Former Heisman winner has bold take on James Franklin, Virginia Tech

James Franklin will need time to turn things around at Virginia Tech

It's one thing to be excited about this move for the Hokies because it is a big-time hire for them. To say that they'll be a contender "year in and year out" is a bit of a premature statement at this moment, though.

Franklin can absolutely get them there, but it's going to take time for him to rebuild this program. The Hokies have pledged to put $229M into the athletics budget over the next four years, and you can bet a ton of that is going to go to Franklin so that he can hire good coaches and attract players with big-time NIL deals on the recruiting trail and in the transfer portal.

The Hokies haven't had a 10-win season since 2016, though, so even in this era when quick turnarounds are possible, giving Franklin a year or two of cushion would be smart.

His getting VT to the top of the ACC every season is an idea that also flies in the face of the reputation that he earned at Penn State. Sure, the ACC is in no way as stacked as the Big Ten, but Clemson, Florida State and Miami are huge brands with a ton of money and momentum behind them that won't be going anywhere. 

Though Franklin did get PSU into the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff last season, it's worth remembering that he was 4-21 against AP top-10 opponents at Penn State and 1-18 against top-10 opponents from within the Big Ten. That's a .160 winning percentage against AP top-10 teams, and that's not going to get magically better just because he's coaching in the ACC now. 

If he's going to get Virginia Tech back into the college football limelight, it's going to be much harder than just showing up when "Enter Sandman" starts playing.

He's certainly talented enough of a coach and recruiter to do it, but let's pump the brakes and let him get settled into his new office before we start talking about Virginia Tech once again being a top program.