Everything From Virginia Tech HC James Franklin At April 7's Media Availability

Virginia Tech football's head coach James Franklin spoke to the media on Tuesday, April 7. Here's the entirety of what Franklin had to say.

On how practice went:

"Good. Getting adjusted to the morning practices, which has been good. The issue is you don’t get this, right? You’ve got this beautiful weather. The day has time to warm up, get going and being outside. It’s beautiful right now. But it’s been good. I’ve been happy with the morning practices. We’ve put a ton in, on offense and on defense, and on special teams. I think the challenge for most first-year situations like this is, do you put a lot in? Do you try to get everything in, so then you have recall for fall camp? Or do you focus down and try to get really good at the details? I think that's the balance for coaches all the time. How do you want to handle that? I’d like to see our details a little bit better, but we’ve got a lot of offense in. I’d like to see a little bit better on the details, but we’ve got a lot of defense in. And those two things magnify it. We still got a lot of things we’ve got to get cleaned up, but overall, I’ve been pleased. Same thing on special teams."

On if there's any change to structure three weeks into fall camp:

"No, because we’ve still got situational football to cover. We did two-minute today. We’re doing red zone. We’re doing third down. There’s short-yardage. Coming out. Goal line. There’s really not enough days when you talk about 15 days to cover all those situations. So we’ve taken the approach, hey, we’re going to make sure we cover all this stuff so that we have recall in the summer, and especially in training camp. Overall, it’s been good. I thought the two-minute [drill] at the end of practice today for the offense was poorly executed. But overall, pleased."

On what is unique about his first spring ball at Virginia Tech vs. Vanderbilt, Penn State:

I think the thing that is unique is [that] this place has familiarity with how we typically run meetings, how we run practices. Here’s familiarity because Brent [Pry] brought a lot of the model with him, so I think that’s been helpful. I think the other thing is, the challenge is, you’re trying to figure out the institution because all these places are unique and sophisticated. You’re trying to figure out the town. But again, we have people on the staff here that we trust. That was the same with the roster and who to retain and those types of things. I think that gives us a leg up and gives us an advantage in some areas, just because of the familiarity with people on the staff that we trust.

On Que'Sean Brown and whether Franklin's assessment of him has changed:

"I think it’s changed. He is really quick. He’s really fast. He also has really good ball skills because what happens is if you’re an undersized guy and you don’t have really good ball skills, it makes you smaller. If you’re a fast guy and you don’t have really good ball skills, it makes you slower because you have to slow down and double catch or body catch everything. But he is quick, he is fast. He’s got great energy. He’s a smart guy, which is another thing that impacts speed, if you’re thinking too much and you’re not playing fast. He’s picked everything up. He’s an experienced college football player, and specifically in the ACC. And he’s a joy to coach. He’s always got a smile on his face. I mess with him all the time. I love coaching the guy. He’s been really good, and he helps us. He gives us somebody that can scare the defense and can scare the defensive coordinator from a speed and production standpoint, which we need."

On Brown at special teams:

"Right now, I would say if we had to put a punt return team out there, he probably would be the leader at punt return, although we haven’t named that yet. He catches the ball, again, confidently. It’s amazing. Because some guys have really good ball skills at receiver, but they struggle to track punts. He does a really good job with that as well. And again, everything we’re going to try to do on offense is try to get him touches in space, and obviously, that’s what punt return could be for him."

On the offensive line:

"We have more depth, there’s no doubt about it. We got more competition. I think you guys have seen, [Logan] Howland hasn’t been out here full-go. [Justin Terry] has missed some time. So, they’re two big pieces to the puzzle for competition, specifically at the tackle positions, or to create some flexibility with some guys to go into guard. I’m pleased with the depth and competition. I think we’ve got to be more physical. And, again, we’ve got to get all those guys out there practicing and competing."

On if there's other wide receivers beyond Brown and Ayden Greene that Franklin wishes to spotlight:

There’s a group of them. Takye Heath is doing some really good things. Tyseer [Denmark] is doing some really good things. Snook Peterkin, I’ve noticed him. I think he’s got a chance. A.J. Brand, you guys have heard me talk about. Then I’m probably missing somebody, and somebody’s going to be getting in their feelings. But, I think there’s a number of guys right now that I think we’ve got a chance to have a two-deep, a legitimate two-deep."

On Aycen Stevens:

"He’s just so consistent. I think the other thing — which I think is really important for coaches, players, for all of us — is you’ve got to know who you are as a man, but you’ve also got to know who you are as a football player. I think he’s finally comfortable with who he is as a football player and playing to that. He’s a big 260- to 265-pound defensive end who’s got an unbelievable motor, who’s physical as hell, and he’s not trying to be like a finesse pass rusher anymore. Speed to power, speed to power, speed to power, speed to power, bull rush, bull rush, bull rush. It’s just going to wear you down. He’s so consistent. He’s so consistent in his approach, in his mentality and his physicality. I would say him and Tyson Flowers have been two real pleasant surprises for us in how they’re practicing, how they’re competing and how they’re leading."

On Michael Troutman III at guard:

"He’s a guy that has shown he can help us this year. So we’re just trying to get him some flexibility. [Kyle] Altuner, we think we know what we’ve got with him. I think he can compete with Altuner; Altuner needs that. He needs somebody behind him pushing, him and [Tommy] Ricard. But, he’s also a guy that’s got a little bit more length that could also help us at guard. I think he’s been as big as 325 pounds, so he’s got the girth and the size and the power to play guard as well. Again, just trying to create as much competition for those three inside positions, but also the same thing we discussed with tackle."

On if this is the most hands-on Franklin has been with the offense:

Probably in a while. At Vanderbilt, although I had an OC and didn’t call a play, I never called a play at Vanderbilt and never called a play during our time at Penn State, but it was my offense. Then we go to Penn State, and we build it, and we’re able to hire some people from the outside that got tremendous experience. And then it’s always that fine line of stuff you discuss during the hiring process, what you want it to look like. But you’ve also hired guys with really good reputations, really good resumes, and you can push but only so much. I know ultimately you’re the head coach, but coming here and hiring Ty [Howle], me and Ty had a ton of conversations about what we wanted it to look like, the things that we thought were going to be critical pieces philosophically, and then look, I’m going to be heavily involved, and are you comfortable with that? He’s like, yeah, I want that. Ty’s been phenomenal. Same thing. But, yeah, probably as hands-on as I’ve been on offense probably since Vanderbilt."

On whether Franklin feels the offensive vision is being reached:

"Right now, we have the ability to do a lot of different things that I think causes stress on the defense. Having really good conversations with Coach Pry and Ty Howle about that, and a bunch of the guys like Coach Rocco and Coach Conklin. We’ve got a bunch of really good senior analysts. Warren Ruggiero, obviously. Brian Crist. So I think we’re doing a ton of things that cause a lot of stress. But, again, we’ve got to make sure that we can hang our hat on something. There’s not a rush for that right now. But what is our identity going to be on offense? What is our identity going to be on defense? What can we hang our hat on? Same thing on special teams. We don’t need to decide that right now while we’re still evaluating the personnel. We’re going to have to know that probably after a couple of weeks of fall camp and after going through and watching the cut-ups from spring, too."

On no post-spring portal:

"You can’t take transfers. To me, once they make that decision that you can’t have a transfer portal, then you can’t have these kids just go on their own and just transfer to a school. Obviously, they’re trying to control the stuff that’s not supposed to be happening, but people can study the rules and then use the rules against the NCAA. The NCAA gets beaten up a lot, but the reality is, it’s the 10 percent of the people that are trying to abuse [the system]. No different than any industry, right? They’ve pretty much eliminated transfers, whether it’s a true transfer portal or whether that is guys going in on their own supposedly and then showing up somewhere. I would assume based on what I’ve seen and read, that’s pretty much over. Your roster is your roster."

On if that's a positive step:

"I think so. Yeah, I think so. I think that’s why we made all the rule changes we did. That’s why we got rid of the second transfer portal because I was just watching — and, again, I know the timing’s different and the sport’s different — but I just saw a basketball team, a women’s basketball team, I think almost their entire roster [left for the portal]. [Editor's note: A reporter chimed in with Tennessee. Franklin responded with "I know who it was, I wasn't going to say the time," which caused some laughter.]

"The entire team went in the transfer portal. That literally could happen in the spring, and then you have no real opportunity to replace all those guys. People are going to say, ‘Well, you can take guys and lose guys.’ But, not a whole lot of options late. To be honest with you, I think when you say that, people look at it from the coach’s perspective. But it’s also the players, right? You want the players in the best position to be successful. And it’s hard for them to be successful if no one knows who’s going to be on the team in the fall. Trying to build something together for the players. I think it’s good progress. "

On Ty Howle with the tight ends:

"Arguably maybe the best tight ends coach in college football with what he’s built over his time. Not only the production on the field, but the number of draft choices that he has recruited and developed. So,, bringing that mentality and that approach here, with both Ty Howle and Coach Rocco. Coach Rocco does a great job. The younger Rocco does a phenomenal job working with our tight ends as well. They’re a really good 1-2 punch. It also allows Ty every once in a while if he wants to sit in another meeting or float at practice a little bit. We’re not going to have floating coordinators, but gives you the ability if you need to go somewhere else, you can. But has done a phenomenal job. I think one of Ty’s greatest strengths is his humility, and he just wants to do a great job for Virginia Tech. Does a great job creating an environment in that meeting room where everybody can have a voice. He’s also got a great relationship with Brent Pry where he’s walking down the hallway, and they’re bouncing ideas off each other all the time for, again, what’s best for Virginia Tech. He’s a perfect example. He’s a guy that he don’t care who gets the credit, he wants to do what’s best for the players and Virginia Tech."