Three Virginia Tech Takeaways From The 2026 ACC Football Kickoff

CHARLOTTE — Virginia Tech has wrapped up its time at the 2026 ACC Football Kickoff, where James Franklin, Kemari Copeland, Tyson Flowers, and Marcellous Hawkins were all open and available for questions to the media. There was a lot of information coming from a nearly 4,000-word transcript covering the entire press conference. Here are my top three takeaways from Virginia Tech's ACC Football Kickoff.

No. 1: James Franklin believes Virginia Tech has "won the offseason."

The biggest headline from Franklin's appearance is that he repeatedly declared that Virginia Tech has "won the offseason." He repetitively pointed to improvements in team and program culture, along with the strength program, roster leadership, and overall team depth, all directing to the progress that the Hokies have made since he arrived in Blacksburg.

Something that has always been a factor in team building is the term "height, weight, speed", something you hear often in the SEC. While Franklin didn't use those words verbatim, he consistently talked about how the team has gotten "bigger, stronger, and faster" than they have been in the past.

He continuously praised how quickly the Virginia Tech players have embraced the standards that he and his coaching staff have installed. He credited Brent Pry's return as defensive coordinator for accelerating that process due to Pry's familiarity with the program and the surrounding community.

Franklin did immediately tamper expectations with a reality check, acknoledging that offseason success only matters when it carries over to Saturday in the fall.

The same mindset resonated with Tyson Flowers, who cautioned against treating offseason momentum as an accomplishment. Flowers emphasized that the work in the offseason has to continue every day through fall camp and into the season, saying that the team and players must "dominate" each workout, practice and film session to keep the ball rolling in the right direction.

Collectively, the Hokies issued a clear message: Virginia Tech believes that it has laid the groundwork for success, but nobody is celebrating July victories.

No. 2: Brent Pry's return could be one of Virginia Tech's biggest competitive advantages.

Despite Jamea Franklin discussing multiple offseason improvements, he repetitively singled out Brent Pry's hiring as a defensive coordinator as perhaps the most important move that he made when building his staff.

He continued to highlight Pry's institutional knowledge, understanding of Virginia Tech's culture, and his familiarity with the community, and how that has allowed himself and the rest of his coaching staff to hit the ground running as they continued to arrive in Blacksburg.

Copeland shared the notion, revealing that Pry was the only FBS coach to visit him while he was in junior college, creating a relationship that remained strong even after Brent Pry was relieved of his head coaching duties in September of last year. Copeland admitted that Pry's return was among the primary reasons that he decided to stay at Virginia Tech this season instead of exploring other opportunities.

Copeland also pointed to Pry's history of producing top-tier defenses while expressing confidence that Virginia Tech can return to it's former defensive standards this season.

For a defence that looks to reclaim the physical identity that once defined Virginia Tech football under Bud Foster and Frank Beamer, Brent Pry's return appears to have immediately jolted confidence and familiarity into the locker room.

No. 3: Franklin expects Virginia Tech to become a more physical, versatile football team.

Franklin spent several questions discussing something that may offer a glimpse into the offense philosophy that fans might be able to expect this fall, and that's the tight end position.

Drawing from his success at Penn State, Franklin explained that he doesn't view tight ends as oversized wide receivers, and instead wants to use them as players capable of blocking in the run game and also creating defensive mismatches as pass catchers.

He describes how true dual-threat tight ends force defenses into borderline impossible personnel decisions. If the Hokies use smaller defensive backs to defend the passing game, Virginia Tech can exploit them physically in the run game, and if defenses counter with linebackers to stop the run, those faster, bigger tight ends become a mismatch in the open field.

Franklin also emphasized player development, nothing that many high school 'tight ends' don't play with their hand in the dirt and have no often been asked to block. Building those players through strength training, technique work, and scout team reps is central to the offensive versatility that Franklin wants to build around so that the Hokies can compete in today's world of college football.

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