The Tech Sideline Podcast: The Virginia Tech Hokies · TechSideline.com

Virginia Tech Starts Spring Football Practice

·46 min·3 clips

Kayshaun Brown looked like he was in a different gear than every other Virginia Tech receiver.

1. Tech Sideline Podcast episode 477 covers Virginia Tech Hokies spring football practice on Thursday, March 19, 2026, from the Tech Solutions Studio in the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center. 2. Host Riley Klaus is joined by lead analyst Chris Coleman and senior staff writer Andy Bitter, who both attended the first spring practice and described what James Franklin and Brent Pry were doing on the field. 3. The episode asks what Virginia Tech’s new spring session looks like, who stood out, and how the staff is sorting out early depth charts at receiver, running back, offensive line, linebacker, and defensive end. 4. Chris Coleman says Norval McKenzie’s running-back period had no breaks, and Tech had only five healthy running backs to work through the drill. 5. Coleman and Bitter describe the receivers Kayshaun Brown, Aiden Green, Takai Heath, Luke Stewie, Cam Sparks, and Keelan Adams as the key names in the passing game. 6. The hosts point out that Brown and Green looked like the two best receivers, while Sparks had two easy drops even though his size and ball skills stood out. 7. On offense, they say the quarterbacks Ethan Gronkmeyer, Bryce Baker, and Troy Huhn were hitting moving receivers in stride and producing bigger plays than Tech had at quarterback last year. 8. The offensive line opened with Aiden Lynch, Laith Ganim, Kyle Altuner, Johnny Garrett, and Montavious Cunningham, all returners from last season. 9. The backups included Lucas Austin, Gavin Crawford, Tommy Ricard, Brody Meadows, and Justin Bell, while Logan Howland and Justin Terry were not full participants. 10. On defense, Aston Stevens and Jason Abbey opened at defensive end, Kamari Copeland anchored defensive tackle, and Brent Pry worked directly with the linebackers again. 11. The running-back drill was so demanding that the group started fumbling when fatigue set in and the entire unit had to do push-ups. 12. Coleman says James Franklin immediately celebrated good plays, including a Sheldon Robinson interception and a Cam Sparks touchdown, before turning to correct a linebacker for a late hit behind the play. 13. The hosts contrast Franklin’s hands-on style with Frank Beamer watching from the tower and Mike/Justin Fuente being more hands-on, arguing Franklin lands in the middle of those approaches. 14. Brown drew repeated praise because he looked like he was in “a different gear than everybody else,” and the hosts said he can threaten a defense any time he gets the ball. 15. Brent Pry’s return to linebacker coaching stood out because he could focus on one position again while the cameras recorded every drill for later review. 16. The secondary discussion suggested that Virginia Tech may have enough cornerbacks and safeties to mix personnel heavily, including options like Ja’Vontae? No, Juka’s White, Jordan Chadwick, Thomas Williams, and Brandon Reddish, with nickel packages also part of the conversation. 17. The episode has a practice-report tone, with both hosts trading observations from different parts of the field and reacting in real time to specific reps. 18. The pace is conversational and detail-heavy, with roster names, drill notes, and coaching behavior driving most of the discussion instead of broad analysis. 19. Fans tracking Virginia Tech spring football depth charts will get the most from this episode. 20. Listeners wanting polished, theme-driven football analysis may skip the practice-note format.

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