James Franklin aims to get Virginia Tech freshmen out of 'redshirt mode'
James Franklin
Virginia Tech wide receiver Davion Brown (center) tries to pick up yardage after the catch as VMI defensive backs Anthony Allen (left) and Ashton Dixon close in for the tackle on Sept. 5 in Blacksburg.
BLACKSBURG — James Franklin dubbed it the “redshirt mode” that some freshmen develop over the course of their first season in college. In Franklin’s first 15 seasons as a head coach at Vanderbilt and Penn State, first-year players initially couldn’t play at all and eventually were limited to four games in order to preserve a year of eligibility. Those rules often led to players’ focus being aimed at the future by getting ready for the upcoming spring practices and crafting a potential role on the team.
Redshirting is a thing of the past after the NCAA in late June adopted an age-based eligibility model that allows Division I student-athletes up to five years of eligibility. That means players at Virginia Tech like wide receiver Davion Brown, offensive lineman Benjamin Eziuka, linebacker Terry Wiggins and cornerback Zaevion Cleveland can play for Franklin in the majority of games this season as freshmen and still have four more years of eligibility.
Franklin, on Tuesday, revealed there are probably four or five more freshmen who could factor into the Hokies’ plans but have entered the “redshirt mode.” The open week provided at least one freshman the opportunity to seek out Franklin about getting out of the dreaded mode and focusing on finding ways to help the Hokies (6-2, 3-2 ACC) this season.
“I don’t know if they’re necessarily approaching it the right way. Attacking the meetings, attacking the weight room, attacking the reps that they get, and also battling to try to get on special teams because a lot of times that’s your first opportunity to build some confidence and have some success on the field, and then that spills over into offense and defense,” Franklin said after Tuesday’s practice. “I had a guy in my office today talking about that with his coaches. Just you need to be approaching this differently. It’s a little bit of that. I used to call it like kind of the redshirt mode. They fall into that mentality. Even though those days are gone, I still think there’s a little bit of that. Guys feel like, well, I’m not going to play.”
Franklin has proven this season he will play freshmen who are ready to contribute. That’s why Brown and Eziuka have started games, Wiggins’ role on defense has grown, and Cleveland is a weekly contributor on special teams who has worked his way up the cornerback depth chart.
Franklin said he was honest and provided feedback to the freshman on Tuesday. Some of that feedback included asking questions about whether that freshman earned weekly awards the team hands out like Iron Hokie and D-squad player of the week for his position and special teams.
Those were examples of how the player needed to be attacking the weight room and how he practiced so he could be ready if he’s asked to play in a game.
“That’s the biggest thing. You don’t want to regret it,” Franklin said. “You don’t want your number to get called and you go in there and you’re not ready. You’re disappointed, your family’s disappointed, your teammates disappointed. That’s regret, and it’s hard to live with regret. Just honesty. Be very transparent with them. I do think he’s got a bright future and a lot of these guys have bright futures, but … they think they have a lot of time, and the seniors will tell them that it flies by. They don’t have as much time as they think they do.”
QB2 battle
Bryce Baker has spent the season as Ethan Grunkemeyer’s backup at quarterback. That has meant Kelden Ryan and Troy Huhn have served as scout team quarterbacks during the week’s practices.
Franklin reiterated Tuesday that the competition for the backup quarterback spot remains close, and the open week’s practices allowed all three quarterbacks to get more reps with the third-string players getting more work.
“Really all year they’ve all done a really good job of preparing like they’re the starter, like knowing the plan in and out. They’re all different in their strengths and things they’re working on, but they’ve all attacked it,” quarterbacks coach Danny O’Brien said. “We do Sunday scrimmages and they love doing that. They love getting reps. They hate coming off the field. It’s awesome for us because they’re going to provide the want to; now it’s on us to give the direction.
“I’ve been pleased with all three of those guys. It’s easier said than done to not play every week, you know what I mean, and still attack it every single week. They’ve done that as well as I’ve been around as a player or a coach, so it’s awesome to coach them.”
Grunkemeyer and Baker are the only two quarterbacks who have played this season. Baker appeared in the first two games against VMI and Old Dominion, and Grunkemeyer has played every offensive snap over the last six games.
Winning football
Franklin mentioned that the Hokies played winning football in their 20-16 win at Clemson and in a 34-24 home win over Georgia Tech.
What does winning football look like this season?
“It hasn’t always been pretty but we’ve done the things that give us a chance to win games, where there was a couple of games where we did not do that,” Franklin said. “It makes it really difficult. It makes it a lot harder than it needs to be to win games. So I was proud of our progress there. I think we have gotten better.”
Franklin reiterated that the open week should allow players who have missed time to rest and potentially be close to returning for the upcoming matchup at No. 19 SMU.
“It’s just about getting better every single week and learning how to win at Virginia Tech and also understanding the things that you can’t do that make it really hard to win football games,” he said.
Open week practice
Franklin told reporters on Tuesday that the Hokies maintained a normal schedule for the open week by practicing the Sunday after the win over Clemson and then going through practices Tuesday and Wednesday.
The third-string players got more reps during those two practices.
“Very similar to a training camp model. Very similar to a spring ball model. But not out here very long,” Franklin said. “A little bit longer meetings. But probably the most important thing is getting everybody back involved in practice and very little D-squad stuff. More good-on-good.”
The players will have Thursday and Friday off. Saturday will mark the first practice in preparation for the Friday, Nov. 6 game at No. 19 SMU. The players will have Sunday off and then resume a normal gameweek practice schedule on Monday.
Damien Sordelett (540) 981-3124
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Virginia Tech coach James Franklin breaks down how the Hokies are managing reps during the open week.
