Highlights of James Franklin’s First ACC Media Day

As the second day of ACC Media Days began on Thursday, one of the most anticipated moments was James Franklin’s first appearance as the new head coach at Virginia Tech. Here are a few highlights of his time at the podium.

Regarding the hire as former Virginia Tech head coach Brent Pry as the defensive coordinator.

“Obviously, when you’re able to do something unconventional like we did in in hiring Coach Pry as our defensive coordinator,” said Coach Franklin. “I think that really helped 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.

Regarding how the team has progressed since his arrival:

“We are bigger, we are stronger, we are faster than we have been,” said Coach Franklin “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.”

Regarding how off-season success will translate to the season and the pressure of not letting down former Virginia Tech greats:

“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 [Frank] Beamer proud, who was with us for dinner last night,” said Coach Franklin. “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.”

Regarding his communication with former Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer:

“It starts by calling Coach Beamer and asking for his blessing to take the job in the first place,” said Coach Franklin. “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.”

On the importance of performing well in the “big games” considering his 4-21 record against AP Top 10 opponents:

“It is critical that we open up the season and play really, really well against VMI,” said Coach Franklin. “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.”