James Franklin Should Enjoy a Drink Tonight

Originally posted on Mike Farrell Sports
By Mark Pszonak | Last updated Dec 2, 2025 7:19 PM ET

While he likely would never admit it publicly, if James Franklin was ever to gloat, tonight would be a good time to do it. Whether he enjoys wine, bourbon, beer, sake or White Claw is not the point, whatever it is, he should savor one tonight because everything is coming up roses for the former Penn State head coach.

It has been 15 days since Franklin was hired by the Hokies. Since that point, his actions have Virginia Tech fans giddy with excitement, while Penn State fans are currently joyless and numb due to the inefficiency of their athletic director, Peter Kraft.

Nov 19, 2025; Blacksburg, VA, USA; Bud Foster, Frank Beamer and James Franklin after the press conference at Cassell Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Brian Bishop-Imagn Images

That inefficiency hit a new level on Tuesday when Penn State’s latest target, Kalani Sitake, announced his intentions to stay at BYU. This was a punch to the gut for Penn State administration, who thought they had this one sealed up on Monday night.

While Penn State flounders around looking for their replacement head coach, Franklin has taken advantage of this by scavenging the Nittany Lions recruiting class. With every commitment flip, you can hear the screams grow louder from Happy Valley.

And his next step will be attempting to gut the Penn State roster through the transfer portal. Every day that cluelessness reigns supreme in Happy Valley gives Franklin more leverage in order to pick and choose who he wants. At this point, even if Penn State hires someone tomorrow, it will be an uphill battle for the new coach to keep Franklin from becoming a huge issue when the portal reopens in January.

Franklin still has a few pieces to put together for his first Virginia Tech recruiting class, so tonight might not be the perfect night for a drink. However, at the same time, it also seems perfect.

Cheers!

This article first appeared on Mike Farrell Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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