Virginia Tech football: Where is James Franklin ranked among ACC coaches?

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James Franklin hasn’t coached a game yet at Virginia Tech, but that hasn’t stopped Hokie fans from believing they have the ACC’s best coach.

Can you blame them?

Since arriving in November, Franklin has flipped recruiting on its head, taking a recruiting class ranked in the 120s. In about three weeks, Franklin would turn that class into a top-25 class. He continued that momentum in January, signing a well-balanced transfer portal class that many analysts had ranked among the 10-15 best in college football.

Over the last few months, in addition to planning for the 2026 college football season and leading his first spring practice in Blacksburg, Franklin turned his attention to the 2027 recruiting class. While the Hokies have missed on a couple of recent targets, Franklin has them in the top 10 of team recruiting rankings for 2027, per 247Sports.

National college football writer Andy Staples of On3/Rivals recently ranked all ACC head coaches from 1-17. He has Franklin near the top at No. 2.

Franklin infuriated Penn State fans by repeatedly winning double-digit games but falling short against Ohio State and Michigan. He got fired when the wheels fell off last season and his team finally started losing games it shouldn’t. He probably needed a change of scenery, and Penn State probably needed a new voice. At Virginia Tech, Franklin comes into an athletic department that is radically shifting its priorities to make football competitive. With all due respect to the Hokies’ ACC rivals, they aren’t Ohio State or Michigan. Franklin should be able to make Virginia Tech competitive quickly.

James Franklin was a dream hire for Virginia Tech. Until the Hokies decided to take football seriously and commit serious money to the program, hiring Franklin was a pipe dream. But everything lined up perfectly. Franklin’s timely firing, a renewed commitment to athletics, a head coaching vacancy and more. Franklin can do no wrong in the eyes of Hokie fans. Meanwhile, Penn State fans can’t stop talking about him.

Franklin is in Blacksburg to rebuild the program. But make no mistake, this isn’t a complete teardown. Franklin wants and expects to win now. You’ve seen it in his recruiting and transfer portal strategy. He relies on previous relationships and, in the portal, prefers to take players with multiple years of eligibility remaining.

Is it September yet?

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