Will Penn State Keep Player Names on Football Jerseys?

Under the late, lamented Joe Paterno, the players for Penn State football never had their names on the back of their jerseys. JoePa was old-school and believed in team victories more than individual recognition.

His successor, Bill O’Brien, altered that tradition — a way to recognize players who stuck with the program through the depths of NCAA sanctions.

Now James Franklin has arrived. Which tradition is he choosing? The Patriot-News reports:

Any evidence that Penn State is keeping player names on its jerseys remains circumstantial. The rumor took flight this morning when several members of the media saw uniforms adorned with player names being packed away for the flight to Dublin. But the university has not yet issued a comment, and coach James Franklin dismissed the topic entirely on a conference call this afternoon.

“I have not made it official but it’s all over social media,” Franklin said. “At this point, I’m not going to get into all this. This came out because we gave media access as we were loading buses and they ran with it. I’m more than happy to talk about it after the game, but right now our focus is on Central Florida.”

So: Probably.