Robert Griffin III makes bold prediction on James Franklin at Virginia Tech

James Franklin was officially announced as the next head coach at Virginia Tech on Monday. This drew the reaction of many analysts from around the college football world.

FOX Sports commentator and analyst Robert Griffin III gave his two cents on the hire. He made a bold prediction on the state of the Atlantic Coast Conference moving forward once Franklin takes hold of the program.

“Virginia Tech will become an ACC contender year in and year out with James Franklin as Head Coach,” Griffin tweeted. With the conference currently being wide open this late in the season — the ACC hasn’t had a perennial contender since Clemson’s dominance from 2015-2019.

The Hokies haven’t won the ACC since 2010 under longtime coach Frank Beamer. James Franklin, who has had success as a head coach in both the SEC and Big Ten, is being tasked with bringing Virginia Tech back to that standard.

He’s won at the highest level, and totaled 104 wins in his 12 seasons as the head coach at Penn State. That’s the second most wins by a head coach in school history. He won the Big Ten in 2016 with the Nittany Lions and led Penn State to the national semifinal of the College Football Playoff as recent as last season.

Franklin’s biggest criticism was his record against big-time opponents. He finished his tenure in Happy Valley 4-21 overall against AP Poll Top 10 teams leading the Nittany Lions.

Still, Franklin will enter the next chapter in his career with the reputation as a program builder. While the Penn State job comes with high expectations, he came to Happy Valley after leading Vanderbilt to success in three short seasons in Nashville.

The Commodores had been to one bowl game since 1982 before Franklin took over the program in 2011. In three seasons, Franklin took Vanderbilt to the postseason in each of those years. That included back to back nine-win seasons during 2012 and 2013 before Penn State swooped him up ahead of the 2014 season.

He’ll arrive in Blacksburg after compiling a 104-45 record at Penn State. He is 128-60 overall as a head coach, which includes his three-year stint with the Commodores (24-15).

For now, Phillip Montgomery will continue to lead the Hokies for the rest of the regular season, which includes the final two matchups of the regular season at home vs. Miami and on the road vs. Virginia.