VT lost the plot during the Fuente era, especially in state, mainly because of 1) Horrendous underfunding / letting off the gas 2) Fuente's toxic culture and backwards recruiting approach Pry was hired primarily to fix #2, through just "being more like Frank", with a family culture and tight instate relationships. #1 wasn't addressed in any serious way at all. It was all so myopic and ill-conceived. Moreover, NIL made #2 officially obsolete before he even put his first full class together. It was literally like buying a new model fax machine the day before email explodes. This was compounded by some of the worst financial support in the ACC. Without this new huge cash infusion, Franklin would honestly be picking up where Pry left off.