Virginia Tech football: James Franklin explains his ‘shock the world’ comments

BLACKSBURG, VIRGINIA - NOVEMBER 22: Head coach James Franklin of the Virginia Tech Hokies walks on the field prior to the game against the Miami Hurricanes at Lane Stadium on November 22, 2025 in Blacksburg, Virginia. (Photo by Ryan Hunt/Getty Images) | Getty Images When Virginia Tech head coach James Franklin was speaking to Hokie Nation on Saturday at the annual spring game in Blacksburg, he was fired up, speaking to the crowd and said the 2026 Hokies were going to “shock the world. ” Those comments immediately fired up Virginia Tech fans and, of course, brought out the Penn State fans who still obsessed with every moves Franklin makes or every word he speaks.

After the spring game, Franklin spoke to the media, and he was asked about those comments. He explained what he meant. “There is an excitement right now, and we want to keep that excitement going,” Franklin said.

We have been fortunate to be a part of two turnarounds in two different conferences, and we plan on doing that again. This place knows what it looks like. They’ve done it before.

That’s what this whole re-establish is all about. For us to go where we want to go, it’s going to take the players, the coaches, the community, the fans, that’s going to take the lettermen. We had a bunch of lettermen show up today.