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Penn State’s James Franklin Says Bill O’Brien and Boston College Are a ‘Win-Win’
Twenty years ago, James Franklin and Bill O’Brien spent a season together on the Maryland football staff. This season they nearly coached against each other as Big Ten opponents. Instead, they’re college head coaches simultaneously for the first time, and the current Penn State head coach said he’s happy for the former.
In his first season as Boston College’s head coach, O’Brien is 2-1 with an early win over Florida State, a week in the AP Top 25 and a tight loss at No. 7 Missouri. Franklin, watching from afar, had some kind words for O’Brien.
“I’ve known Bill for a long time,” Franklin said. “I’ve known [Craig Fitzgerald], his strength coach, for a long time. We were all at the University of Maryland together. Me and Bill lived in the same neighborhood. His wife and my wife were good friends. … It’s been cool to watch it, and I’m happy for those guys and not surprised.”
O’Brien, who spent two seasons as Penn State’s head coach in 2012-13, nearly returned to Beaver Stadium on other sideline this season. He spent about a month last winter as the offensive coordinator for Ohio State and head coach Ryan Day. Then the Boston College head coaching job opened, and O’Brien called it a natural fit for him.
A native of Dorchester, Mass., O’Brien played at Brown and began his coaching career there before moving to Georgia Tech and Maryland. That’s where Franklin and O’Brien met. They served one year together on Ralph Friedgen’s staff in 2004; O’Brien coached running backs, and Franklin coached wide receivers. O’Brien bracketed his time at Penn State with two tours with the New England Patriots and seven seasons as head coach of the Houston Texans.
Franklin viewed the O’Brien-Boston College partnership as a “win-win” for both parties.
“Obviously I followed his career in the NFL, and now back obviously at BC,” Franklin said. “For a short period of time he was also in our conference at Ohio State and now back at BC. For a lot of those guys from that part of the country, BC is like a dream job. It’s interesting. I talked to a ton of guys. That BC job is a very desirable job. If you know Bill, his background, it makes a ton of sense. So when that hire happened, when that whole thing went down, I thought it was a win-win for both BC and Billy.”
Evidently, Franklin has watched a bit of Boston College, likely during the bye week when O’Brien’s team visited Missouri.
“He’s got a really mobile, dynamic quarterback [in Thomas Castellanos] that has done some nice things last year,” Franklin said. “When he got that piece of the puzzle, you can build from there. Billy has tremendous experience doing that. So it’s been cool to watch it, and happy for those guys and not surprised.”
Franklin’s comments echoed those of O’Brien six years ago at the NFL Scouting Combine.
Bill O’Brien: ‘All of us who were at #PennState in ‘12 and ‘13 are very proud of what’s going on at Penn State right now.’ pic.twitter.com/54Szh7a9XM
— Mark Wogenrich (@MarkWogenrich) February 28, 2018
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Penn State on SI is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on X (or Twitter) @MarkWogenrich.
Many NBA teams are still rounding out their training camp rosters. With camps beginning in the next two weeks, several remaining free agents are working out with NBA teams with the hopes of landing a camp deal.
The Golden State Warriors have been linked to several players like this, and it was recently reported by Keith Smith of Spotrac that five-year NBA veteran Nassir Little has either already worked out, or will soon workout for the Warriors, Boston Celtics, Miami Heat, and Sacramento Kings.
Via Smith: “Free agent wing Nassir Little has/had workouts with the Boston Celtics, Golden State Warriors, Miami Heat and Sacramento Kings, a league source told @spotrac.”
Free agent wing Nassir Little has/had workouts with the Boston Celtics, Golden State Warriors, Miami Heat and Sacramento Kings, a league source told @spotrac.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) September 16, 2024
Little was recently waived by the Phoenix Suns.
Via Shams Charania on August 21: “The Phoenix Suns are waiving forwards Nassir Little and EJ Liddell, per sources. By releasing both, the Suns open up a roster spot and create flexibility for signings and trades during the season. Suns will stretch the three years and $22 million remaining on Little’s deal.”
A 6-foot-5 forward, Little owns career averages of 5.5 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 0.7 assists in 237 career games. Spending last season with Phoenix, Little appeared in 45 games (two starts).
The Warriors have worked out several players who are candidates for a training camp deal, and Little is reportedly one of those players.
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The ACC has announced the kickoff time for Boston College football’s Week 5 contest against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers on Sept. 28 at Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
The game will be at noon ET and air on ACC Network.
The two programs will meet for the first time in their histories. Currently, both teams are sitting at 2-1 on the season, but got to that point in different ways.
Boston College has had success in the early part of the season. The Eagles defeated the then-No. 10 Florida State Seminoles 28-13 on Labor Day Night on the road to open their season and followed that win with a 56-0 rout of Duquesne in their home opener on Sept. 7. The team suffered its first loss of the season over the weekend to the No. 7 Missouri Tigers 27-21 in Columbia, Mo.
The opposite has happened for Western Kentucky. The Hilltoppers started their season on a sour note, getting shut out 63-0 by the No. 4 Alabama Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Aug. 31 to open their season. Since then, the team has won two games in a row, Eastern Kentucky 31-0 on Sept. 7 and Middle Tennessee State 49-21 on Sept. 14.
For each team, this matchup marks the last game before conference play. Western Kentucky will be looking to add a quality win onto its schedule while Boston College will be hoping to finish out its non-conference slate on a positive note.
Both teams will play one more game before they face off. On Saturday, the Eagles host Michigan State at 8 p.m. ET on ACC Network and the Hilltoppers host Toledo at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
A man has been taken to the hospital following an apparent stabbing near Field Corner MBTA station in Boston’s Dorchester neighborhood.
Police responded to the T station on Dorchester Avenue shortly after 8p.m. on Sunday to find the man suffering from possible stab wounds.
It is unclear how serious his injuries are. Police say no arrests have been made.
The incident remains under investigation.
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