Ever since James Franklin was hired at Virginia Tech, there has been talk about his past. Whether it's the national media talking about him or Penn State fans, his negative history always comes up.
Penn State fans don't want to give him credit for taking them to the semifinals of the College Football Playoff two years ago. They are quick to point out that their opponents were SMU and Boise State. If Matt Campbell won those games, they would build a statue of him outside Beaver Stadium.
If there is one thing about James Franklin, it's that he doesn't shy away from his past and will acknowledge it. As expected, he faced some questions at ACC Media Day about his past at Penn State, and he didn't beat around the bush about one area of struggle he had.
Virginia Tech coach James Franklin doesn't shy away from his struggles
By now, it has been well documented that Franklin has struggled against Top 10 opponents. He owns a 4-21 record against those foes, and he could face at least one of them this season when Miami pops up on the schedule. There could be another with SMU, but both of those opponents will be in November. However, Franklin is embracing history and learning from it.
"I think the first thing is embracing the history and the past, right, understanding and learning from it,'' said Franklin to reporters on Thursday in Charlotte.
For all the bad things that people talk about from his past, the veteran coach knows that there has been more good than bad at both Vanderbilt and Penn State.
"What I also know is there's been a ton of really good things done over my time,'' Franklin added. "Time as a head coach in the SEC, time as a head coach in the Big Ten, time in my experience now obviously in the ACC. Kind of got a unique perspective. Not too many have that type of experience and that type of background.''
Nobody is going to mistake the ACC for the SEC and Big Ten, but not many people are going to deny that trying to win in the ACC is a little different than trying to win the SEC and Big Ten. Sure, there are some good programs, but you're not facing daunting matchups weekly as in the other two conferences. Franklin is embracing the opportunity in front of him in Blacksburg in the ACC.
"For us, embracing what the ACC brings,'' Franklin said. "Miami has done a phenomenal job. You look at what they were able to do last year, the run they were able to make; that's important for our conference. Embracing those types of opportunities.''
They get ot begin to embrace those opportunities in two months.
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