James Franklin’s tailgate tour makes stop in the 757

James Franklin’s tailgate tour makes stop in the 757

NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — It’s been about six months since Virginia Tech hired James Franklin to be the next Hokies football coach.

It’s been a whirlwind for Franklin since then, as the former Penn State coach has assembled a staff and helped put together a roster.

Franklin replaces Brent Pry, who will actually remain in Blacksburg as his defensive coordinator.

May can be a slow time for college football coaches, so Franklin is heading all over the Commonwealth, making appearances as part of a tailgate tour.

His 757 stop was a sold out event at a brewery in Ghent for the Tidewater chapter of the Hokie Club.

Franklin arrived in Norfolk on a private jet, a scant 50-minute flight from Blacksburg.

While there is work to be done with his team, he says Hampton Roads will hopefully play a big part in the Hokies resurgence.

“No one has better history in the 757 than Virginia Tech, and we need to get that back,” Franklin said. “I think Brent Pry did a really great job of getting back into some of these schools that we had not been to in a couple of years, but we want to take it to a whole other level.”

The Hokies have had only one 10-win season in 14 years, while Frank Beamer won at least 10 games every season from 2004-2011.

Franklin is trying to make strides in year one. He made some key signings in the portal and his first recruiting class is ranked 23rd in the nation and third-best in the ACC.

The early season practice sessions are over for now and Franklin said he likes what he saw at the spring game, particularly from the fan support.

“We had a great spring game in terms of the support we got,” Franklin said. “It looked like a home game, it was packed, [the] place was rocking and the town was buzzing.”

Franklin said there were more than 100 recruits at the spring game, and while the fan base is excited, Franklin cautioned that he’s just getting started.

“We’ve got a of questions that we have to find answers to between now and our first game,” Franklin said, “but I do think we are in a better position than we have been in years past. Obviously there’s been an investment by Virginia Tech to get back to where we all want to be.”

Virginia Tech opens the season Sept. 5 against VMI. It hosts Old Dominion the following week.

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.