Another head coach just jumped the track. James Franklin flew off the rails and straight into Blacksburg. The former Penn State Nittany Lions head coach left a lot of money on the table to take up the Virginia Tech Hokies job. Making his first cameo as the Hokies’ head man during the men’s basketball game, he already talked big. 

In front of a packed basketball crowd at Cassell Coliseum, Franklin pulled up with a demand for the basketball fans. “Let’s have this place rocking tonight to help our basketball team. Let’s make sure Lane Stadium is rocking on Saturday,” said Franklin. “We can’t do this by ourselves. It’s going to take an entire community pulling the rope in the same direction.”

Turns out Franklin might already be Hokie Nation’s unofficial good-luck charm. Moments after Franklin’s first halftime cameo, and him joking about ditching his old chant after 12 years, the Hokies wrapped up a comfortable 78-61 win over the Bulldogs. Now, it’s payback time. The Cassell Coliseum on Wednesday, November 19th night witnessed a packed crowd. The 229,297-square-foot complex is home to a roaring 10,052-seat basketball arena. But Franklin’s grin needs a crowd six times that size to really light up.

The November 22nd face-off between Virginia Tech and Miami will take place at Lane Stadium/Worsham Field. Dubbed the ultimate college football gauntlet by Rivals.com, Lane Stadium packs in 65,632 fans. So, now we know what made Franklin place his demands straight. After all, the head coach does not want to see the stands going empty. The Hokies might need some extra morale boost from the fan cheers. 

Franklin inherits a Virginia Tech team whose whole vibe is run-first, run-often. Their FSU matchup showed it loud and clear: 41 carries, just 18 throws, and an ACC-best vibe that puts them fourth at 187.6 rush yards per outing. Flip the script, and Miami is a brick wall. The Hurricanes boast one of the nastiest run defenses in the nation. Giving up just 81.8 rushing yards a game, they became the third-best nationwide. Against NC State, Mario Cristobal’s program even held Hollywood Smothers to negative yards and the whole Wolfpack to just 23. If Virginia Tech wants out of Miami alive, it has to crack that concrete front. Here comes another worry for Franklin. 

The Hokies keep playing Jekyll-and-Hyde football. They start hot in the first half, only to fizzle out after halftime. Against Vanderbilt, they strutted into halftime up 20-10, only to vanish in the second half and eat a 24-point swing with zero points scored. Whether Virginia Tech can wow Franklin right away is up in the air, but the new commander has his strategy locked and loaded.

James Franklin’s exit triggered a recruiting freefall

Penn State walked away thinking they’d pulled off a heist. Franklin’s near-$49 million buyout got chopped to about $9 million, saving them a cool $40 million. But now, with the chaos his exit kicked up, the Nittany Lions might be asking themselves if that “savings” was worth the headache.

With Franklin skipping town, 17 committed recruits bailed on Penn State. And now it’s not just the roster at risk, the coaching staff is wobbling too. That’s when the Virginia Tech head coach stirred up some more fear. “As you know, I have guys who have been with me. When I left Vanderbilt and went to Penn State, I brought 16 people with me,” said Franklin. “I think a lot of times these coaches get these jobs, and they act like it’s all about them, right? I didn’t do this by myself. So, there are some people who are core to me and will continue to be.”

Out of his old connections who helped James Franklin grow, one name has caught the buzz. On3’s Penn State insider Patrick Poerbler reports that Franklin has his sights set on the former Nittany Lions AD Sandy Barbour to run the show as his General Manager of Personnel and Recruiting. While Franklin stacks the bricks on his Virginia Tech rebuild, it’s the crowd’s turn to show they’re worthy of his belief.