Three Realistic Things James Franklin Can Do to Ensure a Successful Year One – Sports Illustrated

The buzz around Virginia Tech football is the loudest it's been in years. Franklin built that in a matter of months, landing a top-25 recruiting class and one of the ACC's best portal classes before spring practice even started. The expectations followed. Here's what he actually has to do to live up to them.
The schedule sets James Franklin up to do exactly that. The Hokies open Sept. 5 at home against VMI, host Old Dominion on Sept. 12 and then travel to Maryland before ACC play begins at Boston College on Sept. 26. Three winnable games to open the season before a single conference snap.
That matters more than it sounds. A 3-0 start would generate the kind of early momentum that makes Lane Stadium loud in October. Use the non-conference slate for exactly what it's designed for: Get healthy, get cohesive and arrive at ACC play with confidence.
Virginia Tech used to be known for defense. Under Frank Beamer and coordinator Bud Foster, that reputation kept the program relevant for two decades. It's been gone for a while.
Franklin has the right pieces to bring it back. Brent Pry, his longtime defensive coordinator at both Vanderbilt and Penn State, returned to Blacksburg to run the defense after a brief and painful stint as the Hokies' head coach. Pry's units finished in the FBS top 25 in total defense nine times across his career. He knows exactly what Franklin wants and has the Penn State transfers to implement it immediately.
A defense that flies around and creates turnovers in September sets a tone for the whole season. It gives a young offense margin for error, gets the fan base loud and is the fastest way to look like something different from what Virginia Tech has been the past few years.
The Hokies' 2026 win total opened at 6.5. That should be the floor, not the ceiling. Franklin's first year at Vanderbilt was 6-7. That was nothing to write home about, but the Commodores went 9-4 the next two seasons. Franklin has rebuilt programs before. He knows what building something looks like from the inside, even when it doesn't look like much from the outside.
Virginia Tech is not Vanderbilt. Clear 6.5, show the roster is trending and make Lane Stadium feel like somewhere people actually want to be again. Do that, and I think that the conversation around this program shifts for the first time in a decade.
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James Duncan is a senior at Virginia Tech studying Sports Media and Analytics. He is an active member of 3304 Sports, covering Virginia Tech sports, as well as a reporter for The Lead covering the Washington Commanders. James is passionate about delivering detailed, accurate coverage and helping readers connect with the games they love.
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