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Former Hokie J.C. Price to Join Hokies Staff

Evan Norris·February 2, 2021

It seems that the Virginia Tech Football program has already found their replacement for the coaching vacancy left by Darryl Tapp. It was announced on Tuesday that the Hokies will be adding J.C. Price to the staff as Co-Defensive Line Coach. Price is a familiar name to lifelong fans of the Hokies, as he is a former All-Conference Hokie Player.

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The story behind J.C. Price and his return back to the Hokies strings back to his recruitment to Virginia Tech. Coming out of Dunkirk, Maryland, Price was the 28th ranked player coming out of the state of Maryland. Ultimately, he chose to sign with the Hokies over Maryland and West Virginia.

During his time at Virginia Tech, Price set out to make a name for himself. He did just that by finishing his college career with 30 tackles-for-loss and 17 sacks. All this work landed Price to be named as an All-Conference Big East Player and All-American before his graduation. Now graduating, as well as being a great prospect from the Big East, Price landed himself in the 1996 NFL Draft where he was drafted in the third round by the Carolina Panthers.

Sadly, early-on injuries settled his NFL career before it began to pick up. The former Hokie player now found himself back at Virginia Tech as a strength and conditioning coach. He then moved on from the Hokies to take on the role of Defensive Coordinator at Radford High School. However, Price found his way back to Blacksburg yet again from 2002-2003 as a Graduate Assistant.

We would then see Price take a position at JMU to become their Defensive Line Coach for eight seasons. During his time as JMU's Defensive Line Coach, the Dukes managed to record 57 sacks to set an FCS record. Not only would Price's coaching skills be shown on such a scale, but the work in recruiting that Price put in for JMU pertaining the DMV area (Virginia, DC, and Maryland) made him a respected name in the region.

In 2012, the constantly improving coach jumped up to the FBS level where he took a role on the Marshall Football Staff. At Marshall, Price would coach up some of the school's best talents to ever play at the university. And in the 2020 season, the rising defensive coach would help the Thundering Herd field one of their best defensive performances with the 4th best rushing defense in the nation.

Price now joins the Hokie Staff after the departure of Co-Defensive Line Coach Darryl Tapp to the San Fransisco 49ers. There may have not been a better time for the former Hokie to finally return home to fill the gap and show his skills as a recruiter and coach.

Although Price's coaching resume stands out on its own, his activism and engagement in his community has shown to be on of his brightest spots. One of his many examples coming this past season and his pitch for a demonstration to protest the death of George Floyd.

Marshall became the first university to make a public demonstration after persistent efforts from Price. The Marshall team kneeled for 8 minutes and 46 seconds during this demonstrate to symbolize the time George Floyd had an officer's knee on his neck. Price also made a push for his players to go to local Children's Hospitals to start conversations about injustice and voting. This push for community engagement sits closely with Price as he feels it is his responsibility to do so.

It is safe to say the Virginia Tech Football Staff has brought back a great piece to join this program. Not only has Price shown he can coach and recruit at an exceptional level, but shown to all that he is a community-rooted man vowing to bring change whenever he is.