A new era is underway in Blacksburg.
Former Penn State head coach James Franklin was hired last month to take over in Virginia Tech and he has already been hard at work. Franklin has hired the majority of his coaching staff and with the transfer portal opening soon, he will be filling out the roster and trying to position the program to contend in the ACC next season.
Best hire of the offseason?
The hire of Franklin has gotten plenty of praise since it was made, but is it the best hire of the offseason? ESPN’s Bill Connelly ranked it as the second-best hire, right behind LSU’s hiring of Lane Kiffin:
“Last summer, I used stats to look at which coaches have done the best job of overachieving against their school’s recent history. Granted, Franklin’s average will go down once I’ve added this year’s Penn State team to the mix, but heading into 2025 he was No. 8 among all long-term coaches of the past 20 years…