Five Takeaways From James Franklin's Introductory Press Conference

James Franklin was officially introduced as Virginia Tech's new football head coach on Wednesday in front of a sizable crowd inside Cassell Coliseum. Franklin, along with Virginia Tech rector John Rocovich, president Tim Sands, and athletic director Whit Babcock all gave remarks before Franklin took to the podium.

If you liked Franklin before Wednesday's news conference, you probably love him now. Franklin said all the right things, igniting optimism in a fan base that desperately wants a winner. In case you missed the presser, here are my five key takeaways.

They're All in This Together

The word of the day is "alignment". It was used over and over again on Wednesday, as Franklin praised the university leadership for their foreward thinking about what it will take for Virginia Tech to compete at the highest level. Franklin said that upon meeting members of the search committee, they expressed to him that Virginia Tech was prepared to commit the appropriate level of resources for an elite football program.

"What was very obvious to me early on was that they had a plan," Franklin said.

That plan, laid out in Virginia Tech's $229 million funding plan to further support athletics, was the first sign that university leadership were serious about elevating Hokie football back to national promimence. The next sign? Upon Franklin's dismissal, Babcock said that the search committee unanimously agreed that Franklin was the school's top candidate.

Virginia Tech didn't play games either, making it known to Franklin that he was their guy.

"The very first time we met — I don't want to speak for them — but they were ready for me to say 'yes' that night," Franklin said.

Virginia Tech search process, combined with Wednesday's news conference, serve as strong evidence that the Hokies are all pulling in the direction — the top of college football.

"In today's college football, there needs to be alignment," Franklin said. "There's no other way to do it. That is from the rector, to the president, to the athletic director, to the head football coach, and most importantly, to the fans and alumni."

Welcome to the Big Time

"These young men that we're going to be recruiting, they're going to be recruited from all the top programs in the country," Franklin said. "They need to walk in to Virginia Tech football and it needs to look, feel, smell, and operate like big-time. Every aspect of it. how we make them feel when they come in the building, how important they are to what we're trying to do. When they walk around our facilities and they see the stadium, they see the indoor facility, and also when they get inside the football facility, it needs to look, feel, and operate like a big-time program because they're visiting all these other places, and the reality is it's not what you have because everybody has it...What stands out is the things that you're lacking.

An Old School Approach

College football has changed, but Franklin is still the same guy he was when he got into coaching — he wants players to come to Virginia Tech for the right reasons and will hold them accountable.

"The players here at Virginia Tech are going to find out — I'm a players' coach," Franklin said. "That's what it's all about for me. That's what it always will be. Just to be very clear though, just because I'm a players' coach does not mean there won't be discipline and accountability. I'm an old school guy. I'm going to coach you hard, but I'm also going to love you hard as well."

Even in this new era, where players' revenue-sharing and NIL deals are often the most important item on their agendas, Franklin still believes that young men yearn for a coach that will still hold them to a standard.

"Young people want to be coached," Franklin said. "I think there is a myth out there, I think there is a concern out there in today's major college football that you can't coach these guys. I don't think that's true. They're going to be coached hard, they're going to be developed hard, but they're going to be loved and cared for as well."

Coaches don't take that approach as often as they used to in this modern era, but at a school like Virginia Tech, those around the program will appreciate Franklin setting a high standard for his players.

"The reality is that people talk about, 'Is he going to have favorites?' Yes, I am going to have favorites. My favorites are high production and low maintenance players, coaches, and staff," Franklin said.

Building From the Ground Up

Armed with the most financial backing in the history of the program it would be easy for Franklin to buy the best roster possible through the transfer portal. Franklin, however, isn't interested in building his program via transfers.

"The day I signed the contract to be the head coach at Virginia Tech, they're all my players," Franklin said. "That is the current team and that is the players that we're going to bring in for competition, and 

"I'm a big believer that this is still a developmental game of young men," Franklin said. "That's developing them on the football field, that's developing them in the classroom, that's developing them to be prepared for the next phase of their life. I still believe that you can run your program from an old school perspective. I want this to be transformational, not transactional. There is more of a business aspect to college football than ever before, but I still believe you can still run your program in a way thats transformational."

"We are going to build it with high school recruits. We are going to complement that with the portal, but I also think that in year one, we are going to have an opportunity to maybe use the portal this year one different than we will in other years."

"If you are a portal team, you live by the portal, then every year, you're going to have to live by the portal...It's going to be a high school, developmental program that we are going to complement with the transfer portal.

Brent Pry

"The advantage, obviously, is that I'm able to call Brent Pry and he's going to tell me the truth," Franklin said. "I didn't really want anyone to sugarcoat it because none of these places are perfect. I'm not perfect. Let's just talk about the strengths, what are the advantages, what are the challenges? Brent was very, very transparent"

"He's always spoke very highly of this place and the community as well.

"I probably would not be sitting here today without Brent's input and thoughts about this place."