On Thursday’s edition of Tech Talk Live, Virginia Tech football head coach James Franklin and defensive end Aycen Stevens joined Evan Hughes and Mike Burnop on the show.
The Hokies are 3-0 after a win at Maryland, and they’re shipping up to Boston College for another road game on Saturday at noon ET (ACC Network).
The show’s live recording from McClain's at First and Main can be listened to on replay here.
James Franklin
How has the week gone as you prepare for Boston College?
It’s been a good week. Our guys are doing a really good job of taking advantage of each day and each week and learning throughout the process. One of the things we talk about is that they should be refining their process every single week. Monday is their day off, so how they go through that day — in terms of coming in and watching film on their own, rehab, study hall and all those things — they should be getting better and better at it each week.
With rain in the forecast at Boston College, how helpful was it to practice in wet conditions this week?
It is helpful. I was happy to see the rain. I wish it would have kept raining, but it was damp. We actually talked to the field people. There’s a way we can turn our sprinkler system on around the field, so I’m going to do that in the future and have it shooting at them.
It’s supposed to be nasty, and we prepared for that. Ty Howle has two different game plans prepared. We worked on that all week because obviously you’re going to have to make some adjustments. I think Coach [Brent] Pry has prepared for it as well, as has Coach [Doug] Shearer, our special teams coordinator. They’re saying it has a chance to be pretty nasty, so we’ve got to be ready for that.
Is preparing for bad weather something you have emphasized since training camp rather than just this week?
Every opportunity we had where it rained this summer during training camp, we were out there. The guys were looking at me like, ‘Coach, we’ve got an indoor right there. Why don’t we use the indoor?’ I’m like, ‘That’s not what the indoor is for.’ This week, we had the defense inside because it doesn’t impact them as much, and we had the offense out in the rain the whole time. It was good work for us.
What has impressed you about Ty Howle and the job he has done with the offense?
Ty deserves a ton of credit, but really Fontel Mines as well, Matt Moore, Norval McKenzie, our running backs coach; Danny O’Brien, the quarterbacks coach; and Warren Ruggiero. A lot of you guys know Warren’s background. He’s been an offensive coordinator for 32 years. He’s our offensive senior analyst. He was the offensive coordinator for 12 years at Wake Forest with Dave Clawson, so he’s been a tremendous resource for us as well.
Ty and I go way back. He first came and worked for me at Penn State as an analyst, and then I promoted him to tight ends coach. He was a captain at Penn State right after all the tough times there, and he did a phenomenal job. He’s got an offensive line background. His dad is a high school coach, a legendary high school coach in North Carolina. Most importantly, he’s got unbelievable humility and takes everybody’s ideas in the room.
Ultimately, he’s going to make the final decision, but he’s doing a really nice job with both the run game and the pass game, mixing those two things and having complementary looks. If we have a run, we typically have a play-action pass off of that as well to make sure we’re doing a really good job of keeping the defense honest. He’s doing a great job. I’m very proud of him.
How important have fast starts been, both at the beginning of games and coming out of halftime?
It’s really important, especially depending on the types of teams you play. It’s not as impactful against Maryland because they have the ability to score so fast, but against some offenses, if you can get them down by 14 points, it creates pressure because it forces them to play a style of football they don’t really want to play.
Maryland is going to play that style of football all the time, so I don’t know if they necessarily felt the pressure. But I thought the two-minute drive at the end of the half was huge. Then I thought the stop on defense and our score to start the third quarter were really important.
If you look at the starts of games and the starts of the second half, we’ve been really good. To me, that’s a really good sign of a well-coached and well-planned team on offense, defense and special teams.
What has allowed Luke Reynolds to be so consistent and productive at tight end?
First of all, he’s a talented guy. Out of high school, he was the No. 1 tight end in the country. He was a five-star recruit, so he’s got talent. We can take a lot of credit as coaches, but mom and dad get most of the credit from a genetic standpoint. He’s probably 6-foot-4 or 6-foot-5, 253 pounds. He’s got tremendous body control. He’s a willing blocker. He’ll stick his face in there.
What people don’t understand is tight ends are really valuable, and you hear people talk about them being matchup problems, but they’re only matchup problems if they’re willing to block. If you’re just a big receiver at tight end, they’re going to play nickel and have somebody athletically able to match up with that guy. But now they have an issue. They go nickel, and all of a sudden we motion him back inside and run the ball. Now they’re asking a nickel to fit the run game. If they play a linebacker in there, the linebacker isn’t able to cover him.
He’s a true tight end who creates a bunch of different mismatches. The other thing is he’s smart, so we’re able to put him in a bunch of different spots. That’s valuable. He also has a quarterback background.
We had a guy named Tyler Warren who won the Mackey Award and was the 14th overall pick. He had a similar background — basketball guy, played quarterback. He was actually committed to Virginia Tech as a quarterback, and then we took him as a tight end.
Luke has a lot of similar traits. He’s not as big as Tyler. Tyler was 6-foot-6, 260, but Luke is a big man, and he’s making a ton of plays right now.
What does Tyson Flowers being named a semifinalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy say about him?
We had a guy win that a few years back as well [offensive lineman John Urschel in 2013]. I think it’s one of the better awards in college football because you’re recognizing the whole student-athlete for how they go about their business.
You’ve heard me say this before: I think he’s a guy who could really do whatever he wants. I think he’s going to play the game for a long time, but he could be the Governor of Virginia. He could be the President of the United States one day. He’s that impressive of a young man.
What has made Ethan Grunkemeyer so effective processing the field and working through his progressions?
I think Ty Howle and Danny O’Brien are doing a really good job of building the passing game and making sure we’re forcing the defense to defend all 120 yards and all 53 ⅓ yards across. They’re also making sure our routes and drops are coordinated.
The other thing is making sure that, more times than not, the ball comes out to your first progression. I think maybe in years past the quarterback was holding onto the ball too long, so being able to get the ball out of the quarterback’s hands is really important.
But you also want a quarterback that the defense knows is going to work through his progressions. You’ve seen him go first progression, second progression, work back to the third progression and hit it. He can avoid pressure in the pocket, step up in the pocket, keep his eyes up and make some big-time throws. He’s got a strong enough arm to make them defend the entire field as well.
I think the other thing is Grunk gets a ton of credit, but a couple of those guys made some big-time plays for him early. That play Q [Que’Sean Brown] made at the beginning of the game, where the ball was thrown behind him, and he turned and caught it behind him. He knew he was going to get hit over the middle. He jumped up, turned around and came down with the ball. Ayden Greene makes a big-time catch that may have been an interception if he doesn’t catch it. Grunk deserves a ton of credit, but there are also guys making plays for him.
How valuable was it for Logan Howland to get extended playing time after Justin Terry went down?
He’s been an awesome addition to our program. He started at the University of Oklahoma, and I don’t mean started his college career — he actually started a number of games there. To have that type of experience is really valuable. He’s been an unbelievable hard worker. He had surgery after the season, so we didn’t get him for spring ball, and that put him a little bit behind.
He’s a big kid who’s light on his feet. He’s from New Jersey and went to the Hun School. He’s a big, athletic guy who was battling for that starting job and will have a big role for us at left tackle.
What are your overall impressions of Boston College?
They do a really good job. They’re well coached, they’re tough, they’re physical and they play really hard. That win against Rutgers was a big-time win. It was a big-time win for the ACC, winning against a Big Ten opponent. They’re 2-1 right now, so it’s going to be a tremendous challenge and a tremendous opportunity. They’re a little bit more used to playing in that environment, so we’re going to have to overcome that as well.
I think Bill O’Brien, their head coach, is kind of the perfect coach for that program. He’s from up there. Obviously, he was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach of the Patriots. Bill and I worked together at the University of Maryland. We were both on the same staff for two years with Ralph Friedgen. He was the running backs coach, and I was the receivers coach. We lived in the same neighborhood, so I know him really well.
I’ve got a ton of respect for him. He’s a very, very good football coach. He’s been an offensive coordinator at Alabama and a head coach in the NFL with the Houston Texans. He’s got a tremendous résumé.
Their defensive coordinator is Ted Roof, and Ted has been doing it for a long time. He was the head coach at Duke for a little while and has been a defensive coordinator at a bunch of spots. He’s got them playing hard and flying around. Bill runs the offense, and Ted runs the defense, so they’ve got two very experienced coordinators.
Their quarterback is a mobile quarterback. I think he’s best when he’s outside of the pocket and extending plays. I don’t think he’s the biggest guy in the world, but I think he’s super competitive and probably more athletic than people give him credit for. There are going to be some challenges.
How difficult is it to contain Boston College quarterback Mason McKenzie and keep him from extending plays?
You’d like to keep him contained, but that’s easier said than done. Everybody goes into the game with that mentality and that plan. I think he’s most successful when he breaks out of the pocket and makes plays, whether he’s running or throwing on the run. But again, that’s easier said than done. His whole career, he’s been that way, and he’s had a lot of success doing it. They have enough weapons around him that can cause you some challenges and issues.
The weather could impact them as well. Throwing the ball in these conditions, and it’s not just rain. They’re talking between 40 and 50 mph winds as well. If it was just the wind or just the rain, it would be a little bit more manageable. But the reality is we’re both going to have to deal with it. We’re both playing under the same conditions, so it’s going to be the team that handles the adversity the best.
What stands out about Boston College running back Evan Dickens?
There’s a chance both of their backs will be available. We’ll see, based on the injury reports and things like that. He has the ability to make people miss, and he can run for power. They do a really good job up front with their offensive line and tight ends.
Again, I think Bill is really good at calling an offense and keeping you on your toes. He’s going to make sure he’s taking advantage of angles and leverage. He’s going to use motion to try to gain a number in the run game and gain some advantages in the passing game as well. We’ve got a lot of respect for their running game and their running backs. Having an experienced guy like that is valuable.
They’ve also done a really good job in the transfer portal. I think they’ve been more committed to it. I’m not sure if that was the case at Boston College in the past, but they were aggressive this past year.
What stands out about Boston College linebacker Anthony Palano?
He’s probably the guy I’m most impressed with on tape for them, their middle linebacker. Again, he’s not the biggest guy, but he is super productive. He’s got a great feel for slipping blocks. He can find the ball, and he’s been very productive.
It’s not always a great sign to lead the ACC in tackles. A lot of times people look at that statistic, and that’s not always a great stat. But he is a very productive and good player on tape. He’s probably the guy I’ve been most impressed with.
Boston College has forced seven turnovers through three games. What stands out about its defense?
They’ve got seven turnovers total, and I think they’re leading the ACC in turnovers in a game where I think turnovers are going to be critical. When you’re playing in wet and rainy conditions, the turnover margin is going to be critical. I think Ted has them playing hard. It’s pretty simplistic, but it’s true: If you can get all 11 guys running to the ball on defense and playing with their hair on fire, you’ve got a chance to be good on defense.
If you miss a tackle, there are 10 other guys running to the ball to make up for the guy who missed the tackle. If you get a tipped pass or overthrow and you’re running to the ball, good things normally happen. If the ball gets out on a fumble and you’ve got 10 other guys running to the ball, usually good things happen. I think Ted has done a really good job of that.
They’re playing a little bit differently than when he was the defensive coordinator at UCF. UCF attracts and has a different type of athlete, maybe, than what Boston College has. They played a little bit more man at UCF. They’re playing a little bit more zone at Boston College, but they’re doing a really nice job of it.
How can injuries and a lack of depth at one position affect the development of other position groups during practice?
Say you’re in training camp and you’re down a bunch of wideouts. Now you have to run the ball more in practice. Now your corners aren’t getting the work they need. Your quarterbacks aren’t getting the work they need. One position affects the other. Now with this new rule in the NCAA, the 105 rule, you’ve cut everybody’s rosters down between 15 and 20 players, and it adds up.
Think about a place like Nebraska. Nebraska historically would have between 145 and 150 players in its program. That was one of its strengths for a very long time — the walk-on program. They would have players from the state of Nebraska turn down scholarships to walk on at Nebraska because there was so much tradition there. Whenever your numbers get reduced, that creates challenges and issues.
That’s where you have to be very strategic and have a plan to make sure you’re doing what you’ve got to do to practice, but also figuring out how to get the corners the work they need when you’re down wideouts on the scout team, or whatever it may be.
What has Que’Sean Brown meant to the offense, and how do you plan to continue using him?
For us, it’s a big part of what we want to do. We want to try to get Luke [Reynolds] and Q as many touches as we can because I think when they touch the ball, good things happen. He’s also put on tape that he is a threat to score anytime he touches the ball, and that affects how defenses play you. He’s another smart guy and another quick guy.
Although he’s undersized, he’s got really good ball skills. If you have really good ball skills, it actually makes you faster and it actually makes you bigger. If you don’t have great ball skills, now you’ve got to slow down to catch the ball and you don’t have the same catch radius. He’s a tremendous athlete. We’re so happy we have him. He’s been a great teammate.
I think you’ll continue to see his role grow and get bigger and bigger. He’s having a huge impact. Obviously, the two-point play where he laid out and made that big-time catch was impressive. That’s one of the reasons why I’m hoping we get good weather because we want to try to get the ball in his hands as many times as we can.
You spent time coaching with the Green Bay Packers. Did you ever consider staying in the NFL rather than returning to college football?
I did the same thing as Bill O’Brien. I left the University of Maryland and went to the Green Bay Packers. Mike Sherman, who used to be the head coach at Texas A&M, was the head coach. Donald Driver was my wide receiver. It was a pretty interesting time to be there. Brett Favre was our quarterback, and we drafted Aaron Rodgers, so I was with the Packers when Aaron was a rookie and Brett was our quarterback. I had a great experience there.
The issue is Coach Sherman got let go at the end of the year. Then I had an opportunity to go to Kansas State as the offensive coordinator and be a coordinator for the first time. I had a great experience there for two years, did some good things and then ended up going back to the University of Maryland.
I enjoyed the NFL. There are things about the NFL that I really liked, and there are things about the NFL I didn’t like. There are things I love about college, and there are some things I don’t love about college. There’s good and bad to both. For me, I got into this profession because I wanted to make a difference in young men’s lives. In the NFL, it’s strictly a business.
There are positives to that. There’s nobody calling you at 11 o’clock at night because their girlfriend broke up with them and they’re sick about it. You don’t really get that in the NFL. But that’s why I got into this profession — to make a difference in young people. I just didn’t feel like I was getting that in the NFL.
You knew Aycen Stevens’ family before coming to Virginia Tech. What has it been like getting the opportunity to coach him?
Aycen’s older brother, Tommy, played for us at Penn State. He was a quarterback. When we were recruiting him out of Indiana, I remember going on the home visit, and Tommy had this little brother. His name was Tank. I didn’t know his name. It was just Tank. Everybody called him Tank. He had a mullet, and he was kind of jacked up for a little kid. I don’t know if you guys have seen his dad before, but his dad’s a monster.
Tommy ended up coming with us and had a great career. Then, literally, I get here and it’s Aycen. I didn’t even know he was here. Everybody was really excited about him and his future. I was telling my wife, ‘You remember Tommy Stevens’ little brother?’ She’s like, ‘Yeah, Tank.’ I don’t know how she remembered Tank because that was literally five or seven years ago.
He’s doing tremendous. He’s just been a worker. He’s totally bought in. He’s been a culture driver for us. He has developed in the weight room. He’s gotten explosive. He ran one of our faster 40s this spring. You’re seeing that now. He’s played the last couple of years, but now he’s really being productive with sacks and tackles for loss. He’s a very consistent guy as well.
I’m a huge fan of Aycen’s and a huge fan of his entire family. I think he’s going to continue to do big things for us this year. The other thing I know you guys would love is he’s just a great young man. He’s what we want at Virginia Tech. You’d want him to babysit your kids. He’s just that type of young man. I think we’re all proud to have him.
Aycen Stevens
Coach Franklin still calls you ‘Tank.’ How long has it been since people regularly called you that?
He still calls me that here and there. He also calls me Tommy sometimes on accident. I haven’t been called Tank regularly since probably early in high school, maybe a little toward the end of high school. I thought it was an Indianapolis thing, and now it’s kind of transferring here as well.
How did your recruitment lead you to Virginia Tech?
It was a weird process. Virginia Tech was actually my last scholarship offer. It was right after Coach Pry got the job, and obviously we had that connection because he was at Penn State with my older brother. My brother reached out to Coach Pry and sent him my film. He liked it, gave me a call and offered me.
I took a visit and loved it here. Then I took an official visit and really loved it. That day, I was in my hotel room and was like, ‘This is where I want to play football.’ I told my dad, and he was like, ‘You making the right decision?’ I was like, ‘I think so.’ So far, so good. I love it here. I’m glad I made that decision that night.
You played football, basketball, baseball and competed in track growing up. How did playing multiple sports help develop you as an athlete?
Different sports bring different types of skill sets. Growing up and having an older brother who got recruited in football, I heard from other coaches that they like to look for guys who can play multiple sports because it shows competitiveness. That made it easy for me. All my friends growing up played basketball. We played baseball together, so that was always fun. It was just something I enjoyed doing.
I always loved competing, and I always loved playing sports. Obviously, I loved football, and football was always my favorite. But I also loved playing basketball. I loved being on the track. I loved playing baseball — all that stuff.
Virginia Tech is 3-0. What are you most pleased with about the defensive line and the team through the first three games?
I feel like the defensive line is playing really well. It’s something I expected. I expected us to come out and do this. Coach Franklin has instilled a belief in this team. All the guys have bought in. The offense is playing really well right now. The defense is playing really well, and we’re playing complementary football. It’s really fun to see, and it’s really fun to be out there playing.
Coach Franklin has talked about developing more pass-rush moves beyond your “fastball.” How have you worked to expand your game?
When Coach Franklin first got here, he was basically like, ‘Look, you’ve got to know yourself. You’ve got to know your game. You’ve got to become a power guy.’ I was like, ‘I kind of like that.’ I started doing it, started believing in it, and it started working.
When you have one move — like you said, your fastball — it opens up a lot more things. When you work a power move, you can turn that into a speed rush here and there. By the end of the day, you might get a few sacks off a move that you’re really not comfortable doing because it throws the offensive lineman off.
What has it been like playing alongside Kemari Copeland, Mylachi Williams and Cortez Harris on the defensive line?
We’ve got some dudes, for sure. It makes Coach [Sean] Spencer’s job a lot easier, I feel like. I love those dudes. I love playing around them. They’re great people and obviously good football players.
What is it like playing for Sean Spencer, who everyone calls Coach Chaos because of his energy?
That’s every day for Coach Spencer. Every day I’m ready to run through a wall for him. He’s a great coach and an even better person as well. He teaches us a lot about football, but he also teaches you a lot about life. He’s a great human and someone that I love playing for.
What stands out about Boston College quarterback Mason McKenzie, and how does his style compare with the quarterbacks you’ve already faced?
He’s a good player, for sure. I like to compare him to a mixture of Old Dominion’s quarterback [Quinn Henicle] and Maryland’s quarterback [Malik Washington]. It’s kind of a mix of both. I felt like the Maryland quarterback scrambled around looking to throw the ball, whereas this guy scrambles around looking to run the ball as well. He’s a good player. Like I said, it’s going to be challenging for us, but I feel like we have a good game plan for him, and hopefully we’ll take care of business.
What do you like to do away from football?
There isn’t a whole lot of time outside of football. I feel like 90 percent of my life is wrapped around football right now. Here and there, I always call my mom every night before I go to bed, so I talk to her a little bit. I call my dad too. They’re usually both on the phone together, so I get to talk to both of them. Other than that, I like to play video games here and there when I have time. I’m a big Madden player. The new college football game that’s out too — I’m pretty good at that as well.
Who is the best athlete in your family: You, your brother or your dad?
I like to say me. When Tommy ran his 40 for his combine stuff, he ran a really good time, and I ran .01 faster than him. I always hold that above him now. He was better at the other sports than me, though. I’ll give him that. He was better at basketball and baseball.
Who is the toughest Virginia Tech player to stop in the college football video game?
With the speed they gave Luke Reynolds in the game, he’s unstoppable. I’m not going to lie. Him and Que’Sean Brown — there are some dudes on that game, and in real life too.
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