James Franklin to Virginia Tech is the definition of a homerun hire

Nothing in sports is guaranteed but, in a world, where college football programs are looking to make home run coaching hires James Franklin is that for Virginia Tech. This is a man who was underappreciated at Penn State because he did not have a great record against Top 10 teams. There is a reason why teams are in the Top 10 and that is because they are hard to beat.

On paper it sounds bad until you break it down and realize his biggest downfall was being in the same conference as Ohio State and sometimes Michigan. There are few teams who bested the Buckeyes during James Franklin's tenure in Happy Valley so moving on to a program like Va Tech who is looking to rebound after a down decade is a perfect situation for both parties.

Let us not forget James Franklin had two back-to-back nine-win seasons at Vanderbilt before NIL so bringing back the proud program in Blacksburg to prominence seems like an easier task. James Franklin had six seasons as coach of the Nittany Lions where he had 10+ wins in a tough Big Ten Conference which included last year's playoff run where they were a few plays from playing for a national championship.

Hokie Nation is hungry for success that has not been consistent since Frank Beamer retired, and it seems like Franklin is the guy that will get them back to the elite level that fans over 30 remember.

Virginia Tech has expectations for their coach but appear much more rational with them than where they got at Penn State. If he has as much success over the next decade as the leader of the Hokies, he will be treated like royalty much like Beamer is. The other reason why this is a perfect match is how well Franklin recruits Pennsylvania and Virginia which are both very important regions for the success of the Hokie's program.

His ability to recruit mixed with the increase in NIL just from the excitement he brings just from being hired will be huge for this proud football program. Most importantly let's not forget being a contender in the ACC is slightly less taxing than being a contender in the conference he was just a part of. Franklin might not win the ACC in year one, but I feel pretty good about saying he will be in the playoff around year three at the latest.