James Franklin’s ‘more with more’ quote from ACC Media Days has Penn State fans jumping at shadows

James Franklin has spent an inordinate amount of his first offseason as the head coach of the Virginia Tech Hokies talking about Penn State. But after his latest comments at ACC Media Days, it’s starting to appear as though that infatuation goes both ways. 

Speaking during his breakout session with the media, Franklin was asked about the lessons that he’s learned from his different stops in college football that are going to make him successful in his latest one. Franklin went on to speak about his days as a Division II football player at East Stroudsburg and learning how to do “more with less,” “early in my career.” 

Franklin then went on to say, “Then when you get to a place like Virginia Tech, you got to understand how to do more with more.” A quote that has been conveniently stripped of its context by On3’s Brett McMurphy and has been circulating on social media Thursday afternoon. 

At least this time, James Franklin wasn’t talking about Penn State

In multiple long-form interviews this offseason, one with Adam Breneman, a former Penn State tight end who played for Franklin when he first took over in Happy Valley, and another with Ralph Russo of The Athletic, Franklin has spoken at length about his unceremonious exit, his mistakes, and his regrets from his tenure at Penn State, including that it didn’t end sooner. 

Many of his comments have rightfully drawn the ire of the Penn State fanbase. It has seemed as though he can’t stop talking about Penn State. But this time he wasn’t. This wasn’t some veiled shot at a lack of resources in Happy Valley, or a jab directed toward Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft, who was the driving force behind Franklin’s firing last year. 

Franklin got everything he needed to be successful at Penn State. The program was probably never going to outspend Ohio State, but it was certainly within shouting distance of the Buckeyes and Oregon, two of the most well-resourced and high-priced rosters in college football. He was the one who didn’t get the job done, and considering he was fired a year after reaching the College Football Playoff semifinal, I’m pretty sure he knows it. 

Penn State paid up to keep its veteran core around in 2025 and made Jim Knowles the highest-paid coordinator in college football, hiring him off Ryan Day’s national title-winning staff in Columbus, a move Franklin ultimately came to regret. It also paid for Franklin to completely revamp his wide receiver room, and you could argue he went 0-3 on his additions of Kyron Hudson, Devonte Ross, and Trebor Pena, none of whom were selected in the 2026 NFL Draft. 

Personally, I’d actually lend more credence to the idea that Franklin is saying he has to “understand how to do more with more,” because he didn’t do a good job allocating those resources late in his tenure at Penn State, than to the idea that he thinks he didn’t have what it takes to win at Penn State. 

Franklin is also referencing the massive $75 million investment that Virginia Tech is making in its athletic department, which, not coincidentally, coincided with his arrival in Blacksburg.

Plenty of Penn State fans, however, are taking the bait online. They've filled McMurphy's mentions, and multiple fan social media pages have latched onto the idea that Franklin is talking about the Nittany Lions again. As fun as it would be to take a shot at him for this comment, that's just not the case. It's important to remember that before Penn State, he did win nine games at Vanderbilt twice, which is the definition of doing more with less.

Breakups are hard. It’ll be a long time before you stop checking their Instagram to see who they’re hanging out with and stop wondering if they’re wearing the same dress they wore on your third date together because they want you to text them. Penn State is with Matt Campbell, and James Franklin is with Virginia Tech, but it’ll be a while before both sides completely move on.

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