When it comes to James Franklin's first season as head coach at Virginia Tech, there have been some predictions ranging from 8-4 to 6-6. We here at Fighting Gobbler will drop our final prediction this weekend, but you get the hint: expect the unexpected.
As for the upcoming season, there has been a lot of change since Franklin was hired last November and he took over after a season-ending loss to Virginia on Thanksgiving Weekend. The roster has a new look and the coaching staff has had some turnover, which was expected. However, when all is said and done, it appears that James Franklin has enough talent to win and win early in Blacksburg.
Virginia Tech has a talented roster in James Franklin's first season
With Week 0 beginning on Saturday, 247Sports released its Talent Composite Rankings for the 2026 season. The news is good for the Hokies. The rankings, which factor in several other outlets and other things, had Virginia Tech ranked 27th. According to Matej Sis of VTScoop, this is the most talented roster for the Hokies since the Team Talent Composite Rankings debuted in 2015.
There have been some analysts around the country who have hinted that they think big things could be ahead for Virginia Tech, but some don't think it will be in 2026. We might tend to agree, but what can't be denied, this is a talented roster that Franklin has quickly put together in Year 1. Now, comparing last season's roster to this season's is very unfair. There was nowhere to go but up when comparing rosters in terms of talent.
However, Transfer Portal talent, and a good amount of it from Penn State, is part of the reason why the ranking is high. You saw what happened at Vanderbilt and Penn State: when Franklin had talent, he won. Now, Penn State trolls still live and breathe everything Franklin says and does, but Franklin is the upgrade Virginia Tech needed, and winning the big game is something that will come in time.
On both sides of the ball, there is NFL talent in 2026 for Virginia Tech. The composite rankings back that up. How will things go on the field? That remains to be seen; however, there are going to be a lot of eyes on the Hokies after Franklin's comment over the offseason about winning was taken out of context.
Regardless, he knows that winning on the field needs to be done, and the most important thing is that he has set himself up to do that in 2026 and beyond. Remember, this is still a young roster that Franklin has put together.
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