Is [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] one of the nation’s top 21 head football coaches entering the 2023 college football season? Not according to the watch list released by the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation and Peach Bowl on Thursday.
To be fair though, Franklin was not eligible to appear on the watch list, so perhaps we shouldn’t be too harsh in reacting to the release of this watch list. Franklin did not qualify to appear on the list because Penn State did not meet the APR minimum for a coach to be included on the watch list.
Coaches appearing on the Dodd Trophy Award watch list must have a program with an APR higher than 980. Penn State football’s most recent APR score came in at just 958, four points shy of the national average for football.
The APR scores can be impacted by transfer players, which has certainly not helped Penn State’s average score. Penn State does have a solid graduation success rate, however, typically comfortably above the national average.
As for this year’s Dodd Trophy watch list, Franklin had three wins against coaches on the list last season. Minnesota’s PJ Fleck, Michigan State’s Mel Tucker, and Utah’s Kyle Whittingham are all on the Dodd Trophy preseason watch list for the 2023 season. Ohio State’s Ryan Day, Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh, and Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz are also on the list.
Franklin will still have a chance to be named the Dodd Trophy coach of the year this season, but he will have to fight his way into the conversation after starting the season off the watch list.