Virginia Tech football is going through a complete revamp. Since James Franklin joined the program, he has been on a recruiting spree, hiring the best assistant coaches in the business and assembling a proper unit.
In his latest move, Franklin has recruited Norval McKenzie, a running backs coach with Georgia Tech. McKenzie was previously rumored to be headed for Florida. However, Franklin has swooped in at the right time and secured another great hire.
CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz reported that McKenzie is set to join Franklin with the Hokies. This is a major recruiting move because McKenzie has a lot of experience, having previously worked with Louisville, Furman, and Arkansas State.
He will have a talented set of running backs at Virginia Tech to work with, and considering the aggressive approach that Franklin has chosen for his new team, there’ll be more developments in the program’s structure.
Apart from handing a loss to Florida with McKenzie, Franklin has been ruthless since leaving the Nittany Lions. When he left, he essentially caused a collapse in their recruiting class.
As per a report by On3 earlier this month, Franklin flipped 10+ PSU recruits, making the Nittany Lions fall out of the top 100 bracket in the team recruiting rankings. Virginia Tech, on the other hand, benefited a lot from this.
They managed to climb up to the top 25 rankings after securing double-digit recruits because of Franklin. The fall off has been devastating for Penn State because not too long ago, they looked like a program moving in the right direction.
Over the last few weeks, Franklin has completely changed the fate of two programs, one for the better and the other, currently in a miserable state.
Did Adidas Get James Franklin Fired?
Franklin was with Penn State from 2014 to 2025. After a 3-3 start to the season, he was fired mid-October. Even though the program secured three consecutive wins to start the season, the losses made the program lose faith in him.
Not long after he was fired, rumors started circulating online that Adidas had played a role in getting him fired. The conspiracy theory was fueled by the fact that Adidas was about to become Penn State’s apparel partner in 2026.
“Source at Penn State: I have been told that Adidas drove the James Franklin firing and are why it happened today. They committed to pay most or all of the money. They also wanted a new coach before recent losses, but they made it hard for anyone at PSU to argue,” Mike J. Asti of WV Sports Now REPORTED.
Source at Penn State: I have been told that Adidas drove the James Franklin firing and are why it happened today. They committed to pay most or all of the money. They also wanted a new coach before recent losses, but they made it hard for anyone at PSU to argue.
— Mike J. Asti (@MikeAsti11) October 12, 2025
Shortly after that, the brand reported that the rumors were fake and that the “decision was made solely by Penn State.” The brand also clarified that they will not be involved in helping the program pay Franklin’s buyout.
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