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    Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin walks on the field during a warmup prior to the game against the UCLA Bruins at Beaver Stadium.
    Oct 5, 2024; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin walks on the field during a warmup prior to the game against the UCLA Bruins at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images
    Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin walks on the field during a warmup prior to the game against the UCLA Bruins at Beaver Stadium.
    Oct 5, 2024; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin walks on the field during a warmup prior to the game against the UCLA Bruins at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

    “What a Nerd”: Fans Balk at James Franklin’s Confidence as he Aims Big at Virginia Tech

    James Franklin is trying to rebuild his image as a top head coach after an unceremonious sacking at Penn State put a dampener on what had initially been a great run for him at the program. In nearly a decade, Franklin was able to make Penn State a force to be reckoned with, even becoming the favorites for a national championship in some circles, before things went horribly wrong.

    An awful start to the campaign led to Franklin being fired just a few months into the season, but Virginia Tech soon came calling, and Franklin obliged. Now, the focus is on improving further in the coming campaign and turning his vision into a reality.

    But not everyone seems to be on board. It appears some fans aren’t having the confident talk from coach Franklin, and believe his actions haven’t lived up to the hype in recent years.

    “VT should consider themselves lucky to have the opportunity to be above average under James Franklin!,” a fan commented. 

    “Done what in the Big Ten? 1-18 against top 10 opponents?,” another fan reminded him.

    “What a nerd. no wonder he keeps dropping a conference level each move,” another said.

    “What did he do in the Big Ten exactly?,” one fan asked.

    “Ton of evidence that he can’t develop qbs. Loose important games and a terrible gameday coach,” another commented.

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    What Does James Franklin Have Planned at Virginia Tech?

    James Franklin wants to make the Hokies a competitive team in the ACC and believes the team is already taking the steps needed to push forward.

    “The first thing that has to happen is you’ve got to give yourself even a chance to be competitive, and what was happening here in the past compared to what we’re doing now, it’s given us a chance to be competitive,” Franklin said to On3.

    “There’s a difference between being competitive and saying you want to legitimately compete for championships. There’s only a handful of schools that year in and year out are really trying to win a championship.

    “We have made a huge jump to be competitive, but we still have work to do to educate everybody in understanding the difference between being competitive nationally and legitimately trying to win a national championship and being bold and strategic and aggressive in those things.”

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