CHARLOTTE, N.C. - James Franklin and Dabo Swinney may be headed for an ACC showdown this fall, but the Virginia Tech head coach made it clear Thursday that the relationship between the two runs deeper than the usual coaching rivalry.
At ACC Kickoff, Franklin said the Clemson coach is more than just a familiar face from the league. The two have known each other for years, with their connection stretching back to the Nike trip coaches take each summer.
“Dabo’s my guy,” Franklin said on Thursday. “We go way back.
We’ve been on the Nike trip for a long time. His wife and my wife are friends.”
Franklin, who spent 12 seasons at Penn State before being fired in October, is now moving into the ACC after a long run in State College. During that stretch, he went 44-21 against top 10 opponents, a strong mark as he prepares to face a conference veteran like Swinney.
The friendship, Franklin said, has carried beyond the field. He described a bond that includes both coaches’ wives, and said the two sometimes spend time together rather than mixing with the rest of the coaching crowd. That kind of connection stands out in a sport where the year-round grind has made relationships between coaches tougher to maintain.
“I’m going to be honest, I wouldn’t say we’re necessarily like the type of people that love a lot of other coaches and a lot of other programs,” Franklin said. “It’s hard when you just compete year-round.”
Still, Franklin was quick to make it plain where Swinney stands in his view. He said he has “tremendous respect for what he has built at Clemson and what he’s done at Clemson, and what he’s done for the ACC.”
Swinney has plenty of admirers around the conference, but Franklin is clearly one of them. The two will get a chance to turn that respect into a game-day matchup on Oct. 24, when Clemson hosts Virginia Tech at Memorial Stadium. That meeting could carry major ACC implications, with the potential to tilt the race toward the conference championship.
It will also bring Franklin back into a familiar setting against a Clemson team that last played against his former Penn State squad in the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl. Clemson dropped that game 22-10, with a group of Franklin’s former players helping deliver the blow.
One of the names Swinney will see again in October is starting quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer, who threw for 260 yards and two touchdowns against the Tigers in the Bronx.
So while Franklin and Swinney can still call each other friends, that won’t matter much once the ball is kicked off in October. Franklin is trying to get Virginia Tech ready for one of the ACC’s biggest stages, and Swinney is working to push Clemson back to the top of a conference he has ruled for more than 15 years.
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At ACC Kickoff media days, Virginia Tech coach James Franklin took a moment to tip his cap to Dabo Swinney, calling attention to a friendship that has stretched beyond the sideline and into years of family connections and Nike trips. Franklin made it clear he understands the business side of college football, but he also acknowledged the respect he has for what Swinney has built at Clemson, a program that has stayed in the leagues championship conversation for years.
That kind of public praise matters because the two programs are set to meet on Oct. 24 in a game with real ACC implications. Clemson will have plenty of reasons to listen closely when a conference rival speaks that highly of Swinney, especially with the possibility that this matchup could help shape the road to the ACC Championship. [Read more 🡒]
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ACC commissioner Jim Phillips has publicly backed Clemsons position and said NCAA leadership promised the issue would be addressed, giving the Tigers some conference support as they wait. Ole Miss coach Pete Golding has brushed off the controversy and suggested tampering is simply part of the modern game, but for Clemson the unanswered question is still the one that matters most: when the NCAA finally weighs in, what will it decide? [Read more 🡒]
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One of the early examples Swinney pointed to was Chris Johnson Jr., whose physical progress has stood out during the summer work. The bigger picture for Clemson is the same one that always matters in the offseason: building a tougher, more complete roster before camp opens, and the early signs from the weight room suggest the Tigers like where things are headed. [Read more 🡒]