Never has an ACC school hired a more credentialed, in-his-prime college football coach than James Franklin. Not Mark Richt at Miami. Not Mack Brown 2.0 at North Carolina. And not Ken Hatfield at Clemson.

Indeed, when Virginia Tech fired Brent Pry on Sept. 13, landing Franklin was unfathomable. His Penn State team was 3-0, ranked second nationally and less than a year removed from a College Football Playoff semifinal appearance.

So credit Tech’s search team for pivoting on a dime when, one month and three consecutive Nittany Lions defeats later, Penn State dismissed Franklin. Hokies administrators then convinced Franklin that their vision and investment mesh with his quest to win the national championship that eluded him at Penn State, and their deal was finalized Monday, according to mul

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