After weeks and days of speculation, James Franklin has agreed to become Virginia Tech's next football coach. It was a name that has been linked to the opening since he was fired at Penn State in October.
The announcement of Franklin's hiring comes at a perfect time with the Hokies' final home game on Saturday afternoon at noon against Miami. It'll give time for recruits to make a visit and get the gameday experience in Blacksburg.
Hokie Nation, we got our guy 🤝
— Virginia Tech Football (@HokiesFB) November 17, 2025
Coach Franklin’s here to win 🏆
➡️ https://t.co/qFtXyikfDR
🏆 https://t.co/dA4VWjes9z pic.twitter.com/J2MTYyAILt
Virginia Tech fans have been waiting weeks for word that Franklin would be the next coach, and they are excited for what the future holds.
Virginia Tech fans excited about James Franklin being hired
With what has happened in 2025, it wouldn't take much for fans to get excited about Franklin's hiring. At 3-7, the Hokies are not going to a bowl game for a third straight year, but with the potential on the horizon, they are happy that they were able to land the biggest free agent in the college football coaching carousel.
James Franklin IMMEDIATELY brings credibility back to this football program
— Treadmill Horse (@treadmillhorse) November 17, 2025
Recruiting ✅
Player relationships ✅
HS coach relationship ✅
College assistant relationships ✅
Remember this day when Virginia Tech is back to winning 10+ games a season
The wait is over #HokieNation
— Franklin Football (@PrymeFootball) November 17, 2025
You can stop typing in “James Franklin” on your X search bar.
Rest.
James Franklin is licking his chops. pic.twitter.com/mPrjlJMVGA
— Trash Can Hokies (@TrashCanHokies) November 17, 2025
James Franklin and Neoklis Avdalas in Blacksburg at the same time??? pic.twitter.com/5hys74Zm3v
— 🦃 Mostly Virginia Tech 🦃 (@JagerHokie) November 17, 2025
Imagine if someone told you 3 months ago that James Franklin would be the head coach at Virginia Tech before thanksgiving
— Drift (@DriftVT) November 17, 2025
Congrats to everyone involved in bringing James Franklin to Blacksburg. Top 10 coach in the sport. Been a long time coming.
— Jacob (@PonyBoiWonder) November 17, 2025
One of the biggest reasons this hire is huge is Franklin's success in recruiting in the area. When he was at Penn State, he would routinely come into the area with his staff and pluck the top talent. Now he'll be able to retain the top talent in the state.
About to get top 10 recruits in VA again pic.twitter.com/CdFeyw7wVB
— Légend (@DonV757_) November 17, 2025
Say what you want about James Franklin as a game day coach but the man can flat out recruit and that’s what you need to get to the next level
— Treadmill Horse (@treadmillhorse) November 17, 2025
Oh, and then there's the college football fans from Virginia, Arkansas, and other schools who are not thrilled with the hire of Franklin, whether it's in terms of Virginia Tech ready to leave Virginia in he rearview mirror in recruiting and overall talent, or fans at Arkansas who missed on Franklin and are upset with their decision makers.
In all seriousness, Virginia Tech hiring James Franklin is an incredible hire and immediately puts them in every top transfer and recruits’ mind going into 2026. UVA boosters and anonymous donors need to keep the $ coming in, or VT will blow right by UVA and not look back.
— UVA ATHLETICS PARODY (@UVASPORTSPARODY) November 17, 2025
I’m so glad James Franklin saw that VT is a 5x better job than Arkansas
— CFBTalkDaily (@CFBTalkDaily) November 15, 2025
Great choice
Smoking that Arkansas/FSU/Brandon Walker/James Franklin doubters pack pic.twitter.com/TYntLhzfrf
— BeamerIsKing (@BeamerIsKing) November 17, 2025
They told me James Franklin wanted to go Arkansas man😂😂
— CFBTalkDaily (@CFBTalkDaily) November 17, 2025
Nobody wanna move their family there
Base about to crash out lmao https://t.co/1O6ecr49wd
— Fifth Quarter 🍢FSU 🍢 (@fifthquarterfsu) November 17, 2025