The center of the college football world over July 4th weekend is probably up at Nike headquarters in Beaverton, Ore. as the annual “Opening” takes place with hundreds of the top recruits in the country. Although coaches are not around, it’s still a chance for the next wave of players to showcase their skills against other elite talent and have a good time among their peers.
One such player is North Canyon (Ariz.) wide receiver Solomon Enis, who (if you want to feel really old) is actually the son of former Penn State legend Curtis Enis. Despite living out in the desert, the younger Enis has naturally been connected to his father’s alma mater in the recruiting process and in an interview with PennLive.com this weekend appeared to spill the beans on news of a new five-year contract extension for the guy recruiting him hard in Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin.
“Coach Franklin, Coach Gattis and Coach Moorhead, I mean, they’re just great guys and even better coaches and they’re going to put you in a position you can thrive in and they just treat you like my family,” Enis told the site. “They tell you straight up. They’re blunt with everything and you can trust them. Franklin signed a new five-year deal so he’s going to be there a minute while I’m there.”
That Franklin was going to get an extension after guiding the team to a surprising Big Ten title last season and an appearance in the Rose Bowl has been a foregone conclusion for months. Details have been quite scarce though but if the coach is telling recruits he’s locked up in Happy Valley for at least the next five years then there appears to be some movement on talks with him and the school and an announcement could be coming shortly.
“Keeping James at Penn State for a long, successful tenure is a priority,” athletic director Sandy Barbour said in a statement released by the school. “We will announce these details when appropriate.”
Barbour and the school’s brass probably weren’t expecting a recruit to leak news of the new extension this week but it sure seems like some sort of announcement is coming soon after the July 4th holiday wraps up and preparations for the 2017 season begin in earnest.