James Franklin surprised some fans earlier on Thursday morning by releasing an article on noted content platform The Players’ Tribune.

The site, which has allowed fans to peer into the minds of their favorite athletes and figures like never before, has been something of a game-changer since its inception, and showed a side of Franklin that most haven’t gotten to see since he became Penn State’s head coach.

Franklin, who’s typically reserved and reluctant to divulge much personal information, elaborated on last year’s success that helped vault his program among the nation’s elite, and shed some light on his own family history. While Franklin is known to be an emotional person by those close with him, he takes a business-like approach to gameday and handling the media. Thursday’s article shows a more emotional side of Franklin — one that shows his true, honest feelings about Penn State’s recent history, and his own opinions on the job he calls his dream job.

Here’s a snippet from the piece titled Roaring Back:

I often tell people that Penn State has always been my dream job, but I don’t really mean that in the traditional sense. Truthfully, I never viewed this job attainable. Like everyone else, I always thought it was going to stay within the Penn State family. So when the opportunity to coach here came along, I knew it was something I couldn’t pass up. Pennsylvania is my home, and this program is at the heart of it.

Ultimately, I knew this was a place where I could build a winning program. I loved my life in Nashville, but I came to realize that this was the opportunity I’d been working toward my whole life. So I went for it.

And that’s when the real work started.

The No. 6 Nittany Lions kick off their season this weekend against Akron in Beaver Stadium. We highly recommend you give Franklin’s piece a read before heading into the game on Saturday.