Virginia Tech football: James Franklin gives updates ahead of spring practice

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Spring football is here. That means we are officially less than six months away from seeing new head coach James Franklin and his new-look squad take the field against VMI in Blacksburg.

Since arriving in November, Franklin has been busy with recruiting and the transfer portal. His attention turned to spring practice in January with a lofty goal in mind; Franklin wants the spring game in Blacksburg on April 18 to be a sellout. Considering the excitement he’s brought to the New River Valley since his hiring, it shouldn’t be ruled out.

Franklin spoke to the media on Monday ahead of the opening of spring practice and explained why packing Lane Stadium next month was so important.

“Excited about the spring game, excited about spring practice, I think it is going to be really important that we pack Lane Stadium for a number of reasons,” Franklin said. “It’ll give us an opportunity to get an understanding of what a game day is like around here, and try to make it as game-like as possible.”

Hokies short at running back this spring

Virginia Tech will be without two of its top running backs for either all or part of the spring. Marcellous Hawkins will miss some time, as will true freshman Messiah Mickens. That’s good news for redshirt freshman Jeff Overton Jr., who was already expected to have a significant role in 2026. Bill Davis, the transfer from Louisiana, and Tyler Mason are also names to watch.

Quarterback competition?

When the Hokies landed a commitment from Penn State transfer Ethan Grunkemeyer, it was a foregone conclusion that he’d be Virginia Tech’s starting quarterback for the foreseeable future. Grunkemeyer was excellent down the stretch for the Nittany Lions last season and had several options, but it was Virginia Tech all the way for the redshirt sophomore.

However, Franklin and his staff have stressed competition at every spot. Therefore, there will be competition at quarterback. Here’s what Franklin said about that group.

“That’s probably the biggest challenge,” Franklin said. “We’ve made sure that the players all know that everything was being evaluated. So the strength staff was having an evaluation, the winter workouts, that’s why we tracked all of the competitions. That was a factor: the meetings we are allowed to have, all those types of things. How are they retaining information, how are they answering questions all of that stuff has been part of the evaluation process, but we’ve got to find a way to get them reps because there’s guys who are unbelievable in the meeting room and they can’t do it out on the field. So although we will have a starting point, it is fluid and also why we are going to do as much two-spot teaching and two-spot drills as we possibly can….It’s almost impossible at the quarterback position to base it on winter workouts.”

It’s Grunkemeyer’s job, but he’ll have to earn it. That will not be a problem.

Who is out?

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