Virginia Tech’s James Franklin on recruiting, staff and facilities. ‘We got a lot of work done.’
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BLACKSBURG — James Franklin trumpeted his Virginia Tech football coaching staff, reiterated his recruiting approach and underscored his emphasis on the program’s facilities Wednesday during a condensed audience with reporters.
Hired in November to considerable fanfare, Franklin offered a 13-minute opening monologue and entertained only four questions before ceding the stage to his coordinators: Brent Pry on defense, Ty Howle on offense and Doug Shearer on special teams.
They were among the 10 assistant coaches and 20 support staff the Hokies announced Wednesday, along with 27 transfers acquired during the recent portal window.
“We got a lot of work done in a very short period of time,” said Franklin, a former head coach at Vanderbilt and Penn State.
Pry, Howle and most of the staff have worked previously with Franklin, but Franklin insisted familiarity was not a motive.
David Teel: Brent Pry back at Virginia Tech — where he fits and belongs
“I want to be very, very clear,” he said, “because I have not done this my entire career, I’m not in the business of hiring friends. I’ve got enough friends. Maybe three or four of them. That’s enough. I hire coaches that I believe are going to put Virginia Tech in the best position to be successful.”
Franklin retained two position coaches: Matt Moore for the offensive line and Fontel Mines for the receivers. Mines and nickels coach Vic Hall give Tech two former Virginia Cavaliers on staff.
Two veteran Nittany Lions assistant coaches, Howle and Danny O’Brien, accompanied Franklin to Virginia Tech. As in 2024 and ’25 at Penn State, O’Brien will coach the quarterbacks. The Nittany Lions’ co-offensive coordinator and tight ends coach for three seasons, Howle becomes a solo coordinator and play-caller for the Hokies while remaining with the tight ends.
Howle, 34 and a former Penn State offensive lineman, will have an experienced OC nearby. Senior analyst Warren Ruggiero coordinated offenses for Dave Clawson at Wake Forest and Bowling Green, and from 2017-22, the Deacons were the lone ACC program to average at least 30 points per game for six consecutive seasons.
Another senior analyst, Danny Rocco, arrives with head-coaching experience at Liberty, Richmond, Delaware and, most recently, VMI. Such credentialed analysts speak to Virginia Tech’s increased football investment, a commitment that was paramount to luring Franklin.
Also speaking to the Hokies’ willingness to pay for top staff, defensive line coach Sean Spencer comes to Blacksburg after two seasons under Mike Elko at Texas A&M, one of the sport’s most-resourced programs. Spencer worked for Franklin at Vanderbilt and Penn State, and like Ruggiero, coached for Clawson at Bowling Green.
Adding Hokies flavor to the stew, Anthony Midget, most recently on Mike Tomlin’s Pittsburgh Steelers staff, will coach the safeties. He was a starting cornerback and captain on the 1999 Virginia Tech squad that lost the national championship game to Florida State.
“His pride in Virginia Tech, it pours out of him,” Franklin said. “And I think that is important, and we’re going to lean into that.”
All but three of the Hokies’ 27 incoming transfers — The Athletic on Tuesday ranked the transfer class 20th nationally, fourth in the ACC behind Miami, Louisville and Cal — have multiple seasons of eligibility of remaining, and a dozen hail from Penn State. The class is balanced with 13 players on offense, 12 on defense and two on special teams.
Among the headliners are defensive end Javion Hilson, a consensus top-100 prospect when he enrolled at Missouri out of Cocoa, Florida, last January, and Que’Sean Brown, Duke’s No. 2 receiver in 2025. Cornerbacks Jaquez White, second-team All-Sun Belt this past season for Troy, and Cam Chadwick from UConn also figure to provide immediate help.
And of course, the quarterbacks: Ethan Grunkemeyer from Penn State and Bryce Baker from North Carolina, who, respectively, have three and four seasons of eligibility remaining. The Nittany Lions went 4-3 in the games Grunkemeyer started following Drew Allar’s season-ending ankle injury, while Baker, another top 100 Class of 2025 prospect, did not play for the Tar Heels during Bill Belichick’s first season as their head coach.
“I still believe in today’s college football there has to be an aspect of high school recruiting,” Franklin said. “You can’t just go transfer portal. We’ll be a developmental program. And we’ll continue to do that. But we also will embrace the transfer portal. …
“We needed a legitimate three-deep at every position. I don’t think we had a legitimate three-deep at any position. A guy you can win with, a backup you can win with and then a young guy that you’re excited about in the future, and I think we have that at pretty much every position, a three-deep that’s going to have a chance to compete.”
Franklin spoke from the Hokies’ team room at the Merryman Center, a complex that’s been under renovation since his appointment. But Franklin wants more, from Lane Stadium enhancements to central heat in the indoor practice building.
The latter Franklin framed as a means to not only prevent soft-tissue injuries that tend to occur more in the cold, but also develop team speed.
“I don’t think it’s an ideal situation to be running for the pro scouts in an icebox,” Franklin said. “That’s one of the most important days of their football careers. We want to create a great situation there. That is happening.”
From the training room’s paint and lighting to the weight room’s equipment, no detail is too small for Franklin.
“I’m not too surprised by any of this,” Virginia Tech President Tim Sands said “He’s been just a dynamo. Watching him recruit and the way he builds relationships with student-athletes, former and future, just impressive.
“We’re doing our best to stay up with James Franklin and his aspirations, and he’s been pushing us hard on every point. But the good news is, we were already aligned. So it hasn’t been difficult. It’s just a long list of things that we’re trying to tick off as fast as we can. And our donors are stepping up, so I feel good about that. I think we’re in a great spot.”
David Teel, david.teel@virginiamedia.com
Virginia Tech’s transfer class
DT Randy Adirika, 6-2, 319, Miami/Penn State
QB Bryce Baker, 6-2, 205, Kernersville, N.C./North Carolina
OL Justin Bell, 6-6, 314, Macomb Township, Mich./Michigan State
WR Que’Sean Brown, 5-8, 161, Winston-Salem, N.C./Duke
LS Deed Capper, 6-2, 229, Mequon, Wisc./Wisconsin
CB Cam Chadwick, 5-11, 182, Plainfield, N.J./UConn
RB Bill Davis, 5-9, 248, LaPlace, La./Louisiana
WR Tyseer Denmark, 5-10, 180, Philadelphia/Penn State
WR Jeff Exinor Jr., 6-1, 206, Baltimore/Penn State
QB Ethan Grunkemeyer, 6-2, 208, Lewis Center, Ohio/Penn State
DE Cortez Harris, 6-2, 225, Largo, Md./Penn State
TE Matt Henderson, 6-5, 230, Powhatan/Penn State
DE Javion Hilson, 6-3, 241, Cocoa, Fla./Missouri
OL Logan Howland, 6-6, 307, Westfield, N.J./Oklahoma
WR Marlion Jackson, 6-2, 199, Flowery Branch, Ga./Louisiana Tech
DE Daniel Jennings, 6-1, 233, Princeton, W.Va./Penn State
LB Curtis Jones Jr., 6-1, 225, Huntington, W.Va./West Virginia
DT Eric Mensah, 6-2, 310, Stafford/Ohio State
DE Samuel Okunlola, 6-3, 253, Brockton, Mass./Colorado
TE Luke Reynolds, 6-4, 252, Westford, Mass./Penn State
OT Justin Terry, 6-5, 329, Pickerington, Ohio/Ohio State
P Nathan Totten, 6-1, 234, Ashland, Ky./Marshall
OL Michael Troutman III, 6-2, 315, Trenton, N.J./Penn State
CB Jaquez White, 5-11, 189, Blackshear, Ga./Troy
DE Mylachi Williams, 6-3, 226, Philadelphia/Penn State
CB Kenny Woseley Jr., 5-11, 178, Philadelphia/Penn State
LB Keon Wylie, 6-2, 221, Philadelphia/Penn State
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