James Franklin is hitting the road, and the 757 is feeling the energy. The new Virginia Tech head coach brought his tailgate tour to Norfolk this week, making a stop that had Hokie fans buzzing.
It's been a whirlwind six months since Franklin took over in Blacksburg, replacing Brent Pry—who will stay on as defensive coordinator. From assembling a staff to reshaping the roster through the transfer portal, Franklin has been all-in since day one.
May might be a quiet month for most college football coaches, but Franklin is using the downtime to connect with fans across Virginia. His stop in Ghent at a packed brewery event for the Tidewater Hokie Club chapter was a sold-out affair. He flew in on a private jet—just a 50-minute hop from Blacksburg—and made it clear that Hampton Roads is a priority.
"No one has better history in the 757 than Virginia Tech, and we need to get that back," Franklin told the crowd. "Brent Pry did a great job getting back into some schools we hadn't visited in years, but we want to take it to a whole other level."
That history is rich, but recent seasons have been lean. The Hokies have managed just one 10-win season in 14 years—a far cry from the Frank Beamer era, when double-digit wins were the norm from 2004 to 2011. Franklin is tasked with reviving that standard, and early signs are promising. His first recruiting class ranks 23rd nationally and third in the ACC, and key portal additions have injected talent into the roster.
Spring practices are in the rearview, and Franklin liked what he saw—especially from the stands. "We had a great spring game in terms of the support we got," he said. "It looked like a home game, it was packed, the place was rocking, and the town was buzzing." More than 100 recruits attended, a sign that the excitement is real.
Still, Franklin isn't getting ahead of himself. "We've got a lot of questions we have to find answers to between now and our first game," he said. "But I do think we are in a better position than we have been in years past. There's been an investment by Virginia Tech to get back to where we all want to be."
For Hokies fans in the 757 and beyond, the message is clear: the rebuild is underway, and the journey is just getting started.