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James Franklin complimentary of Josh Gattis, downplays familiarity with Michigan’s new offense
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When Penn State welcomes Michigan into Beaver Stadium on Saturday night under the lights, James Franklin will see a familiar face on the opposing sideline. Former Nittany Lions wide receivers coach Josh Gattis will have a play sheet in his hand and a headset over his hat.
Gattis spent six seasons on Franklin’s staff, two years at Vanderbilt and four years at Penn State. After the 2017 season, he headed to Alabama before taking over as the offensive coordinator at Michigan.
On both sidelines, there will be some familiarity with each other.
During his weekly press conference on Tuesday, Franklin expressed his gratitude towards Gattis, saying he was happy that his former wide receivers coach got the opportunity at Michigan.
“Very happy for him professionally. Very happy for him personally,” Franklin said of Gattis. “I wanna thank Josh for the job that he did while we were together, and again, very happy for him and his family.”
Franklin also talked briefly about Michigan’s new offense and whether Gattis calling the plays is somewhat beneficial for Penn State, considering there’s some familiarity. However, the PSU head coach downplayed that notion, saying it’s not quite the same because Gattis didn’t jump from Penn State directly to Michigan.
“There’s some Penn State in there, there’s some Alabama in there and there’s some Michigan in there,” Franklin said.
Franklin also said that Gattis and Michigan may actually be a little more familiar with Penn State’s offense than the other way around.
The last three meetings between Michigan and Penn State have been fairly lopsided, with Michigan winning two of those games. The Nittany Lions won the last game in Happy Valley, defeating the Wolverines 42-13.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB