Brailyn Franklin has been familiar with Justin Fuente for quite some time. When Franklin first entered Bowie High School (Arlington, TX), the coach there used some of the offensive schemes and concepts Fuente used while coaching offense at TCU. Franklin, who played wide receiver at Bowie, also knows the success Fuente had in building Memphis into a winner.

“You see the rise of Memphis and you can tell he was so productive with the team,” Franklin said. “At Virginia Tech, he’s going to bring a fast tempo I’m familiar with. I feel this season is going to be a great season. Coach Foster is staying. I have a great relationship with them. It’s like home.”

The 6’2”, 200-pound Franklin is now a junior at Battlefield High School (Haymarket, VA), the school he transferred to halfway through his sophomore year. A Fuente-led Virginia Tech was the first to offer the promising athlete, who shined on the defensive side of the ball while helping Battlefield to a 9-3 overall record last season.

“Generally, last season was a really good season. We were stopped in the second round of the playoffs. I didn’t play wide receiver like I wanted to, but I played defensive end and then coach asked me to play nose guard. I said I could and I played well,” said Franklin, who racked up four sacks and a fumble recovery in Battlefield’s 36-21 win over Hayfield in the first round of the 5A North region playoffs.

...