Penn State's James Franklin: 'Elite' Head Coach, 'Below-Average' Roommate

Penn State assistant Joe Lorig dishes on head coach James Franklin and their time at Idaho State.

Honestly, this was surprising. Penn State coach James Franklin is so impeccably precise and organized, you'd expect him to be the model roommate.

Not so, according to a member of his coaching staff.

"I think coach Franklin is an elite head football coach," Joe Lorig, Penn State's special teams coordinator, said at the team's media day. "I think he's the best head football coach, or one of the best head football coaches, in the country. Certainly the best I've ever worked for. As a roommate, that is not even close to reality."

Franklin and Lorig spent the 1999 season working and living together at Idaho State. Franklin coached the wide receivers, while Lorig was the defensive coordinator.

They carved such a strong relationship that Franklin hired Lorig as his special teams coordinator 20 years later. But clearly, Lorig and his family were getting their own place in State College.

At media day, Franklin noted his long relationship with Lorig, recalling how they roomed together while at Idaho State. So, Lorig was asked, "What kind of roommate was James Franklin?"

Watch his answer above.

"He was messy, he was not a very good communicator all the time, he didn’t do the dishes when we were supposed to do the dishes," Lorig said. "I'm kind of a very organized person. I plan out my menu for the week and stuff, and he’s not. He brings home fast food when we already had a meal planned. So you can catch me some other time, there’s some stuff I can’t or shouldn’t talk about, but he’s a below-average roommate."

Since he spoke before Lorig at media day, Franklin was not available for rebuttal.

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