A few hundred eager Penn State football fans had been waiting a little over an hour to see Lions head coach James Franklin in downtown Harrisburg Thursday night.

First, though, came speeches from a few of the people associated with the first "Penn State football: The state of the program" event that took place at the Hilton.

Finally, on top of a small stage inside a large ballroom, the bald African-American man dressed in Penn State colors took the microphone shortly after an energizing PSU video concluded on the screen behind him.

Penn State coach James Franklin speaks in Harrisburg 14 Gallery: Penn State coach James Franklin speaks in Harrisburg

The video detailed the process that led to Penn State and athletic director David Joyner bringing Franklin from Vanderbilt to the State College school in early January to replace Bill O'Brien.

It included quotes from PSU players, Franklin addressing the media at his introductory news conference, and Franklin's first car ride to Beaver Stadium after arriving at the State College airport.

It was all-inclusive.

Now it was time for Franklin to talk, and it became pretty clear why he is one of college football's great recruiters. The man knows how to sell Penn State football. And not just to recruits.

Franklin had the crowd laughing and smiling. He had them hanging on his every word.

And after he went into detail about his four core values -- positive attitude, work ethic, competition and sacrifice -- Franklin focused, again, on the concept of hard work near the end of his speech.

"There's not a group of players, there's not a coaching staff, that is going to work harder,'' Franklin promised.

Then he paused.

"I get emotional,'' he said.

And then James Franklin, a man roughly three months into his job, a man who has put together the top recruiting class in the country in the minds of many experts, well, he choked up.

There was a long pause as the crowd grew silent.

Finally, someone in the audience said, "We do, too.''

Soon a roar broke out.

And Franklin received a standing ovation.

It was a startling --,and memorable, and honest -- conclusion to the Penn State football coach's first speaking engagement in front of Harrisburg-area Lions fans.

"Well, first of all, I'm emotional guy, my wife makes fun of me because I'll tear up over commercials and things like that,'' Franklin said later Thursday during a session with the media, when asked about his emotional moment.

"I just, you know, sitting there watching that video, it's a dramatic video. I really had nothing to say after that video, it's a great video.

"But you know, this is important to me, it's very, very important to me. Like I mentioned in there, this is not a job, it's not a career, it's a lifestyle.

"My wife (Fumi) and daughters (Ava and Addison) will be at the office every single day, whether it's having lunch or dinner with me. We'll have the players over to our house, which is why it was so hard for me to leave the last place (Vanderbilt).'' Because it's truly about the players,'' Franklin concluded.

"It's truly about the relationships, it's about the connection with the community. It was going to take something really special for me to leave and that's what this is for me.''

âWhy did we bring James Franklin to Penn State?'' said Penn State athletic director David Joyner, addressing the crowd before Franklin spoke.

"Penn State is a great institution. It has a great legacy in our athletic program of integrity, academics and winning championships.

"Our feeling was and my feeling is, that there is nobody better in this country to adhere to those values and bring the things that are important to Penn State and important to this state here.ââ

At one point during his speech, Franklin talked about his need to surround himself with the best people.

"A lot of times people get in a leadership role, you hear it all the time, 'Surround yourself with as many talented people and intelligent people as you possibly can','' Franklin said.

"And then you get into a leadership position and you get intimidated by that. My defensive coordinator (Bob Shoop) is from western Pa., from Oakmont, Pa., he's a Yale grad.

"What do you do with an economics degree from Yale? Of course, you coach football.''

Franklin touched on the concept of hard work a number of times.

"Nobody is going to outwork us,'' he said.

"They're might be better-looking coaches in the Big Ten, there might be smarter coaches in the Big Ten, nobody is going to outwork us. That's something that we can control.''

And Franklin addressed the topic of his tenure at PSU, mindful of the fact that the man he replaced only spent two years in State College before heading to the Houston Texans.

"One of the things I do love about Penn State, though, is most places, they expect you to be there about seven years,'' Franklin said.

"At Penn State, they expect that you stay 80 and I'm just fine with that.''