Penn State Star Drew Allar Breaks Silence On Virginia Tech Hiring James Franklin

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In a way, Drew Allar's time at the Penn State football program sort of came to an end before James Franklin's did. The NFL-bound QB suffered a season-ending injury a mere 24 hours before the longtime Nittany Lions head coach was fired.

But Franklin has already found a new home in Blacksburg, Virginia. He was introduced as the new head coach of the Virginia Tech Hokies this week and already has tons of fans and analysts predicting a return to glory that they haven't enjoyed since the Frank Beamer years.

In a recent teleconference, Allar reflected on both the weekend that saw his season and Franklin's time at Penn State end. When the topic of Franklin's new job at Virginia Tech came up, Allar predicted a "great job" coming up for him in Blacksburg.

“Yeah, as you guys know, I have a great relationship with Coach Franklin,” Allar said, via On3. “I probably talk to him every other day, really since we’ve both been done. I could now phrase it like that, but yeah, I’m very excited for him. He’s gonna do a great job at Virginia Tech. I think it’s a great spot for him, and I’m very excited to see how he does. Very happy for him and his family.

“They’ve done a great amount for me and my teammates, obviously, but I have a really good relationship with all of them. I was just texting with his wife yesterday, but I’m kind of trying to leave him alone right now since I know he has a pretty busy schedule with everything he has going on right now. But it’s gonna be really fun to just keep in touch with him and follow his journey and just see how everything unfolds for him.”

Franklin and Allar

As a sophomore in 2023, Drew Allar emerged as a rock-solid quarterback for the Nittany Lions, leading the Big Ten with 25 passing touchdowns against just two interceptions en route to an appearance in the Peach Bowl.

In 2024, the duo had their most successful season, reaching the Big Ten title game and leading Penn State all the way to the semifinals of the College Football Playoff. They narrowly lost to Notre Dame in Franklin's first-ever appearance in the postseason tournament.

But a rough start to the 2025 season, which saw them start as the No. 2 team in the country before losing games to Oregon, UCLA and Northwestern led the athletic department to hit the reset button.

Franklin may not be remembered fondly in Happy Valley for how his tenure ended, but there were some pretty high marks. He'll now try to replicate those high marks at Virginia Tech.

This story was originally reported by The Spun on Nov 21, 2025, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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