James Franklin reveals he asked for Frank Beamer's blessing to take Virginia Tech job

New Virginia Tech coach James Franklin was introduced to the fans at a press conference on Wednesday morning, where he made a revelation sure to delight the Hokies faithful. Franklin has already been in touch with legendary coach Frank Beamer.

In fact, one of Franklin’s final calls before accepting the job was to Beamer. He knew it was necessary if he was serious about taking the gig.

“As everyone knows, coach Beamer is the man, and he built this place,” Franklin said at his introductory press conference. “I have asked for the blessings of two people. Soaya Ala, my father in law. I called him and asked for his blessing to marry his daughter, Fumi. Then the night before signing a contract I called coach Beamer and asked for his blessing of taking over his program.”

James Franklin will embark upon a new challenge after leading Penn State for 12 years. In some ways, it felt like a weight had been lifted off Franklin at his introductory press conference.

He seemed energized by the new opportunity. Of course, it helps when you’ve got the blessing of one Frank Beamer.

“I was a little concerned because I called him three times and he didn’t answer the phone,” Franklin explained. “So I called his wife and she said, ‘I’m sorry, coach, we didn’t have your number.’ But I was able to get coach Beamer’s blessing and that matters a ton to me, of somebody that values the history, the traditions, the legends. And obviously nobody’s more important at Virginia Tech football than Frank Beamer and his family.”

James Franklin’s opening press conference tugged at the heart strings quite a bit. In addition to his tribute to Beamer, Franklin also offered a touching tribute to Brent Pry, the recently fired Virginia Tech head coach.

Pry coached with Franklin for quite some time prior to taking the Virginia Tech job, and he considered James Franklin a mentor. So it was hard for Franklin to see his friend go through the struggles of being fired.

Franklin was emotional on stage, choking back tears as he thanked Pry for building the foundation of the program. He was insistent that Pry left the program in a better place.