‘Stay together’: Penn State football captain reveals James Franklin’s locker room message after Orange Bowl loss

Penn State football is still reeling from Thursday night’s 27-24 elimination loss to Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Orange Bowl. Minutes away from punching its ticket to the National Championship, the Nittany Lions now head back to State College with its eyes toward 2025.

In a heart-wretched locker room after the game, the message from James Franklin was simple.

“I mean, stay together, man. We’re a family,” linebacker and team captain Kobe King said of Franklin’s postgame message to his program. “Definitely didn’t go the way you wanted it to. He understood that guys were down for a reason. And, you know, I couldn’t blame guys, he couldn’t blame guys – because it’s a team effort, team sport.

“We just got to stay together, stay connected as a team should be. And [there’s] lots to work on to grow from this. Guys coming up, older guys, just got to get it done.”

Stay-or-go decisions await several of Penn State football’s biggest names

© Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Kobe King is among those Nittany Lions who need to decide whether to take Franklin’s message literally or figuratively. The redshirt junior says he still hasn’t made up his mind whether or not he will return to Penn State next season or head to the NFL.

“I’m still thinking about it,” King said of his decision timeline. “I’m not really [thinking about it]. I’m still thinking about this game, really, man. But, love my guys. Love this team. We gonna see.”

To date, both of the NFL Draft declarations have come from the defensive side of the Penn State football program. On Friday, Abdul Carter joined KJ Winston as the two Nittany Lions to forego a final season and head to the professional ranks.

With Drew Allar and Zakee Wheatley officially set to return, Penn State football now waits for announcements from its other stars and leaders, including running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen, defensive linemen Zane Durant and Dani Dennis-Sutton, and offensive lineman Sal Wormley, to name a few. The deadline to declare for the 2025 NFL Draft is January 15.

The transfer portal has also now reopened for the Nittany Lions, with five days for players to enter following the original December 28 deadline. Five members of the 2024 roster have entered the portal to date.

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