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Penn State's James Franklin is Sporting News Coach of the Year

James Franklin was asked to describe the achievements of this year’s Penn State team from the podium after winning the Big Ten championship Saturday in Indianapolis.

He didn’t give the expected answer.

“For me, it’s not just the season,” he said. “It’s all the hard work and all the positive steps we’ve been taking for three years. It didn’t always seem that way maybe to others, but we felt that way. It wasn’t easy. Those steps weren’t downhill. Those steps were up Mount Nittany. That’s kind of how I look at it.”

It wasn’t easy this season.