Skip to main content
Join Now
Team Avatar
Virginia Tech

James Franklin leaves voicemail with hilarious recruiting pitch against Jon Sumrall, Florida

Grant Grubbs Profile Pictureby: Grant Grubbs12/29/25grant_grubbs_

James Franklin is working hard at his new school. On Monday, Virginia Tech‘s Barstool account on X posted a video of Franklin recruiting a fan’s little brother who was choosing between attending VT or Florida for college.

The brother wasn’t a football recruit, but Franklin gave the fan his best pitch anyways. Unless new Florida head coach Jon Sumrall reaches out, Franklin’s persuasive tactics will be difficult to top. Check out the video of the hilarious interaction below.

If Franklin puts that kind of effort into a random fan interaction, Virginia Tech fans can only imagine how hard the new head coach is working to reel in talent from around the country. Virginia Tech hired Franklin in November following his firing from Penn State.

Franklin had been Penn State’s head coach since 2014. The Nittany Lions entered the 2025 campaign with high hopes after reaching the College Football Playoff semifinals the previous season.

In fact, Penn State was ranked No. 2 in the preseason AP Top 25. Nonetheless, after Penn State suffered three consecutive losses, the school fired Franklin. Franklin didn’t hesitate to express his interest in coaching elsewhere.

“I don’t have hobbies, I don’t golf, I don’t fish. This has been such a big part of my identity, such a big part of my family. We love it,” Franklin said. “So I think it was take a deep breath, kind of in shock, surreal for a moment, and then it’s a we got to get back to doing what we do, which is, which is, help young people achieve their dreams, get a great education.”

Virginia Tech took the accomplished HC up on the offer. Virginia Tech currently boasts the No. 27 class in the 2026 recruiting cycle, with 23 players committed to join the Hokies next season.

Franklin will likely capitalize on his momentum in the transfer portal as well. Virginia Tech is reportedly in the mix to land star transfer quarterback Beau Pribula. James Franklin is excited to usher in a new era at Virginia Tech.

“In the last five years, college football has changed, probably more so than the 75 years before it,” Franklin said. “You could take lessons from from Vanderbilt, and you can take lessons from Penn State.

“But the reality is, all these places are unique and sophisticated, and you’ve got to have a plan that makes sense. I’ve got to do a really good job of surrounding myself with people that have great institutional knowledge (at Virginia Tech), great community knowledge.”