Everything From Virginia Tech Head Coach James Franklin At March 16's Media Availability

Virginia Tech head coach James Franklin spoke to the media on March 16 to discuss spring practice. Here's the entirety of what Franklin had to say:

Opening statement from Coach Franklin:

"So first of all, I just kind of want to thank a number of people obviously to get to this point and have the fields look the way they look. All the players out on the field, a ton of people have put a lot of hard work into that. Obviously, first and foremost, Whit [Babcock] and Danny White have been phenomenal. Appreciate all their help. The grounds crew has been awesome. The facilities people, specifically Brittany Lee and Casey Underwood. I don't know if you guys know them. They have been fantastic. Training table staff, I could go on and on. Also want to congratulate Coach Megan Duffy in the women's basketball program. Itoro Coleman's a really good friend of mine as well. Awesome that they got an NCAA Tournament bid and know there's been a ton of hard work that's gone into that. So, congratulations to them. And then obviously, Coach [Tony] Robie and our wrestling program, ACC champs. And I think they are leaving for the tournament, I think, Tuesday morning around 11 o'clock. So, if possible, we have practice, I'm going to try to get over there to see them off. But what they've been able to do in Coach's time here has been awesome. So, excited about the spring game, excited about spring practice. I think it's going to be really important that we pack Lane Stadium for a number of reasons. Give us an opportunity to to kind of get an understanding of what a game day is like around here. Try to make it as game-like as possible, put some exciting football out there on the field to give the fans and the media obviously a first glimpse of what the team looks like and try to play some real football. So, I think that'll be exciting for us as well. And then I think the other things we'll get into, in terms of when I answer your questions, and things like that. I think we have released some some medical information for [the media] which will be valuable, to make these meetings go a little bit more efficient. But truly appreciate you guys all coming out to cover Tech football and I'm happy to answer any questions."

On if Franklin is splitting quarterbacks repetions evenly and whether the challenge is wide-open:

"Yeah. So, that's probably the biggest challenge, right? So, a couple things, we've made sure that the players all know that everything was being evaluated. So, the strength staff was was having an evaluation. The winter workouts, that's why we tracked all of the competitions. That was a factor in the meetings that were allowed to have all those types of things. How are they retaining information? How are they answering questions? All that stuff has been has been part of the evaluation process, but we got to find a way to get them reps because there's guys that are unbelievable in the meeting room, and then, they can't do it out of the field. So, although we'll have kind of a starting point, it is fluid, and it's also why we are going to do as much two-spot teaching and two-spot drills as we possibly can. The other thing is, it just makes us more efficient. So for example, say you go the ones for five reps, the twos for five reps, and the threes for five reps. If we can go two fields, and the threes and fours are going at the same time as the ones and the twos, and we're videoing all of that, it gives us the best ability to be efficient on the field, get off the field as quickly as we possibly can, and get all the guys reps. But it's literally going to be a straight rotation between those five guys and we'll start to kind of figure out where we're at sooner rather than later. It's almost impossible at the quarterback position to base it off of winter workouts and strength and conditioning. But we have no choice but to use some of that information that we've been given already."

On if Franklin envisions having full practice for both veterans and newcomers:

"At this stage, we don't see ourselves limiting anybody or anything. As this progresses, we may get late in the spring ball and now Brent Pry as the defensive coordinator and Ty Howle as the offense coordinator, and the same thing on special teams. They may say, 'Hey, I got a really good idea who this guy is.' And we may want to make some adjustments behind him and say, 'OK, we feel really good about our starting center, but we need a bigger evaluation on who the backup is.' So, we may cut a few reps from the starter, and now, we know we need to develop the backups, the two- and the three-deep, and give those more reps. At this stage, no, we won't limit anybody. But as this spring ball grows and continues on, we may start to make some adjustments once we got a better feel of who our team is and who are clearly established guys that know their stuff and also can go out and execute at a high level."

On the running back room and the different skill sets of the group:

"Because of injuries, we're a little thin there. I think you guys kind of gotten some of those notes. Thinner than we would like to be. So, we'll see how that plays out. Bill [Davis] has been kind of an exciting one. I think you guys saw when he first got here, he was a cheeseburger away from 250 pounds. He has changed his body dramatically and is is moving well. But it's still to be determined. I think Marcellous [Hawkins] is a really good example, right? Our running backs coach hasn't had a chance to see him or evaluate him yet. So, he's a big part of all of this. We'll see. We'll see how this thing goes and and kind of where we're at, but I wish we were a little bit healthier at that position, especially when you say the guy who is the returning starter's out."

[Editor's note: Franklin remarked, "You guys keep looking at the list, is that on there?" He was referring to an availability report that detailed which players were unavailable for spring ball. Hawkins was not on the list. Per Tech Sideline's Andy Bitter, Hawkins' status may change as spring ball moves forward.]

On if, four months in, Franklin has faced anything that went better than expected:

"Yeah, I guess what I would say is I think there's a ton of excitement from me and the staff. Because I think there are a ton of areas for improvement and that is specifically in our football program. That is in the athletic department and I think that's really on campus philosophically. There's a ton of areas that I think we can improve on. To me, that's exciting. To me, that's that's really exciting because I think there's a ton of low-hanging fruit. And then, there's some stuff that we're going to have to be pretty aggressive and climb up deep into the tree to get fixed as well. But to me, that's what's so exciting. There's a lot of areas for improvement within our football program and outside."

On if changes to Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) and the transfer portal have impacted how Franklin runs his spring practices:

"I guess the first thing I would say is yes, but I think some of the things that have changed because of that, right? Having one transfer portal window, I think that [came] as a reaction to coaches having to change how they did spring ball and other things. So, I think having the one window changes that. I think maybe before, it did impact it. So, I would say now, we're at a place where I would say no, we're back to maybe more of a traditional spring ball. But that's some of the concerns. You saw people stop televising their spring games. Some people stopped doing spring games totally overall. And again, I think part of that was because of the second transfer portal window. So, we'll see if it if the pendulum swings back. I'm not sure. But I don't think it's changed as much now under the current rules that we're in."

On if Franklin could answer one question about the team at the end of 15 practices, what it would be and why:

""So, one question, I mean, that's that's hard to do, right, when you're taking over a program. and there's so many areas that I'm still learning about Virginia Tech, about Virginia Tech football, about our staff, about the players. It's hard for me to say, 'This is the one thing.' I mean, obviously, the big one you guys want is the one of the first questions, right?The quarterback. That's obviously a very important question that we have to get answered as soon as possible and not just the starter, but who are the top two quarterbacks are going to be, so we can get those guys ready. So, yeah, that's hard for me because there's just so many things that I'm still trying to figure out. And so are the coaches and winter workouts are great and the weight room are great, but we don't really know who our team is. I think we're in a much better position than we were when I arrived on campus, thanks to the support of so many different people, the hard work of our current team as well as the guys that we got out of the transfer portal as well as the high school guys that joined us at mid-semester. But there's still so much; I don't know if I could say one thing.

On offensive line and whether Franklin likes to get them in one spot or mix them around:

"So, I think retaining Matt obviously helps with that, right? He's got a pretty good idea already who these guys are. I think the challenge on the offensive line; it's a challenge, but also I think it's a blessing sometimes is I think when you're really good, it's not a left tackle and a backup left tackle, a left guard and a backup left guard. It's typically, OK, here are the starters and then here's the next best available player inside. here's the next best available at tackle. And then... we're going to try to recruit as many of these guys as we can that are swing guys. They're guards with enough length that can play tackle and athleticism to play tackle or some tackles that got enough girth and size that can move inside. So now, it's not who's your backup left tackle, it's who's your next best available player that we can get on the field. There's going to be some swing guys, but I also think there's going to be probably next best tackle on the perimeter, next best interior guy, and we'll figure that out. You'd love to be in a position where you feel like there's not a significant drop off and you can just go a traditional two-deep, but I think more times than not, it's who's the sixth-, seventh-, eighth-best offensive lineman. And by doing it that way, you need position flexibility. And it may be, OK, your right guard's helmet breaks and he needs to come off the field. The best way to do it now is your starting right tackle moves to right guard and the next best player to get on the field is a tackle. So, it's to be determined, but that's how I see this typically playing out in college football."

On if there's an advantage to having the offensive line be cohesive:

"Yeah, because the chemistry and the coordination that it takes for those offensive linemen with all the twists and games and blitzes that defenses come up with nowadays. That cohesion of that group working together is really important. But I would also say at this stage, it's more about us laying a foundation and figuring out who those guys are. We got time during training camp to get that group cohesive. Right now, it's more about finding who are the guys that we think we can win with and who are the guys that from a development standpoint are a little bit behind and we need to speed up their maturation process as quick as we possibly can."

On the wide receiver room and the leadership of Ayden Greene:

"Yeah, I've been a big AG fan, Ayden Greene, really from the beginning. He was part of last year's leadership council. I met with those guys. I also think it is awesome in today's college football when you see a guy that his entire career has been at one institution. That guy's made a commitment to this place. He has bled, sweat, and cried for this program, during adversity. Wasn't like this. Hasn't all been smooth sailing during his time, right? So, I give him a ton of credit. I wasn't sure. Obviously, I watch tape and I was impressed with what I saw on tape, but I wasn't sure of how he was wired. I wasn't sure about the other things. I love my meetings with him and his family, but you never know until you get out there. And he's been very impressive. Extremely competitive, tough mentally and physically. I've been impressed with him so far. And then, I think we got a ton of other guys that we're excited about, but they're still kind of in the earn-it phase, right? I'm not probably comfortable at this stage, talking about any of the rest of the guys. Some guys have come in with more accolades than others. Some guys are returning and ready to take the next step. But I'm going to be a little bit patient before speaking on those guys. I think AG is probably the one proven commodity based on what he did last year, but then also what I've seen since since I've been on campus. I've been very, very impressed with his leadership, with how he communicates, with how he challenges. Been very honest with me. He's one of those guys, like don't ask unless you want to hear his truth, his perspective on it. And that's been really valuable for me in a short period of time."

On what James Franklin the team is going to get and what response Franklin is hoping for:

"Well, I think it's the same thing I told the guys, right? The core of who I am as a man and as a coach, those things haven't changed. But the reality is, just like we challenge the players that they need to be growing and evolving every single day, it's the same way with the coaches. We should be learning, growing and getting better. And that's what I've challenged myself to do. Look in the mirror. What are areas that I can improve? What are areas that I can put myself in position to serve the Virginia Tech community, to serve our players and the staff, that's going to put us in the best position to be successful? So, the core of who I am at my age, that's not changing, but obviously making sure that just like the players and the staff, that I'm challenging myself to get better every single day as well, learning from all the experiences that I've had, good and bad."

On if there's emphasis on cross-training:

"So, in a perfect world, if you're a couple years into the system, you're comfortable moving guys because you feel like they've mastered a spot or maybe not mastered, but they're pretty good at the mike [linebacker] spot. So, we're going to now get them some reps at the will or the sam or whatever it may be. That's a little bit of a challenge right now, when we're installing kind of new schemes on offense, defense and special teams. But once again, kind of to the question earlier about the O-line, at the end of the day, we got to find who has the ability, the football IQ to handle multiple positions to allow us to to get the best guys on the field because our second mike may be our first sam, right? So, we got to figure that out. So, you typically try not to do that with young players. allow them to gain some confidence and get comfortable at one position before you move them. But the older players, we're probably gonna challenge those guys a little bit again so we can figure out how do we get our best 11 on the field in all three phases."

On if Franklin has made any position changes or any experimenting thus far:

"Yeah, I don't think so. The one just that I would probably mention to you guys from depth perspective, based on what we talked about the running back position, is Darius Taylor. we've moved to running back to allow us to practice the way we want to practice. And he's being a great teammate and doing that for us. But that's that's really it, from what I know. I think that's it in terms of position changes."

On what the structure for spring practice look like:

"Yeah, it'll be very similar from what I understand from what they've done here in the past. That's one of the things that I think has been helpful for the players specifically and some of the staff that we retained. There is a core foundation of things that Brent brought with him that is already in place here. So, there's some tweaks and some changes, but I would say just in general, the structure's similar to what they're used to. I think that's that's been helpful. There's some changes and there's going to be some things that maybe are emphasized more than they were in the past, but a lot of the structural stuff for the players and for the staff is going to be similar."