James Franklin Thinks He’d Have Won More at Penn State With More NIL Help

James Franklin didn’t exactly leave Penn State on friendly terms. He was fired during last season after more than a decade in Happy Valley, and now that he’s at Virginia Tech, he’s not holding back about why things didn’t work out.

Speaking at the 2026 ACC Kick Off this week, Franklin made it pretty clear he thinks Penn State didn’t give him enough NIL support. And he’s been busy taking players from his old school’s roster, which makes the whole thing sting a little more.

Franklin was asked about his new team and what they’ve accomplished this offseason. According to Brett McMurphy of On3, Franklin said: We are bigger, we are stronger, we are faster than we have been. There’s no doubt about that. We’ve won the offseason. That’s a great soundbite. The reality is we’ve got to make sure those things translate to the season.

Here’s the thing. Franklin has been good at winning the offseason before. The problem was always translating that into actual results when games mattered. At Penn State from 2014 into the 2025 season, he went 104-45 overall. That’s a solid record, but he only won one conference title and made the College Football Playoff once. For a program with that kind of resources, it just wasn’t enough to keep his job.

But Franklin clearly thinks the issue was structural, not personal. He followed up with a line that felt like a direct jab at his old employer: Early in my career, we always had to do more with less. And then you get to a place like Virginia Tech, you gotta understand how to do more with more.

Now, it’s possible he was talking about his three seasons at Vanderbilt, where being competitive at all felt like a miracle. But given the context and his recent comments, most people read that as a shot at Penn State’s NIL operation. The school has not responded publicly.

Franklin has spent the offseason poaching players from Penn State’s roster, which only adds fuel to the fire. The Hokies added multiple transfers from the Nittany Lions, and the message is clear: he thinks he can win if he gets the support he didn’t have before.

Virginia Tech opens its season September 5 against VMI at home. They’ll have a chance to show if Franklin’s offseason bravado actually means something when the ball is snapped.