When Virginia Tech head coach James Franklin traveled down to Charlotte for the ACC Kickoff event last month, he did lots of media interviews. In one of those interviews, Franklin was asked about one player on offense and one on defense who had impressed him over the offseason.
Defensively, Franklin named redshirt junior defensive lineman Aycen Stevens. Franklin has known Stevens and his family for a while. The 6-foot-5, 264-pounder is the younger brother of former Penn State quarterback Tommy Stevens. Franklin recruited Tommy Stevens out of Indianapolis and coached him for four seasons from 2015-18. During that time, Aycen was a little boy with a unique nickname.
“Well, first of all, I didn’t know who Aycen was,” Franklin said last week regarding Stevens. “For us, it was Tank. Did you guys know that? So like, from the time he was little, it was Tank. We recruited Tommy, and there was this little kid who had a mullet, sitting on the couch or sitting at the dinner table. It’s funny, when we got here, I said to my wife, ‘Do you remember Tommy Stevens’ little brother? She goes,’ You mean Tank?‘ She knew right away. So, it’s cool we got history with that family.”
Back in the spring, defensive coordinator Brent Pry, who recruited Aycen to Blacksburg as head coach three years ago, was effusive in his praise. Franklin shared that enthusiasm.
“He’s had a great offseason. He’s one of these guys that was on the roster that people felt good about, but I will say that his improvement from the time we showed up until now is significant. He is fast; he is strong. I think he had a really productive spring. I think he’s had a really productive summer. I think one of the things for him, like a lot of these players, is they’re watching social media, they’re watching college football, the NFL, and they see what different players, different defensive ends, are doing and how they’re successful. That’s important, but at the end of the day, you gotta know you, and you gotta play to your strengths. And I think that’s what Aycen, Tank, did this spring.”
Franklin then used a baseball analogy for Stevens. Pass rushers are like pitchers. You’ve got to have a great fastball, but you need another pitch. The same goes for pass rushers. When an offensive tackle takes away your primary move, what’s your counter to the counter? He believes all the physical tools are there for Stevens, but he’s expanded his repertoire, and that will benefit him this fall.
As of now, Stevens is listed as one of Virginia Tech’s starting defensive ends, opposite Javion Hilson. The Hokies haven’t had edge rushers as big as Stevens in recent years. In Stevens, Pry believes he has a player who can stop the run and get to opposing quarterbacks.
After redshirting as a freshman in 2023, Stevens has appeared in 25 games as a reserve over the last two years. Now, it’s his time to shine.