One thing is for sure: before he was hired at Virginia Tech, James Franklin did his homework. He knew about the history and tradition of football in Blacksburg. He knows how hungry the fanbase is for a winner, and that's been something they have been looking for a decade.
Ok, so I'm sure Franklin knew about all of that before he took the job, but he knows what's missing, and he is all-in on fixing it. He joined the ESPN broadcast against Miami on Saturday and didn't beat around the bush about Virginia Tech and what his job is.
"There's great passion and support for this place,'' said Franklin. " ... and now it's my job and our job to get this program back to where everybody wants it to be."
James Franklin knows what his job is at Virginia Tech
Since Frank Beamer left, things have been slowly going in the wrong direction for the Hokies program. Justin Fuente was hired as Beamer's replacement, and as time went on, things went in the wrong direction. The results on the field were good in the beginning, but as time went on, recruiting became an issue in the Commonwealth. Why? Well, Franklin saw a door open while he was at Penn State to come pluck the recruits from under Tech.
Brent Pry was hired to replace Fuente in November of 2021, and after a rough tenure that finished at 16-24, he was fired after a Week 3 loss to Old Dominion. Pry tried to mend the recruiting fences in Virginia and was making progress, but the on-field results were too much to ignore.
The program never got close to where it was under Beamer and what he built in Blacksburg. Pry seems like a nice guy, and according to Franklin, he talked up Virginia Tech. That's the guy he is. Hey, how many Tech fans would be upset if he came back as Franklin's defensive coordinator after the success they had in State College? Not many, I bet.
Regardless, Franklin knows what's ahead of him, and he's hitting the ground running for next season and beyond.