So, if Franklin is our coach, what is the plan with respect to recruiting?
He pretty much cherry picked top recruits in Virginia while he was at PSU. What can he possibly say to recruits now to get them to come to VT, not PSU?... "I was kidding! VT is way better! Always was!"?
84 Replies
8mo
(In response to this post by Coach McGuirk)
8mo
The correct recruiting response is, “you wanna get paid?” 😉
(In response to this post by YBYSAIAHokie)
8mo
Or is that one of those things that PSU won’t allow via non solicitation agreements between schools. If I were PSU I’d put a clause that prevents poaching. But admittedly have no clue if that’s allowed within NCAA rules
(In response to this post by Coach McGuirk)
8mo
None.
Was that because Franklin told
Pry to go and do great things, but don’t touch my team. It’s probably part of it. (Pry should have been able to bring some linebackers?)
A lot of guys on Penn states roster went to Penn State to play for Franklin. But Penn state is one of the top programs in the history of college football. We don’t like it where we sit. But history says once in, guys don’t walk away from being a Nittany Lions.
For Franklin to draw players from Penn state to Virginia Tech, he’d have to be able to offer NIL money.
(In response to this post by Hokiepopt)
8mo
Limiting A coach to not accept portal transfers won’t work.
Cignetti accepted about 20 of his best from JMU and rode them into the playoffs.
(In response to this post by Hokiepopt)
8mo
He’s got time to flip guys before early signing December 3-5
(In response to this post by Coach McGuirk)
8mo
As opposed to hookers and booze
(In response to this post by Coach McGuirk)
8mo
They have to buy their own hookers and booze.
(In response to this post by FlintMS)
8mo
Jameis Winston would have been able to purchase those crab legs if NIL was a thing back then.
(In response to this post by Hokiefied)
8mo
(In response to this post by FlintMS)
8mo
This will basically hold true regardless of who the next PSU and VT coaches are.
(In response to this post by Coach McGuirk)
8mo
Doesn’t mean they are coming to VT but the cult of personality that is James Franklin is going to matter in that space. It won’t be forever but the next couple of cycles will be negatively impacted.
(In response to this post by marcbvtgm)
8mo
de-commits. That does nothing to refute the point.
(In response to this post by Hokiefied)
8mo
Throw in a down season and a perception that Franklin was dismissed rashly, and there’s a reasonable chance it’ will have legs for a couple years. I think y’all are underestimating it.
(In response to this post by BG Hokie)
8mo
90.25 vs 89.69 on 247. And that puts them just fractionally behind only Miami and Clemson in the ACC for 2026. They have eight 4* out of 13 recruits. If this ends up a small class with a "lower" ranking score, I doubt PSU will be particularly concerned and will just hit the portal market hard.
But, I repeat, there generally won't be significant change in the level of athlete PSU gets with or without Franklin.
** Edited by marcbvtgm at 11/13/2025, 5:24:47 PM
(In response to this post by Hokiefied)
E
EDGEMAN
8mo
...recruits to VT like he did to PSU is just fooling themselves.
You are spot on! More NIL means more players.
We are a pretty darn young team, so I hope we can hold onto to the best of this bunch. They will be better next season, and better yet the following year...and so on. We have played 12 true freshmen on defense this season. Let that sink in...
(In response to this post by marcbvtgm)
8mo
(In response to this post by EDGEMAN)
8mo
(In response to this post by EDGEMAN)
8mo
It's not linear. The difference between #1 and, say, #10 is as big or bigger than the difference between, say, #20 and #50.
(In response to this post by VTizzle)
8mo
our recruiting will improve to the top 25-35 range within a year or two. Top 10-20 extremely doubtful, but maybe he can build of success fairly quickly.
(In response to this post by EDGEMAN)
8mo
And underestimate how much the logo on the coach's gear impacts recruiting.
There are about 10 programs in the top 15 or so almost every year in recruiting - and about another 10 who move in and out of the top 15. And this has changed very little since recruiting records started being published. About the only outlier is Oregon - which came into boatloads of cash along the way.
Regardless, HS recruiting used to be the lifeblood of a program, but now it's down the list of priorities for developing and maintaining a program.
** Edited by marcbvtgm at 11/13/2025, 2:39:26 PM
(In response to this post by EDGEMAN)
8mo
(In response to this post by marcbvtgm)
8mo
That just seems like a really petty reason to pick a school.
(In response to this post by marcbvtgm)
8mo
just logo. i.e. what implicitly comes with a logo are better and bigger resources to include financial resources NIL, etc. and better facilities and amenities. I think you're taking "logo" too literally in this context. But what do I know?
(In response to this post by Hoakie82)
8mo
(In response to this post by BG Hokie)
8mo
Would you find it petty if a player chose VT over App St if for no other reason than VT is VT and App St is App St?
(In response to this post by Hoakie82)
8mo
achieve its proposed budgetary goal. Particularly given VT's history in that department which doesn't necessarily mean things can't change going forward (assuming VT figures out a solid plan to compete in a P2 universe). If VT ends up falling short of any of its financial goals, then what will that mean for the plan and how will VT adapt going forward?
(In response to this post by marcbvtgm)
8mo
Coaches are inherently a crap shoot. But if the $$ aren't there, it won't matter who the coach is.
(In response to this post by VTHokie2000)
8mo
be interesting to watch is whether the NIL Era leads to a perceived characterization that a new HC equals "instantaneous success" for a program. If the new HC is perceived to be a "big name," such as someone like Franklin, then fans could have higher or unrealistic expectations. If the new HC needs 1-2 years to "rebuild," then how will fans react if they are expecting him to have instantaneous success and what impact will that have on VT's donations part of the plan?
(In response to this post by marcbvtgm)
8mo
(In response to this post by bigbadbird)
8mo
(In response to this post by Coach McGuirk)
M
MKD
8mo
It's talent evaluation and NIL negotiations.
(In response to this post by Coach McGuirk)
E
EDGEMAN
8mo
...to build a "money ball" department to evaluate portal (and HS) players. That would ensure our NIL is best spent on the players who can help us the most...including the guys who are currently playing for us.
(In response to this post by MKD)
8mo
Not everyone gets megabucks. Plenty of the roster gets filled out with guys on similar deals, who have to be wooed away from other suitors offering their own similar deals. Guys still have to get sold on playing time. Incoming portal guys have to be convinced to spend their last year or two here. It's not just shopping on price.
** Edited by Beerman at 11/13/2025, 1:23:00 PM
(In response to this post by MKD)
M
MKD
8mo
That's how you have to now approach "recruiting".
(In response to this post by Beerman)
8mo
(In response to this post by Beerman)
8mo
Also, the PSU fans will deal with two or three WTFs annually from highly touted PA recruits that choose VT that normally wouldn't have.
(In response to this post by Coach McGuirk)
F
fordham
8mo
But good ones please
(In response to this post by Coach McGuirk)
8mo
(In response to this post by Stork)
8mo
Don't think he needed to really talk down VT to pull players from VA.
(In response to this post by Coach McGuirk)
8mo
It will be VERY interesting to see who they end up with. I think their hubris may have done them in here.
(In response to this post by VTizzle)
8mo
Obviously, he would need to do and say more than just "follow me". Thought that went w/o saying 😏
About Penn State, lots of potential candidates have signed extensions Cignetti, Rhule, Brohm, think SMU locked in their coach too, and others don't seem to pushing for that job. Let's see who they end up with. They've created a high pressure HC job now, but not as much pressure as, say, the LSU job.
(In response to this post by marcbvtgm)
8mo
(In response to this post by VTizzle)
8mo
** Edited by marcbvtgm at 11/13/2025, 5:49:01 PM
(In response to this post by VTizzle)
8mo
He had the top class in school history three years in a row.
(In response to this post by marcbvtgm)
8mo
The year before he got there, it was 51st. The year after he left it was 46th. So he had 1 year out of the norm. Otherwise, almost no impact.
** Edited by marcbvtgm at 11/13/2025, 8:52:31 PM
(In response to this post by Hokie4Heisman)
8mo
It looks like the ranking reflects a little more depth at the bottom of that class and signed larger than avg size class. But not really that different in the scheme of things. If you look at the classes and not the ranking, nothing really stands out that says that class was appreciably better than the other classes from 2010 to 2014.
(In response to this post by HokiesACC2004)
8mo
We gave him plenty of cannon fodder to work with however
(In response to this post by VTizzle)
8mo
Side note, i predicted Mike Kafka as Penn State head coach weeks ago. Just throwing that out there.
** Edited by VTizzle at 11/13/2025, 3:30:50 PM
(In response to this post by Happy Dog)
V
VaPoly07
8mo
If he doesn’t go to Arkansas
(In response to this post by VTizzle)
V
VPI_1998
8mo
the landscape is littered with failed Arkansas head coaches.
(In response to this post by BROman Hokie)
R
RRHOKIE
8mo
We have had 3 coaches in like forever & one is a hall of famer!
(In response to this post by marcbvtgm)
8mo
(In response to this post by RRHOKIE)
8mo
and we don’t have a schedule of top 10 teams that we can’t compete with every other week.
(In response to this post by marcbvtgm)
8mo
But the second Franklin came up against a program at PSU (be it OSU, Michigan, Oregon, MSU w/ Dantonio) with similar talent and/or resources, his ceiling was exposed. Unlike at PSU, in the ACC he'd come against mostly programs with similar resources and talent and his ceiling will again become readily apparent.
Even at Vandy, he was there when a number of SEC programs were quite down (particularly Kentucky and Tennessee - those two combined only won 6 SEC games in those 3 yrs). Of his 24 wins, 20 of those teams had losing records. Not .500...but losing records. The combined record of those teams was 86-180 (.323). His wins were against teams that averaged 4.3 wins per year. He almost entirely beat lousy teams...not great teams, not good teams, not even average teams. Sound familiar?
** Edited by marcbvtgm at 11/13/2025, 9:17:15 PM
(In response to this post by BROman Hokie)
8mo
expect VT to beat Penn St. for recruits very often. That ship has sailed. They have more money and prestige. That will get most recruits 9 out of 10 times.
Franklin, theoretically, needs to beat Maryland, Virginia, UNC, NC St. etc. for recruits early and often.
Once we start winning consistently then maybe we can recruit against the bigger boys more easily.
(In response to this post by Coach McGuirk)
8mo
Of course, PSU still wins probably 7-ish times out of 10 there as well.
(In response to this post by BG Hokie)
8mo
The naysayers who have no hope- its just vt so who cares and others who work around rhe country very successful nationally corporately and expect invest for the best
Vt going all in for success model for a p2 school. Athletic dept reorganization -relieving incompwnt staff not just top mgt but their support staff and reorganized hokie club not within athletics
(In response to this post by BG Hokie)
8mo
in that first disaster of a sentence. I'm very willing to conversate but give me something to work with...
(In response to this post by 1947Sunbowl)
V
VaPoly07
8mo
(In response to this post by BG Hokie)
8mo
make no mistake, James Franklin won't beat Penn St. outright very often for recruits until and unless we begin winning at an elite level and/or Penn St. falls off in the near future. It's a resource game and they have more.
(In response to this post by VaPoly07)
8mo
(In response to this post by EDGEMAN)
8mo
Besides I've got gobs of money to spread around to you recruits.
By now it is no secret to him that he'll have to recruit upperclassmen though the portal. They are looking for $$$,$$$.
(In response to this post by Coach McGuirk)
8mo
High School recruiting is secondary as he won’t be able to get the critical mass necessary to right the ship as quick as he needs to. Maybe go get a higher end QB recruit who’s will to redshirt in addition to an immediate impact guy from the portal. Build some bridges for 2027 and beyond, but it’s noise for immediate purposes.
(In response to this post by Coach McGuirk)
8mo
(In response to this post by Coach McGuirk)
R
RiverVT
8mo
We don't have a coach ? If I was a big recruit why should I pick a VT without a coach ? Hilarious!
Season two will begin in December. Look how long it took to get Avdalas on the team ?
Let's get a coach first please and then we can have that conservation.
(In response to this post by RhinoVT)
8mo
And even then, it's just another option to consider...not "I'm going wherever Coach Franklin goes".
** Edited by marcbvtgm at 11/13/2025, 2:29:56 PM
(In response to this post by RiverVT)