Virginia Tech comes out of its bye week with a trip to Dallas looming, and James Franklin spent Monday laying out exactly what the Hokies are trying to clean up before Friday’s matchup with SMU.
The biggest immediate boost could come up front. Franklin said Virginia Tech expects to get Montavious Cunningham and Brody Meadows back on the offensive line, a welcome development for a unit that has been hit hard by injuries all season. Cunningham has been working at both tackle and guard, and the staff is still sorting out where he fits best.
"We expect having Montavious back," Franklin said. "What we're trying to figure out is where is the best place to use him.
He's playing both tackle and guard for us. So we'll figure that out as the week goes on."
Meadows’ return matters too, especially with the Hokies still trying to stabilize the line after weeks of uncertainty.
"Having both Meadows and Cunningham back on the offensive line really helps us from an experience standpoint, really helps us from a depth perspective," Franklin said.
Franklin also pointed to Logan Howland, Benjamin Eziuka, Michael Troutman III and Tommy Ricard as linemen who have picked up valuable reps along the way. But Virginia Tech is not fully whole yet. Left tackle Justin Terry is still not ready to come back, and the timing of these reinforcements matters with SMU bringing a defense that can create problems in a hurry.
"They've done a really good job with their twists and stunts up front out of the Bear package," Franklin said. "They've played some cover zeros, six-man pressures as well."
That makes the Hokies’ offensive priorities pretty clear. Franklin wants the run game moving and the offense staying ahead of the chains.
"It's going to be important to get our running game going," Franklin said. "It's going to be important to stay ahead of the sticks, stay out of third-and-longs as much as we possibly can."
On the other side of the ball, Virginia Tech’s defense is coming off one of its most important outings of the year. The Hokies beat Clemson 20-16, rallying from a six-point fourth-quarter deficit to win at Memorial Stadium for the first time since 2007. Franklin said the unit has improved in the areas that matter most before the snap.
"The biggest thing is pre-snap confidence and communication of getting all 11 guys on the same page," Franklin said. "How we're handling empty, how we're handling unbalanced, how we're handling motion shifts, stacks, bunches."
He said some of that growth comes from the players settling into the system, but the staff has also trimmed things down.
"Part of that is them just getting more comfortable," Franklin said. "Part of that is us narrowing the package down a little bit. I think a combination of all those things have been helpful, specifically on the back end."
SMU’s pace adds another layer, but Franklin noted that Virginia Tech’s own offense gives the defense useful work in practice because it can operate at different speeds.
A major part of the challenge in Dallas will be quarterback Kevin Jennings, whom Franklin knows from Penn State’s matchup with SMU in the first round of the 2024 College Football Playoff. In that game, Jennings went 20-of-36 for 195 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions.
This season, Jennings has been far more efficient, completing 185 of 251 passes for 2,414 yards, 21 touchdowns and five interceptions.
"Whenever you have a quarterback that's been this successful, pretty much holds all of their records, but also has been playing there for a long time within this system, surrounded by a bunch of weapons as well, they do a really nice job," Franklin said.
He also emphasized Jennings’ overall skill set.
"Obviously their quarterback has been very, very successful and very athletic, with a strong arm and a great decision-maker and accurate," Franklin said.
Franklin said that kind of quarterback is always difficult to defend, especially when paired with a talented supporting cast.
"When you play this type of quarterback with this type of athleticism, this much experience and surrounded with that type of talent, it's always a challenge," Franklin said.
Jennings is not the only Mustang Franklin singled out. Running back Kendrick Raphael is another key piece, and Franklin said SMU’s offense forces defenses to account for the whole field.
"I think the biggest deal is the production, right?" Franklin said. "They do a really good job of stressing you out in terms of making you defend 53 and a third, being explosive in the passing game."
Raphael, who had 943 yards on 232 carries at Cal in 2025 and scored 13 rushing touchdowns, gives SMU another layer of stress because he can punish defenders in multiple ways.
"He's able to break tackles. He's able to make people miss," Franklin said.
"They're also using him in the passing game as well. I think from an all-purpose yards perspective, he's leading them right now."
And that versatility, Franklin said, is part of what makes the Mustangs so difficult to pin down.
"They do a nice job within their offensive scheme of making it hard for you to overload the box and be able to stop the run when they're stretching you so much vertically, horizontally," Franklin said.
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