Since being hired at Virginia Tech, nearly everything that James Franklin has said and done has been put under a microscope by not only Virginia Tech fans, but also Penn State fans and a lot of college football fans. There have been some times when the former Vanderbilt and Penn State coach doesn't always help himself out.
That ended up being the case once again, this time on Thursday at the ACC Media Day in Charlotte, when he stepped to the podium.
Virginia Tech football coach James Franklin drops quote that all college football fans are having a field day with
Franklin stepped to the podium, and he really didn't help himself with one quote, and honestly put a bigger target than he already had on his back when it came to how things went in the offseason.
"We've been sprinting really since we arrived in Blacksburg,'' Franklin told reporters. "I think I would describe it as I think we have won the off-season. We've had a great off-season in terms of implementing our standards and our expectations and our culture.''
That's great to say inside the locker room, where the players and other coaches only hear it, but saying it at ACC Media Day is another thing. The results need to prove it on the field this fall. If not, well, look out.As you can imagine, social media is having fun with it, and ask any Penn State fan, and they will tell you that it was something they heard before.
Sure, since he arrived in Blacksburg, he has made some big changes with the roster and has put together a coaching staff. He has hit the ground running, and he stopped short of throwing Pry under the bus for what he inherited.
"We've been able to hit the ground running,'' said Franklin. "We are bigger, we are stronger, we are faster than we have been. There's no doubt about that. I think our depth is in a position to be able to compete.''
Look, Franklin is exactly what Virginia Tech needs in terms of a coach to turn the program around. However, what they don't need is comments like the above that Franklin dropped. Talk about putting a bigger target on your back that you don't need. Winning the offseason is not something that they hang banners for, and if things don't go well for the Hokies in 2026, then that is going to be a quote that doesn't age well this season. The last thing Franklin and Virginia Tech need is a bigger target on their back. Quotes like that don't help.
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