How Keegan-Michael Key and James Franklin Became Friends
Penn State fan, and James Franklin doppelganger, hosted Saturday Night Live, which surely was a big moment in the Franklin household. Penn State certainly celebrated its famous fan in the spotlight.
But how did Key, the writer and actor known for creating college football's favorite 12th-year senior Hingle McCringleberry on Key & Peele, become such a Penn State football fan? He told the story after a 2018 visit to Penn State for the Blue-White Game, where he served as a guest coach with Franklin.
Key was born in Detroit and followed Penn State through family friends who lived in Pennsylvania. That contributed to Key pursuing a master's of fine arts at Penn State. During that time, Key got to know some football players whom he taught in acting classes.
Key served as the grand marshal of Penn State's 2015 homecoming parade, a visit in which someone said, "You look a little like the head coach." Franklin and Key forged a friendship from there, and Key has made several public appearances doing his best Franklin impressions.
He has appeared at Penn State team meetings, a surprise to the players, and made an ESPN College GameDay appearance as Franklin.
Before the 2018 spring game, Key took a photo with Franklin's family that James Franklin joked would become a family Christmas card. And when Key's then-fiance suggested padding Key's midsection with a pillow to round the resemblance, Franklin blushed.
"Obviously I need to get on the treadmill," Franklin said.
Asked about getting involved with Penn State football, here's what Key had to say after the 2018 Blue-White Game.
A part of my journey that is interesting is my parents’ best friends were Pennsylvanians, so as a small child I watched Penn State football. When I had the opportunity to do my graduate studies here, it ended up being one of my top choices for nostalgia reasons. I am glad it all played out that way because I ended up going to a high-level university for what I was studying.
I taught acting for non-majors here and so I had constant and personal contacts with the football team. I already had a sense of liking football and Penn State football so having that personal connection with the players meant a lot to me and resonated with me so it has been a big part of my life. When James [Franklin] came in, he really infused this new energy, and we have started a friendship because we are in like minds on what a student-athlete is. I get very excited when I see him get excited about how well his students do. I get very excited when his students get privileges for having better GPA’s.
It’s lovely that academics are as important to him, so that is where some of the love comes from. When I was here to be the Grand Marshall for homecoming it was really interesting because someone said to me, “You look a little like the new head coach” and the rest is history. I’ll take it. If our genes are similar in some way, shape, or form, is one more thing that brings me back to the program and gives me a sheer love for the program, so be it.
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