James Franklin adds two elite coaches to his Virginia Tech staff

Once things settled down in terms of recruiting for James Franklin as soon as he was hired at Virginia Tech, he turned his attention to filling out his first staff in Blacksburg. He has brought some former assistant coaches with him from Penn State, while also bringing back Brent Pry, the man he's replacing at Virginia Tech, as his defensive coordinator.

Franklin has also fanned out and plucked assistant coaches from other programs. To say that he has struck some gold in terms of getting some assistant coaches to join him at other schools would be an understatement.

James Franklin adds two assistant coaches from Power 4 programs

Over the last week, it was rumored that Franklin was targeting Georgia Tech running backs coach Norval McKenzie for the same position in Blacksburg after Elijah Brooks announced he was moving on. McKenzie updated his X account and added a picture of himself in a Virginia Tech shirt. He also listed assistant head coach, run game coordinator, and running backs coach.

McKenzie is a hire that should pay dividends big time. He did wonders with the Yellow Jackets' running game, and he is walking into a very good room at Virginia Tech. Freshman Jeffrey Overton, Jr. is coming back, and incoming freshman Messiah Mickens is a good one, and Marcellous Hawkins must be retained. There is also room to add through the Transfer Portal.

On Sunday, it was reported that Franklin was targeting Texas A&M defensive line coach Sean Spencer to come to Virginia Tech. Like McKenzie, he posted on his X account of himself decked out in Hokies gear.

Spencer is widely regarded as one of the best coaches in the country at his position, as well as being a great recruiter. With Aggies in College Station, he built and coached one of the top defensive lines in the SEC. He could do wonders in the ACC.