One era ends, and another one begins. About five weeks after being fired by Penn State, James Franklin has moved just a handful of hours down the road to Virginia Tech. What are the future implications for Virginia Tech and the ACC? Let’s talk about it.
Recruiting
Dating back to the 2015 recruiting cycle, James Franklin signed 21 blue-chip (4-star or better) prospects from the state of Virginia, including two 5-star prospects.
In that same time span, Virginia Tech signed 16 blue-chip prospects from the state of Virginia. Yes, James Franklin recruited the state of Virginia more effectively than the state’s biggest football program.
Virginia Tech currently ranks #40 in composite recruiting talent. That number ranks 9th in the ACC, behind Georgia Tech, California, Syracuse, North Carolina, and SMU. Virginia Tech fans can expect this ranking to improve drastically over the next couple of seasons. In fact, you will see a substantial jump as quickly as next year, since Franklin will have time to flip high school recruits and recruit the transfer portal.
Approximately 13 recruits have decommitted from Penn State’s 2026 recruiting class since Franklin was fired. 8 of those 13 recruits are blue-chippers. Franklin will undoubtedly bring at least a few of these recruits to Virginia Tech. Current Penn State commit and ESPN 4-star Benjamin Eziuka has scheduled an official visit to Virginia Tech within the last hour.
Stability
Frank Beamer coached Virginia Tech from 1987 to 2015. In the last decade, Virginia Tech has gone through Justin Fuente, interim JC Price, Brent Pry, and interim Philip Montgomery. The program has seen just one 10-win season and six seasons below .500.
From 1995 to 2011, Frank Beamer led the program to 13 seasons with double-digit wins. He also won 7 bowl games in that span. Even after jumping from the Big East Conference to the ACC, Frank Beamer had eight straight seasons with double-digit wins.
Virginia Tech was looking for a coach to reignite the program. The program’s longtime fans and boosters are not content with average or below-average seasons.
Is James Franklin the man to accomplish this goal? History tells us that he is. Franklin achieved 6 seasons of double-digit wins at Penn State, along with six bowl wins and a College Football Playoff semi-final appearance.
ACC Impact
In 2-3 years, James Franklin and the Hokies will play a massive role in the ACC’s College Football Playoff bid(s). In 2024, the ACC received two playoff bids- the conference champ and the runner-up. In 2025, the ACC is on pace to have just one playoff bid- the conference champ.
The conference championship race and playoff bid race are already tight. Virginia Tech will look to be a massive factor in both. Currently, four teams in the ACC have just one conference loss, and two other teams have two conference losses. If you throw another team into the mix, the chaos ensues even further.
In his years with Vanderbilt and Penn State, James Franklin is 9-1 against ACC opponents.
