little introduction. I think this may hopefully give you a perspective not really seen before.
Chance was widely recruited. He definitely passed the “eye-ball” test as his height was very good and his physique was excellent. Although Chance had these things going for him, he still was missing the films to become an elite prospect.
Chance had little films because his HS offense ran the triple option (rarely passed and low accuracy when they did), his QB’s ran the ball a lot (now an OSU Standout) and Chance was bitten by the injury bug. Although he Varsity Lettered 12 times (all 4 years in football, basketball & track), he did so while fighting through and recovering in extraordinary time from 2 broken ankles (freshman hoops & junior football seasons, hence the nickname “IronAnkle” from screws in one of the ankles), the usual ankle sprains and dings (for a year-round athlete), and another major injury right before his senior year of football. No films for recruiting means lots of camps if you want to be a prospect.
A couple days after attending the June 1st Tennessee OL camp and the UT coaches evaluating the camp-film, Chance got his coveted offer from UT. They were, however, asking about his injury that occurred on the very last live rep at their camp. A couple days later when they found that the severity was still unknown (doctors arguing about it so we were going for a 3rd opinion), they rescinded the scholarship offer. If the injury was major, Chance would likely miss his Senior year of football on top of missing the last 6 games of his Junior year due to the broken ankle. Not a good recipe for successful recruiting.
During this same hot recruiting timeframe, Chance continued to visit a few schools. He loved Coach Franklin and his staff and already had an offer at Vanderbilt. Chance was ready for the process to be over. When we ran the schools through our recruiting matrix (decision maker), Vanderbilt actually came out on top so he committed to Coach Franklin and Vanderbilt following a visit during that same period. The last we were told regarding his recent injury was that it was likely fine, only inflamed, and Chance would play his Senior Year. He just needed to rest it for now. The very next day after Chance committed was the day we really learned a lot about Coach Franklin’s character.
The day after Chance committed to Vandy, we received a call from the surgeon in Cincinnati (our 3rd opinion as the 2 from our local office disagreed on Chance’s injury). He confirmed that Chance would require immediate surgery. He would miss his Senior football season. Chance was crushed. Not only would he miss his senior year, but we felt that he could potentially lose his scholarship offer from Vanderbilt and others. We’ve seen other offers pulled for similar and lesser issues and UT rescinded their offer a week or so earlier as they took a “wait and see” approach. We also knew that some schools pulled offers from commits just a few days before signing the National Letter of Intent so nothing was out of the realm of possibility
Once the injury was confirmed, Chance decided that we needed to call Coach Franklin and let him know immediately. As a father, that is a call that I’ll never forget as I sat with him while he made it. My son was absolutely sick.
When Coach Franklin answered his phone, he was exactly who you’d expect. Positive, upbeat, energetic Coach Franklin. He knew it was Chance from caller ID and greeted him very enthusiastically. Once Chance began to speak and greet Coach back, Coach Franklin immediately asked Chance what was wrong.
Chance explained to Coach Franklin that he had a serious injury from the UT camp on June 1st and just received confirmation that he would require surgery and likely miss his entire Senior football season. Chance also told Coach Franklin that he completely understood if Coach Franklin needed to pull his scholarship offer and go with someone else better known or less risky. It was in the responding statement that I understood that Coach Franklin was so different from the rest.
Coach Franklin told Chance, “when you committed to me, I committed to you. You have my back and I have yours. If you never play college football again, you will graduate from Vanderbilt University on a football scholarship”. Coach Franklin then went on to talk to me and say the only thing he asked is that we let the Vanderbilt trainer know what was going on and keep him apprised so he could help advise us. He also let me know that he loved Chance and believed in his ability to recover. We soon after selected the Chief of Surgery at Vanderbilt Medical Center (perhaps one of the best in the country) to evaluate Chance and decide on the care. If Chance was going to go to Vandy, we wanted the team doctors there to have the background on him and give him the best opportunity for the future.
As it ended up, the surgeon told Chance that the damage was done and would be very painful but really couldn’t get any worse. He suggested that Chance go ahead and play his Senior year and then have the surgery immediately following Chance’s last game. Chance would have to go very limited in practice so as not to inflame it too much and cut out certain weight lifting exercises. This worked out perfectly and Chance recovered fully at an accelerated pace and ended up playing the last half of the basketball season too, helping his team to the Sweet 16 in Ohio.
When I heard those words from Coach Franklin, his commitment and sincerity towards my son, I knew they were genuine. At that point, I wanted this man, more than any school or individual, leading the individuals who would continue to develop one of my most prized possessions, my son.
On the same day Coach Franklin officially took the job at Penn State, he called Chance and offered Chance a scholarship with the Nittany Lions. There was no hesitation in us accepting and committing to Penn State. Any stigma associated with the school really didn’t matter. Although I was not as educated with the facts as I am now, I still didn’t buy into the hysteria that the “scandal” was reflective of the program or any of the staff. I knew who I wanted to coach my son at this point.
Our journey’s reality is that James Franklin got us to Penn State, have no doubt. But it’s everything else about it that makes us part of this community until we draw our last breaths. There is nothing that we don’t embrace and enjoy about the entire Penn State experience. Furthermore, I’d say that Coach Franklin is the perfect fit and what he is doing is going to be great for the program, community and fans for many years to come. It is a continuance of Success with Honor, just with a contemporary twist.
Again, I’m sorry this has been so long. I wanted to give you a glimpse into big-time recruiting and truly understand exactly why We Are!
We Are and we couldn’t be more thankful!
