Beyond their comfort level together, Pry could give Franklin a window into the program that nobody else had. Pry was instrumental in helping keep their core group of defensive players, including Flowers,
Kemari Copeland,
Kaleb Spencer and
Aycen Stevens. He also had relationships with several incoming Penn State transfers from his time previously at the school.
He gave Franklin evaluations on every player on the roster and told Franklin where they had the biggest deficiencies both on the team and with their budget and facilities. Franklin got a scouting report on a program that most incoming coaches never get.
Pry also had a much better understanding of what a head coach has to deal with every day. Duke coach Manny Diaz knows all about that. Diaz took over from Pry as Penn State defensive coordinator in 2022 -- and bought his house -- after getting fired as Miami head coach. He remembers a signing day function in one of his first weeks at Penn State and all the people milling around, waiting for a few minutes with Franklin.
"I just laughed and I slapped him in the back and I said, 'None of these people want to talk to me,'" Diaz said. "I said, 'Hey, go get them, buddy.' And I just walked away. When you're sympathetic to that, you think, 'How do I take care of our defensive staff or recruiting or anything else to try to just let the head coach have one less thing to worry about?'"
