Coach James Franklin answered a few more questions than usual following Penn State’s win over Ohio State. As Saturday’s pandemonium turned to Sunday’s reflection, one thing was on everyone’s mind — why did defensive end Garrett Sickels sit for the first half?

Franklin admitted Sickels had missed a class as he tried to make it home for the long weekend during Penn State’s bye week. “Garrett has been a model citizen for us for three years,” Franklin told SB Nation. “We just had a situation where we had a bye week and some guys wanted to get home early for the long weekend. He ended up not going to a class.”

Sickels not getting the start confused some folks considering fans weren’t aware of the circumstances. Franklin’s explanation reaffirms Penn State’s overarching message of Success With Honor, and the very minor offense reaffirms Sickels didn’t do something horrible.

“I’ve been in a lot of places where you put the right guys on the field regardless, so there’s nothing better than when you can reinforce that type of message and still win. That carries a lot of weight,” Franklin said following the game. “He came out and played with his hair on fire, and then he’s the first person to grab me at the end of the game and tells me he loves me.”

About the Author

James Turchick

James is a senior majoring in digital and print journalism, James enjoys writing about anything weird and is deadly allergic to bees. Onward State people are very nice to him.

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