James Franklin raised some eyebrows when he claimed that B1G East powers were recruiting negatively against Penn State.

The Lions coach said that after the new reports of Joe Paterno’s longtime passive actions of Jerry Sandusky’s abuse surfaced, he spent a full day assuring recruits that the university wouldn’t face any more NCAA sanctions.

On Wednesday, Penn State athletic director Sandy Barbour addressed the issue to local media. She echoed Franklin’s frustrations on the matter.

“Recruiting across the country, it’s crazy,” Barbour told Scout.com. “And coaches will use absolutely any crack. They’ll create they’re own crack — I’m not talking about drugs — and that’s what’s happened in this case.”

Barbour said that the B1G and NCAA have been nothing but complimentary about the way the university has addressed the issues.

RELATED: James Franklin accuses B1G East powers of recruiting against PSU

Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame and Ohio State were the teams Franklin accused of using the latest Paterno/Sandusky reports against them. Barbour didn’t namedrop any of those teams, but she reportedly implied that there is a problem with negative recruiting in the conference that needs to be addressed.

“For someone, anyone, to try to plant in the mind of a 17-year-old that you don’t want to go to Penn State because they’re gonna get hit with the death penalty or there are gonna be more sanctions is not only untrue, but disingenuous and I feel a real slap in the face to this profession,” Barbour told Scout.com.

Barbour said that she is “100 percent behind James Franklin” to address the “ridiculous assertions” being made by other schools.

The Lions have had some recruiting struggles lately. On Wednesday, three-star safety Brelin Falson-Walden ended PSU’s nearly three-month drought without a verbal commitment for the 2017 class, which currently ranks 37th nationally.

Fortunately for the Lions, the recruiting season is still young. It remains to be seen if the “ridiculous assertions” against Penn State’s future will hold back the 2017 class.