Virginia Tech’s Franklin: 'I got a huge chip on my shoulder'

James Franklin is hungry to lead Virginia Tech and erase any lingering memories of a disappointing 2025 season with Penn State that resulted in his termination.

"I got a huge chip on my shoulder," Franklin said to On3 Sports. "Kind of an unusual situation. Six games earlier, we're playing for national championship. Now obviously some things happened that were in my control and I take total responsibility for that. But, yeah I got a big chip on my shoulder. Extremely motivated."

Penn State was one of the favorites to win the national title ahead of last season, but fell woefully short of expectations. The Nittany Lions ended up firing Franklin after a three-game losing streak dropped the team to 3-3. Franklin managed to make the College Football Playoff semifinal during the 2024 campaign before his inability to win versus a top opponent once again came to fruition. The head coach carried an unspectacular 4-21 mark against top-10 opponents with Penn State.

He'll be looking to revive a Virginia Tech program that has only won 10 or more games once since 2012.

"We got a lot of work to do," Franklin remarked. "Most importantly, our players are driven, excited, and motivated. We got a really good core group of guys that stayed at Virginia Tech and guys that we brought from a number of other places too."

The Hokies open the season at home against VMI on Sept. 5.