James Franklin has been in this business long enough to know that “we won the offseason” is one of the most dangerous sentences a college football coach can say out loud. He said it anyway — multiple times — at ACC media days in Charlotte, and then followed it up essentially building the counterargument to his own soundbite.
Franklin isn’t naive about what the phrase means. He knows how fleeting July optimism can be and how quickly offseason winners become punchlines if the product doesn’t match the buzz once the games begin. It’s partly what got him fired from Penn State last October.
By his own account, Virginia Tech is bigger, stronger, faster and deeper than it was a year ago. Atransfer portal haulthat includes a dozen former Penn State players, renewed recruiting momentum and a surge of enthusiasm around the program have made Blacksburg relevant again after a 3-9…
