The Virginia Tech Hokies landed their next head football coach with a blockbuster move on Tuesday, hiring former Penn State HC James Franklin as the newest program leader in Blacksburg.

Franklin was fired by the Nittany Lions after a 3-3 start to the 2025 college football season. The 53-year-old coach was in the midst of his 12th season with the program before his dismissal.

Franklin had five seasons of Big Ten coaching overlap with former Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer from 2014-18.

Meyer addressed Virginia Tech's recent hiring of Franklin during Tuesday's episode of "The Triple Option" podcast.

“I think it’s a great one. I’m a James Franklin fan,” Meyer said. “I coached against him. You know, it’s all well-documented about the top of the food chain. He just couldn’t q

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