PSU's Nick Dawkins Talks 'Overwhelming Sense of Guilt' Over James Franklin's Firing

After the firing of Penn State head coach James Franklin on Sunday, his former players are still struggling with the reality of the shakeup.

"Ultimately, as players, it's an overwhelming sense of guilt—like we got our coach fired, we didn't play well enough, we didn't do our job good enough," Penn State senior offensive lineman Nick Dawkins told Tyler Donohue of 247Sports on Tuesday. "And now he doesn't have a job anymore. … Just a new sense of ownership, responsibility."

The Nittany Lions fell to 3-3 after losing their third straight game with a shocking upset against Northwestern on Saturday. Franklin, who had coached the team since 2014, was fired after compiling a 104-45 record in 12 years at the helm.

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Dawkins described the firing as something that will eat away at the players throughout the rest of the year.

"Definitely an elephant in the room," Dawkins explained. "Every one of us is on the team because Coach Franklin brought us here. He's been in our homes, taken care of us, believed in us. He's absolutely on our mind, probably all season."

While speaking to reporters on Monday, Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft made it clear that firing Franklin was not a knee-jerk decision based on the current losing streak. According to ESPN's Jake Trotter, Franklin had a 4-21 record at Penn State against AP top-10 opponents, including 1-18 against top-10 Big Ten teams.

"This is not a three-game thing," Kraft said. "This is really diving where we are as a program—what is the trajectory of this program?"

The next person hired will be tasked with trying to lead the Nittany Lions to their first national championship since 1986, which won't be an easy task in the ever-changing college football landscape.

Penn State will begin life without Franklin when the team visits Iowa (4-2) on Saturday.