After weeks of speculation, rumors and anticipation, James Franklin will become the next head coach at Virginia Tech, according to multiple reports.
Franklin was relieved of his duties at Penn State on Oct. 12, following consecutive losses to Oregon, UCLA and Northwestern and replaced by interim Terry Smith, formerly the cornerbacks coach.
Entering the season ranked No. 2, the Nittany Lions fell out of the AP Top 25 completely the same day Franklin was fired, with Big Ten title and College Football Playoff hopes out the window.
Following the move, Franklin made several appearances, including an unprecedented interview on ESPN’s College GameDay, in which legendary head coach Nick Saban called the move “unfair as hell.”
Franklin was also spotted at an Atlanta Falcons football game against the Miami Dolphins on Oct. 26, seemingly supporting personal friend and Falcons head coach Raheem Morris. The two briefly worked together on the Kansas State staff in 2006.
More recently, Franklin was on the sidelines for Old Dominion’s Thursday night football game against Troy, supporting Monarch head coach Ricky Rahne, who worked with Franklin at Kansas State from 2006-07, Vanderbilt from 2011-13 and Penn State from 2014-19. It’s also notable because it meant he was in the state of Virginia recently, adding fuel to rumors of his hiring with the Hokies.
What it means
Though the schools have never met on the gridiron, there are numerous ties between the two storied universities.
For starters, both are located in extremely rural areas, far away from major cities in states with similar recruiting footprints. They also mirror each other in that they boast a strong history of success, particularly stemming from one head coach — Joe Paterno is the winningest head coach in college football history with 409 victories, while Frank Beamer ranks No. 11 all-time with 238 wins.
Both schools are also known for their defensive identity, with Penn State nicknamed “LBU,” while long-time Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster is credited with inventing the term “lunch pail defense” as the Hokies frequently produced NFL talent on that side of the ball.
In many ways, Franklin is walking into a similar situation to the one he had in State College, though he’ll have to build up facilities, increase donor support and create more institutional alignment, which he worked tirelessly to hone at Penn State.
Overall, recruiting to Virginia Tech won’t be all that dissimilar than Penn State — convincing players to live in the middle of nowhere will be the biggest challenge, but brand recognition, historic success and being the dominant program in the state are plusses.
The expectations in Blacksburg are also significantly lower than those at Penn State. Franklin was fired one year after making the semifinals and had consistently produced 10-win seasons but struggled to beat top-10 teams, especially in Big Ten play.
With the Hokies, 10-win seasons would be considered successful and possibly reason for contract extensions. Additionally, the path to the playoffs is significantly easier in the ACC, with premier programs Clemson and Florida State struggling to find stability and Miami consistently getting upset by inferior teams.
From a strictly power ranking standpoint (who would be favored), there have been recent years where the ACC didn’t have a single top-10 team in the country, meaning Franklin’s big-game struggles wouldn’t be as apparent. Depending on the schedule, the Hokies may have seasons playing just one ranked opponent, which happened to both Virginia and North Carolina this season.
If Franklin elevates Virginia Tech to anything near the level Penn State was consistently operating at, they’ll be in contention for the ACC title every season, though it’ll be harder to match that success at a program with lesser resources and facilities.
Essentially, making the 12-team bracket may prove easier given the ACC’s winability, but winning a national championship is more difficult with the Hokies, despite Franklin’s promise on GameDay about “going to go win the national championship somewhere else now.”
Roster retention
The Nittany Lions’ next regime will need to convince the current players not to follow Franklin to Virginia Tech, which will be a difficult task. A majority of starters will either enter the NFL draft or exhaust their eligibility after this season, but underclassmen like Chaz Coleman, Daryus Dixson, Luke Reynolds, Ethan Grunkemeyer, Yvan Kemajou, Koby Howard and Tyseer Denmark will likely be priorities for both schools.
Recruiting
In addition, Penn State must retain its recruiting classes, which have already been picked over relentlessly in recent weeks. Penn State’s 2026 recruiting class has lost over half of its commitments, with others likely to follow. Its 2027 class, which once ranked No. 1 nationally, now has no members.
Franklin was able to successfully recruit Virginia and the DMV area well, having coached in the same region at Maryland and Penn State. While Virginia isn’t known as a recruiting hotbed, natives to play for Franklin include Trace McSorley, Tyler Warren, Kaytron Allen and Tony Rojas, as well as DMV natives Olu Fashanu, Dani Dennis-Sutton, Kevin Winston Jr. and Chop Robinson.
The Hokies’ best seasons have come from recruiting well in the Tidewater region (Michael Vick, Bruce Smith, Tyrod Taylor, DeAngelo Hall, Kam Chancellor) and DMV (Tim Settle, Kendall and Kyle Fuller).
Virginia Tech struggled to recruit the region after Beamer retired, with Justin Fuente (head coach (2016-2021) famously neglecting local high schools. Former Penn State defensive coordinator Brent Pry, who served as head coach from 2022 to midway through this season, attempted to reforge local recruiting pipelines to some success.
While Pry was more successful recruiting locally, Virginia Tech’s recruiting classes never ranked top-40 nationally during his tenure, something Franklin should be able to improve.
Penn State will always prioritize in-state recruiting, but Virginia and the DMV have also been focal points. With Franklin at Virginia Tech, he’ll likely attempt to build a fence around the state, potentially to the detriment of Penn State.
Coaches
The same can be said of the coaching staff, as Franklin will likely attempt to bring many of his former assistants with him. One major drawback is Penn State likely has a larger salary pool for assistant coaches, so some may require pay cuts to follow Franklin.
It’s likely at least one coach will join Franklin, as many have expressed admiration for him and gratitude for the opportunities he’s given them. Names to watch include offensive line coach Phil Trautwein, running backs coach Stan Drayton, special teams coordinator Justin Lustig, quarterbacks coach Danny O’Brien and assistant Trace McSorley.
Buyout
Due to a “duty to mitigate” clause in Franklin’s contract with Penn State, the university owed him $8.5 million annually through 2031, but his next contract was supposed to be subtracted from that amount.
While there’s been no information about his contract details with the Hokies, multiple reports on Monday indicate Franklin reached an agreement with the university in which he’ll receive just $9 million of what was once estimated in the $50 million range.
Financially, Penn State won’t take much of a hit, freeing up more cash to go after priority targets in its coaching search.
Several teams have seemingly reworked contracts to fend off potential interest from Penn State, including Curt Cignetti at Indiana, Matt Rhule at Nebraska and Mike Elko at Texas A&M. All three are set to make a base salary of $11.6 million or higher, setting the market and range the Nittany Lions may need to offer their next man.
