What will James Franklin's biggest challenge be at Virginia Tech?

James Franklin is the new head coach of the Virginia Tech Hokies.

This is a massive move for the Hokies, who were looking to replace Brent Pry after he went 16-24 in four seasons. Pry was fired by VT after starting the season 0-3 with losses to South Carolina, Vanderbilt and Old Dominion.

Franklin was criticized for his inability to win big games at Penn State, but that shouldn't even be a concern for the Hokies, considering their struggles since the prime of the Frank Beamer era.

Virginia Tech just needs to start winning games, and in Franklin, they've got a coach who is 128-60 overall in three seasons at Vanderbilt, followed by 12 with the Nittany Lions.

Also known as a great recruiter, Franklin should be able to get VT back on the road to respectability quickly. It won't be all sunshine and rainbows right away, though, especially because the Hokies are going to have to get with the times in the NIL and transfer portal era.

According to ESPN's Andrea Adelson, that's going to be Franklin's biggest struggle early on. Presumably, Franklin took the gig with the understanding that some big-time money is going to be poured back into the football program, but he's also going to have to change VT's identity.

"Franklin has to get the entire athletic department to believe the old Beamer days truly are over and things must be done his way. That is challenge No. 1," Adelson wrote. "The second challenge is to restore Virginia Tech's prowess in recruiting its home state."

James Franklin hire to come with financial investment from Virginia Tech in athletics 

"Beamer ball" at Virginia Tech was almost like "small ball" in baseball. Beamer found ways to do more with less thanks to elite special teams and opportunistic defenses.

That style just doesn't work anymore in a college football environment where NIL and transfer portal rules basically allow teams to buy elite players. Franklin has experience with how big-time programs operate in this era, and as mentioned, he's known as a great recruiter.

Perhaps he can leverage his ties to the region to help him get some early success on the recruiting trail. He coached at Maryland as the wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator from 2000-04 and he even has coaching experience within the state of Virginia. In 1997, Franklin was the wideouts coach at James Madison.

Ultimately, though, the biggest thing that must happen is a financial buy-in from Virginia Tech as a university. The Hokies will have to spend money to make money as they say, but presumably, hiring Franklin is the first step in that process.