Everything From Virginia Tech's James Franklin At Tuesday's Media Availability

Virginia Tech football head coach James Franklin spoke to the media on Tuesday, March 24. Here's the entirety of what Franklin had to say:

On how practice was:

"Yeah, I thought it was good. I mean, obviously, we've still got a ton of work to do, but for day four, new offense, new defense, new special teams, I've been very pleased. I think the coaches have done a really good job. You can tell the players are working at it, not just on the field, but they're spending time on their own, in the playbooks and watching film. So I've been very pleased up to this point, and obviously, there's some staff that's been here in the past. So, their feedback and their perspective have been valuable, too. But I like it. We got a lot of work to do between now and our first game. But we keep taking days like today, keep stacking positive days and get better, we'll be right where we need to be."

On if having pads on in practice changes a coach's perspective:

"Yeah, the world of seven-on-seven now, there's a lot of guys that dominate seven-on-seven, and the pads make it very different, right? And how physical we are going to be. Toughness, in my opinion, wins in college football, in a way it probably never has before. And what I mean by that, toughness has obviously always been important to football, but with the rule changes, if you're not careful with the least amount of hitting that you get now and tackling and things like that, if you don't work on it and you're not intentional about it, it could be a problem. So, that's been good. Obviously, got into the stadium on Saturday and then today, we're able to get some work on work done, but I I'm pleased with where we're at."

On if A.J. Brand's working at wide receiver is a long-standing change:

"Yeah, so AJ is going to move to wideout. That was the position he wanted to move to. The reality is a couple things. He's too good of an athlete, and he's too good of a guy. Everybody on the team loves him. He's got an infectious personality. Right now, where he was at on the depth chart, we had a conversation with him and his father that it was my opinion and our opinion, that this was in his best interest and the team's best interest. I think he can help us on offense and I think he can help us on special teams. This is just a way to get another really good athlete and another really good person the ability to earn a role to help us win games come the fall."

On what principles/habits that Franklin is attempting to instill on the team:

"You guys haven't seen it, we just put up a sign in the back of the meeting room, championship habits. So, if it does not align with winning and if it does not align with championships, then we've got to cut it out. It's like cancer, right? All the negative behaviors, all the habits that don't lead to where we want to go. Anything that the players see in the locker room when we're not around or Saturday night. A lot of people talk about culture, right? And it's cute stuff you put up on the walls. But culture is really what the team does, what you guys see when you come out to practice, right? What the team does when the coaches aren't watching, that's all part of your culture. So, we're trying to build it, trying to build championship habits on the football field, championship habits in the classroom, championship habits in life. I think there's a ton of carryover. Maybe I'm old-school, but I still think there's a ton of carryover between the game of football and life."

On what Franklin thinks about the QB competition four days in:

"It's been good, but that was part of the decision [about Brand], too, is like there's not enough reps to go around, right? We've got to have a three-deep at every position that we feel like we can win with. And we don't have to have that today. But we got to have that by August. So, every rep is like gold. The reality is, it's hard to get all those guys reps.d We've got to come out of this spring feeling really good about our No. 1 and our No. 2. And we got to feel really good about the possibility of a three in the future. here. When I say our No. 1 and No. 2, we got to feel at the end of spring, we got two guys to go into training camp that legitimately can compete for the starting job and that we can win games with. Then, whoever the third is coming along."

On how much defensive coordinator Brent Pry tried to pull A.J. Brand into a defensive position:

"I think really, when the whole discussion was about the possibility of him moving it at that point, it's what the kid wants to play. And I think if you cut AJ open inside, he's an offensive-minded guy. Let's be honest, you know he did a heck of a job here, and was one of the most productive high school football players in the country. So, for us, we're fortunate to have him here. We want to keep him here. I think he's got a bright future. But I'm not a believer in telling a kid what position to play, because their heart's got to be in it and he's an offensive-minded guy. And I would say for the first day being at wide receiver, he's out there like jumping in and already making plays and doing some good things."

On Brand's flexibility at being able to play at multiple positions:

"I also think there's a chance down the road, could we do some wild Hokie stuff with him, some wildcat stuff with him, because he's still a part of the offense. He's on the field, and he's got a skill set with the ball in his hand. So, that's a possibility as well. But embracing special teams is going to be big, too."

On Brand's move creating a crowded wide receiver room and what Franklin is preaching to them on earning limited reps:

"Well, first of all, I'm going to be honest, I don't see it like you guys. And, to be honest, I hate when you say a crowded room, because I don't see it that way. To me, a crowded room is, we got three or four guys or two or three guys that were First team All-ACC. There's a ton of opportunities for guys to get on the field. Crowded to me means there's not opportunity for guys to make a name for himself. To me, we don't have that. We got [Ayden Greene], who's been an established guy here for a while. Then, we got a bunch of guys battling AG and others, but I just don't see it as crowded. Crowded is, you got nine starters back on offense and nine starters back on defense that a bunch of them made First Team or Second Team All-ACC. We're not in that position. I wish we were crowded."

On Que'Sean Brown, him looking like he made big plays and Franklin not wanting to comment on any receivers aside from Greene:

"I agree. I'm a little cautious of talking about new guys that just showed up until I have enough evidence. But I agree. We've been very pleased with Q-Brown. Obviously, did a ton of stuff in this conference already. He's got a different level of speed, got a lot of confidence. He's not the biggest guy in the world, but he's got elite ball skills. And when you have elite ball skills, it allows you to play bigger and allows you to play faster than what you are. So we're expecting him to continue to evolve and continue to be a guy for us. We brought him here for a reason. Been a ton of production in this league already, and we think we can take it to a whole another level."

On if there's a position that's stood out to Franklin early in spring ball:

"Yeah, I don't know. Well, I don't know if I have that in general. I will say this, we got some kickers. And I know that's not like the sexy position you guys want to talk about, but we got some kickers. We went out the first day, and we had three kickers all make big-time kicks. That was impressive, right? That's points, obviously, that's points. So, that's probably something, the depth and the talent. That may be crowded a little bit. That kind of stood out to me. And then, besides that, we're trying to figure some things out. We've got a number of guys out right now, so that impacts it, too. But I don't know if I have anything other than maybe kickers at this stage."

On if Franklin ends every practice with a pressure game-winning kick exercise:

"Yeah, try to because our philosophy is we put pressure on all these players at every position. And if the kickers just go out there, it's beautiful music playing and no pressure, and you make it and/or you miss it, it's no big deal, I don't think that gets them ready for the game. So, trying to create pressure where they tune all that stuff out and they just focus on the kick and the task at hand and their job. Then the games will come easy to them. So, we just try to create pressure in practice to make it as game-like as possible."

On if it's always a kick that concludes practice:

"We typically will do a field goal to end it for push-ups or for running, a punt to end it, or a kickoff to end it. Typically some type of special teams to end it."

On OL Johnny Garrett working at OL and Franklin speaking last week about finding the best five guys on the offensive line:

"No, it's back to what you originally said, is to get the best five on the field, you're going to have to have position flexibility. So, it may mean Johnny playing guard. It may not mean Johnny playing guard. But my point is, we can't be in a situation where a guy only is playing one position. Then it's impossible to get your best five on the field. They've got to have position flexibility to give us time to figure all those things out."