Two weeks ago, James Franklin sent social media into a frenzy by wearing some new Virginia Tech swag. Photos surfaced of him wearing a sweatshirt thay that read "Virginia Tech Football RE-EST 2026". Of course, that triggered Penn State fans, along with talk show host Craig Carton, who has a weird obsession with the former Penn State coach.
Anyway, if anyone has paid attenetion would know that since Frank Beamer left, the program has been looking to get back to the glory days in Blacksburg. They fell off under both Justin Fuente and Brent Pry, who is back as Franklin's defensive coordinator in 2026.
Franklin recently joined 106.7 The Fan and joined the Junkies to discuss what the new swag and motto mean. He also explained who came up with it.
James Franklin explains new motto surrounding the Virginia Tech football program
Franklin explained that it wasn't him who came up with the motto, but his strength coach came up with the idea, much to the chagrin of all the obsessed Penn State fans who wanted Franklin to be the one who came up with it.
"Well, first of all, my strength coach kind of came up with that,'' said Franklin. "In the weight room, and we thought that it made a ton of sense. I think really what you're talking about is they played really good football here for a long period of timeand for the last 10, 12 years, whatever it's been it hasn't been up to that standard and we want to get back to playing foorball around here the way it was with coach (Frank) Beamer and the way the fans and the alummni and the letterman expect it to be so we want to re-establish that legacy here.''
Look, the Virginia Tech fanbase has been waiting for the day to hire a coach with the swag that Franklin has and turn the program around. It might take some time, but for the first time in a long time, the hope is certainly real around the program. A new era is beginning.