By Nico Aguayo, Arts, Sports, and Culture Reporter
There has been a lot of change to Virginia Tech’s football program this offseason. To David Cunningham, managing editor for Virginia Tech Sideline, it has been a change he’s never seen before.
Virginia Tech has had one of its most active offseasons in program history. With the addition of head coach James Franklin and more than 50 coaches and players, there’s new territory for everyone. New territory as well for former Virginia Tech student and now managing editor for Tech Sideline, David Cunningham. In an interview with Cunningham, he spoke on the new opportunities, possibilities and future for this new Virginia Tech football program.
David Cunningham, Managing Editor of Tech Sideline. Credit: David Cunningham
Responses were edited slightly for length and clarity.
What does James Franklin bring to Virginia Tech that the program may have been missing in recent years?
I think James Franklin has such a special trait as a CEO-type of coach. He really has his hands on every single facet of a football program, whether that’s construction or what the inside of the training room looks like to the social media posts. He puts so much time and effort into all of the little details. He’s also a big-time recruiter, which Virginia Tech has never had before. The way he goes out and picks up big-time recruits is unlike anything the Hokies have ever had. On top of that, he is a great fundraiser. I think you’ve seen what Virginia Tech has been doing over the last handful of months since he’s arrived. Franklin is a salesman, that’s what he does. He has really elevated Virginia Tech in a lot of areas that the Hokies never thought they could reach because they never had a coach like him. He’s obviously a very good football coach, but he’s so much more than that.
Of all the roster moves Virginia Tech has made this offseason, which one do you believe will have the biggest impact on the Hokies this season?
I think Ethan Grunkemeyer at quarterback. He was a big-time pickup even though he doesn’t have a ton of game reps under his belt. He came from Penn State where he started the final seven games last season for the Lions when their starting quarterback went down with an injury. He’s got multiple years of eligibility ahead, which I think is very exciting for the program. I also would look to the defensive side where they brought in Jaquez White from Troy. He was an All-Sun Belt selection last year. White is very talented, shifty, and you can leave him alone on an island. I think as the Hokies get deeper into the season, they will rely on him a lot more. In the last handful of years, cornerback has been a position that the Hokies felt kind of shaky about. They had Dorian Strong and Mansoor Delane, but since then it’s really teetered off. This year, they brought in Jaquez White along with a couple other transfers, Cam Chadwick and Kenny Woseley. I think the cornerback room is in a much different place than it has been in recent years.
What does hiring Brent Pry say to the team and fans who know him as our former head coach?
Well, first off, I think it takes a lot of guts for Pry to own up to his shortcomings as a head coach. He failed and he’s admitted that openly, but the bottom line is wherever James Franklin was going to go and be a head coach, he was going to take Brent Pry. They worked together for a very long time at Penn State, and I think when you have as long of a relationship and as tight of a relationship as they do, it makes it really easy for them to kind of pick right back up where they left off. James Franklin has referred to him as the best defensive coordinator in the country, which is how highly he thinks of Pry. If Franklin had taken a different job, Franklin was going to take Pry with him. It just so happens that the job was Virginia Tech. It is weird, but I think the dynamic has been accepted by the fans because they look at Brent Pry’s history and see the defense on the field. I think he’s back to his old self again. He’s hands-on with the defense calling blitzes and coverage. That’s the kind of stuff that got him into football in the first place and something he loves doing.
What do these offseason moves tell you about how Virginia Tech’s athletic department views the future of the football program?
I think it all starts back with the invest to win plan that was put together by the board of visitors last fall where Virginia Tech came to the table and said, if we want to be competitive in football, we have to fund the program like other Power 4 schools are. That’s a big reason why James Franklin is here. From a fundraising standpoint, a philanthropy standpoint, and an investor standpoint, they’ve done a much better job of making themselves competitive. For offseason roster additions, Franklin signed a highly rated recruiting class, signed a pretty good transfer portal class, and brought in all of these coaches. This program is going to have its trajectory completely changed simply because of what Franklin has been able to establish in such a short period of time. All of these offseason moves show you where this program can really go if it continues to build up speed and momentum. It might not happen this year, but I think the Hokies have a bright future ahead with Franklin.
Besides the overall record, what would you consider a successful first season for James Franklin at Virginia Tech?
I think him making a bowl game, so winning six games, would be a big step in the right direction for the program. This is also James Franklin we are talking about. He’s won 68% of his career games as a head coach. He’s never coached a team that did not make a bowl game. I think that’s the baseline. The schedule is very difficult in the second half of the season, but I think there are opportunities along the way to really get the fan base to buy into the future plan of what Virginia Tech football is going to look like in these next few years. I think at the end of the season, Virginia Tech fans will look back on this year and see that we are in such a different place than we were at this point last year. I think the future is bright because of how James Franklin has basically built this program up since he took over in November.
Editor’s note: The Hokies play the Old Dominion Monarchs in Lane Stadium Saturday, September 12 at noon.
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