James Franklin says he has a ‘huge chip’ on his shoulder at Virginia Tech
Former Penn State coach James Franklin admitted that he has a “huge chip” on his shoulder ahead of his first season at Virginia Tech after being fired by the Nittany Lions.
Franklin joined on3’s Andy Staples for a 20-minute interview, which was published on Thursday.
Franklin talked about the failures of Penn State’s 2025 season. The Nittany Lions, after a trip to the CFP semifinals the year before, brought back a loaded roster with national title aspirations. They fell way short of that, and Franklin was fired after a brutal 3-3 start.
Staples asked Franklin, sitting in his office in Blacksburg, if he’s hungry to prove that he’s “better than what happened last season” with the Nittany Lions.
“I’ve got a huge chip on my shoulder,” Franklin said. “Kind of an unusual situation. Six games earlier, we’re playing for a national championship. Obviously some things happened that were in my control, and I take total responsibility for that. But I’ve got a big chip on my shoulder.”
Franklin added that he’s “extremely motivated” and enjoys working with “a group of people who are passionate about making Virginia Tech proud.”
Franklin said he feels a responsibility to former Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer, Hokie fans and others to succeed at Virginia Tech.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” Franklin said. “Most importantly, our players are driven and excited and motivated. And we’ve got a good core group of guys who stayed at Virginia Tech, and a number of guys who we brought from other places, too.”
Of course, a number of his coaches and players — including projected starting quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer — came from Penn State.
On paper, Franklin is a perfect fit for Virginia Tech. But we’ll see how Franklin, who compiled a 104-45 record at Penn State, fares with the Hokies.
The Hokies’ over/under win total for the 2026 regular season is set at 6.5 wins on FanDuel.
Franklin and Virginia Tech face VMI, Old Dominion and Maryland before entering a nine-game ACC slate with games against Pitt, Clemson, SMU and Miami.
