The “elephant in the room” is how Nick Dawkins described James Franklin’s firing in the days immediately following the leadership change at Penn State .

The sixth-year senior captain center said it simply feels like something has been missing at the Lasch Football Building over the past few days.

But the Nittany Lions must move on quickly without Franklin, who was in his 12th season at Penn State. Dawkins acknowledged it’s been a lot to process while preparing for a hostile environment at Iowa this weekend in a night game.

Franklin did receive the opportunity to address his team after athletic director Pat Kraft fired him, but Dawkins chose to keep that message private.

“This is a tough situation,” Dawkins said. “I never once thought, while I was playing at Penn State or really at

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