Virginia Tech football lands its new quarterbacks coach

Slowly but surely, the Virginia Tech Hokies continue to assemble head coach Brent Pry’s first coaching staff. Another move was announced on Thursday when Virginia Tech released a statement naming Brad Glenn as quarterbacks coach/passing game coordinator.

If you hadn’t heard of Glenn, it’s ok. Glenn comes to Blacksburg from Georgia State, where he served as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the last three seasons. During his time with the Panthers, Glenn led Georgia State to multiple school records in points scored, total offense and rushing yards.

Glenn is a 1995 graduate of Clemson. He immediately began his coaching career in high school. In 2001, he moved to the collegiate ranks, serving as tight ends coach at Elon. Glenn returned to high school for three seasons, working as an offensive coordinator.

In 2005, Glenn received a big break, landing a job as tight ends coach at Appalachian State. During this time, Appalachian State was an FCS powerhouse, and Glenn would coach there for seven seasons, including the last three as quarterbacks coach. It was his time working with former ASU quarterback Armanti Edwards where Glenn developed the reputation as a quarterback guru.

In 2012, Glenn accepted a job at Western Carolina, where he would spend the next seven seasons. He served as associate head coach, quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator during his time with the Catamounts. Western Carolina’s offense, particularly its quarterback play, was strong during Glenn’s seven seasons there.

Next, Glenn would head to Georgia State.

Some aren’t going to like this hire because they haven’t heard his name before. Who cares? Glenn sounds like a terrific coach and developer at the game’s most critical position. That’s important for the Hokies, who’ve spent the past six years with the clueless Brad Cornelsen running off every quarterback who attended Virginia Tech.

The projected new offensive coordinator, Tyler Bowen, has a history of coaching tight ends and the offensive line. So, hiring a strong quarterbacks coach was important for Bowen. Bowen is known as a strong recruiter, so he needs to have a balance of outstanding coaches on his staff. Glenn fits that bill. Does that automatically mean Glenn will be successful in Blacksburg? Of course not. But don’t say he’s not qualified.

Glenn is the first official offensive hire for Pry. Bowen will be the offensive coordinator but must remain with the Jacksonville Jaguars until the NFL season ends. It’s expected that Bowen will coach tight ends, in addition to his role as offensive coordinator. That means Tech still needs to hire a running backs coach, wide receivers coach and offensive line coach. At least one spot on defense remains open, and the Hokies would like to keep Ryan Smith in town, but he appears to be checking out his options before agreeing to a return.

The Hokies need to hire a respected offensive line coach. Another critical hire for Pry will be the strength and conditioning coach. Hokie fans are tired of the before-and-after pics from the Justin Fuente era; they want a strength program in the mold of the legendary Mike Gentry.

Anyhow, welcome to Virginia Tech, Coach Glenn.