Everything From Virginia Tech HC James Franklin After The Hokies' Spring Game

Virginia Tech football head coach James Franklin spoke to the media after the Hokies' annual spring game on Saturday, April 18, 2026. Here's the entirety of what Franklin had to say:

Opening statement:

So first of all, happy that the skydiver is okay. You guys obviously were able to see that a little bit more than we did. But most importantly, he's okay. I want to thank all the first responders for how they handled it, too. For us in the locker room, it was an opportunity to be honest with you, to talk about how I've been a part of the three-and-a-half-hour weather delay. So, you focus on the things that you can control. That wasn't one of them. To be honest with you, it was an opportunity for us to practice on something like that that may come up, whether it's weather or whatever it was. I thought the entire weekend was phenomenal, starting with the [Run for Remembrance] run this morning. That was special. I'm not sure how many people were there. I think I was told somewhere between 15,000 and 20,000. But when you take that moment of silence, that many people out there showing respect, it was impressive. It really was impressive.

So glad that we were able to be a part of that. Overall, I thought spring ball went really well. I thought today was great. I think there's an excitement for Virginia Tech football that there hasn't been in a number of years. From what I'm told ... the largest crowd that we have had in the history of Virginia Tech football for the spring game. Either way, it was a heck of a crowd today, but all of it, was happy with how the guys played and flew around. We did get some bumps and bruises, but the feedback that I've gotten already, it should not be significant. So we'll kind of go from there, but a lot of work to do between now and training camp. But very, very pleased with our 15 days, very pleased with what we were able to get done today, and very appreciative of the fans and the type of support that we got for our program."

On the tight ends combining for 16 catches (190 yards):

Yeah, I think a lot of that was we were having success with the naked [bootleg] all spring. We had success with the naked today, and with that, typically, our tight ends are going to be the primary targets in those types of plays. Yeah, we like our tight ends. We're going to feed them. We got to get our wide receivers more involved on a more consistent basis. Thought [Jeff] Overton flashed today as well. So yeah, I think we're going to get production out of the tight end position. There's no doubt about that. But for us to go where we want to go, we got to make sure that we're getting touches to all guys on the field. And one of the things we talk about is, you talk about balance. Balance is not just running the ball 50% of time and throwing the ball 50% of time. It's being able to run or pass in any given situation in the game. But it's also like Mike Leach talked about, it's also making them defend all eligible receivers on the field and every portion of the field. So we've got to get better in that area. We got guys that we know can make plays for us, and we got to get them involved, not only for their production and for what we want to do this year as a team, but also to recruit those players.:

On Franklin's mid-game statement about how the team will "shock the world":

"There's an excitement right now, and we want to keep that excitement going. We have been fortunate to be a part of two turnarounds in two different conferences, and we plan on doing that again, and this place knows what it looks like. They've done it before. That's what this whole re-establishment is about. And for us to go where we want to go, that's going to take the players, the coaches. That's going to take the community, that's going to take the fans, that's going to take the lettermen. We had a bunch of Lettermen show up today, but we got a chance to do something very special here. We're not going to hide from that, and we're going to need everybody to understand and buy into that, for us to go where we want to go. The positivity in this town and the excitement in this town right now is infectious. It affects our players, it affects our coaches, it affects recruits, and it's going to make for a very difficult environment for people to come and play in. So, we're not going to shy away from those things. We came here to do something special, and with a great group of guys in the locker room that have bought into what we're doing."

On the quarterbacks and whether certain signal-callers showed their evolution over the 15 practices:

"I know you guys [Editor's note: Franklin is referring to the media.] hate this answer. But as coaches, you hate to come in right after being on the field and make a statement or interpret their play. Because a lot of times, you leave the practice field and you don't feel great, and then, you watch the tape, it's better than you thought, and vice versa. I do think we talked about at every position on the team, creating competition. I think we've definitely done that at the quarterback position. Some older transfers, some guys that we retain that are making plays, high school guys showing up. We're very, very pleased with all four of those guys in that room and their ability to manage our offense. Obviously, there's some guys that are getting a little bit more reps than others, and have earned that. But this will be a competition, really, at every position, all the way through training camp and probably a couple weeks before we get into the season. But I like our quarterback room. Danny O'Brien has done a really good job, and I think like the veteran guys in that room, whether it's [Ethan Grunkemeyer] or whether it's Bryce [Baker] or even Kelden, those guys have done a really good job. Troy [Huhn has] done an impressive job as a true freshman coming in here, supposed to be still in high school and supposed to be going to his prom, I'm pleased with that group."

On Jeff Overton:

"Yeah, he's gotten bigger and stronger. I think that will continue. We anticipate him being 210 pounds by the time we get back to the season. He's been about 205, so I think that's realistic to do that. He's got the ability to make people miss. He's got tremendous vision. I think he's got a chance to be a weapon. We'd like to get him involved in the passing game as well. But yeah, we're excited about him. I can't wait to get [Marcellous Hawkins] back, and I can't wait to get Messiah back, because nobody's got a chance to see him yet either. So that'll be important. And then I think the other guy showed some flashes today and did some really good things for us, Bill Davis. [He] is a guy that needs to have a really big offseason, and we anticipate him doing so."

On what Franklin still thinks needs improvement:

"Everything. We have made tremendous progress in a short period of time, but we still have to improve, really, in every area. When you talk about having high expectations and standards, which we do, that will never change. But this is just the start. We laid a foundation in the spring. Very pleased with how the guys have approached it and bought in. I'm very pleased with how the coaches have responded. And we've just got to continue. We've got to keep stacking days and keep getting better in every single area. And I do think we laid a really good foundation this spring to go into the summer and take a significant step."

On the 10 sacks the defense posted and the get-off of the unit:

"For our defense, you love 10 sacks. For our offense, we've got to get that cleaned up. Also, there are times where I blow the whistle that may not have been, may not have been sack, and there may have been a few that would end up sack that I didn't call sack. So, it's hard to totally interpret that until we go completely live and get into the season. But, yeah, we're going to need to be disruptive up front with our defensive line. Not only on first and second down, with tackles for losses, but getting get them in the obvious passing downs, and then be able to put fear in people. Fear in offensive tackles, fear and O-line coaches, in offensive coordinators that we got guys that can come off the edge, not just from blitzing, from our four-down guys that can be disruptive and cause problems."

On Danny White's elevation to deputy athletic director:

"I've been very impressed with Danny since I got here, but I also got to know Danny a few years ago at a leadership summit that we both go to. But he's first class. He's first class. He knows what the expectations are. He knows what the standards are. He knows what we're trying to accomplish, and he has been a tremendous partner since the day we stepped on campus. He's got tremendous institutional knowledge. He's got tremendous community knowledge, and we've made a significant amount of progress in a short period of time. We wouldn't have been able to do that without Danny White and people like him, so he's invaluable to this university and invaluable to this community. I wish him a happy birthday. His family's over there. They should be super proud of Dad, because he's a stud. But we're excited about what we're going to be able to continue to build together."

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