When James Franklin was hired as football coach at Virginia Tech, there were changes that you knew were coming. Whether it was with the coaching staff or the roster, or even the culture around the program, changes were coming and coming for the good.
That's not a shot at Brent Pry, but let's be honest, things haven't been very good recently in Blacksburg in several areas. The roster overhaul and coaching staff overhaul were big, and now it's all about to come together with Saturday's spring game in Blacksburg.
On Thursday, the Hokies held their final on-field practice before the game in two days. According to Franklin, things have been going well, and he is happy to this point. When it comes to culture, Franklin believes everything is good with the buy-in.
James Franklin happy with early culture with Virginia Tech
In order to run a successful program, you need buy-in from everyone. Not only the current players and coaches, but also the administration and recruits. According to Franklin, he's happy with where the buy-in currently is.
"I think culturally, we got really good buy-in,'' said Franklin. "I think there's excitement in the program right now, the players, the staff, the staff that have been retained, Bud [Foster]. Bud comes to pretty much every practice. His perspective has been interesting. So, I think the buy-in has been really good.
"Just the feedback I'm getting from parents, high school coaches, and other college coaches is, they're excited about Virginia Tech. They like how they're treated.''
That's a good sign for the future. There were a number of things that were wrong with the program when the former Penn State coach took over, but things appear to be headed in the right direction. Recruiting visits are going to be key over the next couple of months as Franklin puts his fingerprints all over the Hokies program. So far, so good, and we'll see how things go on Saturday. Culture is needed, something fans have found out over the years.
Add us as a preferred source on Google