Everything From Virginia Tech's James Franklin At 2026 ACC Kickoff

Virginia Tech football head coach James Franklin spoke to the media at the ACC Kickoff.

Thomas Hughes

Virginia Tech football head coach James Franklin spoke to the media at the ACC Kickoff at the Hilton Charlotte Uptown on Thursday, July 16. Here's the entirety of what he had to say:

Introduction:

"Appreciate the opportunity. Obviously, very. very excited to be here representing Virginia Tech, excited to represent the ACC on a national scale like this. Want to thank our president, President [Tim] Sands, who's been phenomenal since we showed up on campus, and excited about our new hire of our athletic director, Brian White, who you guys are going to get to know. I think you're going to absolutely love him. I think he's going to do a phenomenal job, not only for Virginia Tech but also for the ACC as a whole. We're in a really good position. It's been a sprint since we arrived in Blacksburg, but the guys have been phenomenal. We got three unbelievable representatives of not only Virginia Tech, the game of football, but also for the ACC. We brought these three young men because they've done it the right way.

They're appreciative. They got smiles on their face. They've been working like crazy. They've totally embraced what we're doing from a cultural standpoint, from a leadership standpoint.
They're killing it academically as well as doing all the things we need them to do off the field to lead our team to be successful. So we're so proud of these three young men that are with us. But we've been we've been sprinting really since we arrived in Blacksburg, and I think I would describe as I think we have won the off season. We've had a great off season in terms of implementing our standards and our expectations and our culture.

Obviously, when you're able to do something unconventional like we did in in hiring Coach [Brent] Pry as our defensive coordinator, I think that really helped having having someone like that that really understood the challenges of the place, the strengths of the place, the institutional knowledge, the community knowledge was extremely valuable, but we've been able to hit the ground running. We are bigger, we are stronger, we are faster than we have been. There's no doubt about that, and I think our depth is in a position to be able to compete. So, from an expectation, from a standards, from a culture standpoint, I think we're in a really good place. Again, we feel like we have won the off season.

All that's great. That sounds good in a press conference. It's a great soundbite. The reality is, we got to make sure all those things translate to the season, and go out and play a style and a brand that is going to make Coach Beamer proud, who was with us for dinner last night. It was great to see him. Bud Foster proud, all of our alumni, Eddie Royal, who's here with us. We want to make all those all those people proud of how we play, how we conduct our business, and we're excited about the opportunity."

On Franklin's 4-21 record against AP top-10 opponents:

"I think the first thing is embracing the history in the past, right, and understanding and learning from it. But what I also know is there's been a ton of really good things done over my time. Time as a head coach in the SEC, time as my head coach in the Big 10, time as my experience now, obviously now in the ACC. Kind of got a unique perspective. There's not too many coaches that have that type of experience and that type of background. Also, three rebuilds. Going to Vanderbilt, a place that had not won in a very long time, and then go to Penn State and follow some of the most difficult sanctions in college football history, and now showing up to a place like Virginia Tech-that's extremely proud and and great tradition and history.

So for us, embracing what the ACC brings, Miami's done a phenomenal job. You look at what they were able to do last year and the run that they were able to make. That's important for our conference, and embracing those type opportunities. That's why these three guys stayed at Virginia Tech to play in these types of games. That's why I'm here. It is critical that we open up the season and play really, really well against VMI. But there's going to be games like that that come later on the season that we're going to be judged by, and I'm ultimately going to be judged by, and I embrace that, and I think that's why we're all here and excited about the opportunity about what the season will bring."

On what Franklin has learned from his previous stops that will help him be successful in the ACC:

"Interesting. I think everybody's journey is different. I talk about this with the players, as well. You've got to embrace your journey. I played Division II football. I coached Division II football. I think those humble beginnings. Marcellous [Hawkins] has got a similar background as well, right? Those humble beginnings make you appreciate everything, and I think a sense of appreciation for what you have and your blessings and the places that we're at are more important than they've ever been in college football. When you're in D-II and you don't have a nutrition bar or you have to wear a ton of different hats as a young coach and take on a ton of different responsibilities, that's valuable. But at each level, there's different challenges and there's different resources, and you got to take advantage of it.

Early in my career, we always had to do more with less, and then when you get to a place like Virginia Tech, you got to you got to understand how to do more with more, and you know that that's what we're all about. That's what we're going to embrace, and I think my background and experiences in three of the major conferences in college football, as well as my time in the NFL, I think is going to serve me well at Virginia Tech and hopefully put these players in the best position to be successful."

On honoring Virginia Tech's tradition while putting his own stamp on things:

"I think that's typically the challenge, right? I think one of the things that's great about Virginia Tech is there is so much history, there is so much tradition, and I think that's one of the challenges, right? When you are trying to make the program more of a modern football program that's going to be able to compete at the highest level, you got to find the balance of those two things. How can we make sure that we're paying respect to the past, but how are we building for the future as well? And that-that's a delicate balance. It starts by calling Coach [Frank] Beamer and asking for his blessing to take the job in the first place. It's when we have an opportunity that, and we're in Charlotte, and we can invite Coach Beamer to dinner with us last night and learn from his experiences.

"Having Bud Foster, who's still in town, and and the reality is, what are the things that are critical to our core beliefs? What are the things that that matter the most? So that when you turn on the TV and you watch Virginia Tech play, or you're sitting in the stands watching Virginia Tech play. What are the things that matter to you most about the brand, about the university, about the team?

Let's focus on those, and then all the other things we're gonna we're gonna have to be aggressive. We're gonna have to be bold. We're gonna have to be thoughtful in doing things that are going to position Virginia Tech, the university, the athletic department, the football program in the best position to be successful, and I think that's challenging. I think the best schools, the best universities and the best programs have been bold and aggressive in that, and I think a lot of schools have held on to the history and tradition so tight for so long that they haven't adapted and become a modern athletic department and become a modern football program, and that's why me and [athletic director Brian White] are here to help Virginia Tech with that process."

On the tight ends:

"First of all, we keep Tyler Warren in the state of Virginia and not let him leave. That's where it. That's where it starts. But on top of that, I think your point is a good one. I'm a believer in the tight end position, and I think your point is a good one. The majority of them out of high school and even in college are just big wide receivers. They're not asked to be true tight ends and stick their nose in in the run game and be physical. And to me, that's the only way that they are truly the mismatches. mismatches that they should be.

If he's just a big wideout, then you're going to put him into that category, and you can play nickel. But if now you play nickel and we can motion him back into the box, get him connected to the tackle or in the wing position or hit position, and now we can over overpower you because you got nickel on the field.
Then that's going to create challenges for a defensive coordinator.

If you stay in base personnel, and now we can line up from 12 personnel, but actually line up in 11 or 10 personnel formations, now you're asking a linebacker to cover in space, and typically that's not their strength either. So, to take advantage of tight ends and really create the mismatches you want to, they have to be able to do both and have to be respected. If you can say this tight end's the blocker and this tight end is the wide receiver, again you've lost the strength of the position, so we want to be as multiple as we possibly can. We want to take advantage of these body types, but then also having the ability to develop them.

Most of these high school tight ends are big wide receivers. They've never blocked before. We just had one show up on campus. He's never been in a stance, a three-point stance in his life, and you got to be able to get him on the sled and get him at the nutrition bar, build that physical and that mental toughness over time. And sometimes that's on the scout team going against Aycen Stevens at practice or whatever it may be. So, we believe in the position. We believe in the development of the position, position, and when you talk about Iowa as well, it's because again, those tight ends and those systems are being used as true tight ends and not just wideouts."