In four seasons under James Franklin, Penn State football has experienced a level of sustained recruiting success it had not seen since the early to mid-1990s. The Nittany Lions’ Class of 2018 landed at No. 5 nationally in the 247Sports Composite Rankings, matching the program’s highest finish this decade.

So what has led to the success? Well, hard work has obviously been a part of it. Under Franklin and his staff, Penn State is logging more hours and traveling more miles than Joe Paterno’s staff did in the Hall of Famer’s final decade plus at the helm. There has also been a commitment to upgrade facilities. And winning on the field never hurts recruiting, though one has to wonder about the chicken-or-the-egg dynamic involved there.

But according to one soon-to-be Nittany Lion parent, something else about Franklin is resonating with recruits. On Sunday, Charles Wallace — the father of April PSU four-star offensive line commit Caedan Wallace — tweeted a video of Franklin addressing recruits on campus last July.

It appears to the from the Lasch Basch, parts of which were held in a giant tent outside of PSU’s Lasch Football Building.

Charles Wallace pointed to Franklin’s comments in the video as a reason his son and so many other top prospects are picking Penn State, adding, “Every parent and recruit should hear this!”

We thought every Penn State fan would probably want to SEE it, as well. So here goes.

Cleaning out videos and found this: July 2017- This is why @caedanw and others chose @PennStateFball! Every parent and recruit should hear this! #notbusinessbutpersonal @coachjfranklin pic.twitter.com/OJG91SySyp — Charles A Wallace II (@cawallace2) May 27, 2018

If you are unable to watch for some reason, here is what Franklin had to say in the video.

“(Penn State is) special to me because of the people here. My wife and kids are everything to me. The coaches on the staff are my family. This is not business, this is personal to me.”

After a pause to gather himself, an emotional Franklin continued.

“Your kids’ success is personal to me — making sure they leave here as educated men and prepared for life. And also play great football. That’s why we’re gonna be successful here, because it’s not business for us.

“If it was just business, if it was just winning games, I’d go coach in the NFL. We’re in this. The group of men that are here with me — these coaches and their wives and their kids — we’re in it for the right reasons: Using the game of football to make a difference in people’s lives and a difference in society.

“So some of you guys have opportunities to go all over the country, and you’re gonna be successful wherever you go because you’re special people, you’re special families and you appreciate education. But I’m gonna tell you what: You’re not gonna find a place, you’re not gonna find a staff, you’re not gonna find a group of men or a group of people that are gonna care more about your son and his development than the way we’ll do it here at Penn State.”

So there you have it. A sneak peek at something said to recruits last July.

Thank to 247Sports director of recruiting Steve Wiltfong for giving us a heads-up on this.