Virginia Tech football: Hokies reward WR coach Fontel Mines with raise and extension

Virginia Tech head football coach Brent Pry may have a star on his coaching staff. Wide receivers coach Fontel Mines received a two-year extension this week and a pay raise. Mines went from making $275K per year to $425K per year, per Doug Bowman of 247Sports. That is a nice pay bump for the young coach.

Mines was receiving attention from other Power 5 schools after only one season with the Hokies. The former UVA wide receiver has coached at Richmond, James Madison, East Carolina and Old Dominion before Pry hired him as VT’s WRs coach last offseason.

Mines was partially responsible for Virginia Tech’s recruiting success over the last few months. While Mines is well-respected in the Richmond area [his hometown], he also resonates with those in his position group. The Hokies closed with some good wide receivers for the 2023 class and in the NCAA transfer portal. The Hokies added three transfers, including the highly-regarded Ali Jennings, who Mines knows from their time at ODU.

It’s always good when other schools want your coaches. Virginia lost longtime wide receivers coach Marques Hagans to Penn State this week. Those schools weren’t the only ones interested in Mines, but credit athletic director Whit Babcock and Pry for keeping one of their bright young coaches in Mines.

Virginia Tech knows what it has in Mines, and it’s nice to see the Hokies paying up instead of being too late for once.