Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG – Virginia Tech Director of Athletics Whit Babcock and Head Coach Brent Pry announced a number of football support staff additions and changes on Monday.
Lino Lupinetti (Harrisburg, Pa., Bishop McDevitt) has been elevated from assistant director of player personnel to director after one year in that role. Lupinetti previously spent two years as a recruiting assistant for the Hokies. Among his numerous responsibilities in that role, he was involved in planning and executing all prospect visits to campus, camps and game day visits. He has been instrumental in developing Tech's new prospect evaluation process and helps coordinate Tech's recruiting board.
He is also well-versed in the graphic design space and helped execute individualized recruiting plans for student-athletes, including digital edits, mail and recruiting presentations. He joined the Hokies after serving as a student assistant in the Pitt football recruiting office from 2016-19.
Shannon Lewis (Newtown, Pa., Archbishop Wood) has earned a promotion to executive assistant to the head coach. In this role, she will continue to provide administrative support to Coach Pry including managing his daily schedule, speaking engagements, recruitment travel, autograph and donation requests and serving as liaison to the Hokie Club and human resources. Additionally, Lewis will be the program's primary contact for student-athlete's parents, will assist in special events such as Senior Day, bowl planning and summer football camps.
A collegiate soccer athlete at North Carolina Wesleyan College, she was a four-year starter and two-time team captain. Lewis began her career in collegiate athletics as an assistant women's soccer coach at East Carolina from 2005-14 and was also a sales manager for Stateson Homes.
She owns a bachelor's in English from North Carolina Wesleyan and a Master's degree in public relations from Marshall.
Joseph "Joe Joe" Headen (Harrisburg, Pa., Bishop McDevitt) was hired as the assistant director of player engagement in early August. In this role, Headen is responsible for assisting Carrie Lynne Wolford in the holistic development of football student-athletes. This programing centers around personal, professional, academic and athletic growth. Additionally, this position will assist in all of the football program's community outreach efforts.
Headen joins the Hokies from Old Dominion, where he competed on their football team from 2016-21. On the field, he played in 49 games, starting 32 times in the secondary. He owns 155 total tackles and four interceptions, including a program record 89-yard interception return against Charlotte in 2021.
While with the Monarchs, Headen earned two degrees, a bachelor's in business administration and finance and a Master's of public administration.
Austin Fields (Belle Vernon, Pa., Belle Vernon) joined the Hokies as a graduate assistant in the summer of 2022. A graduate of Slippery Rock, Fields, who works with the offensive line, was the run game coordinator and offensive line coach at West Virginia State in 2021.
Prior to his time at West Virginia State, Fields previously worked at Bluffton, Heidelberg and Slippery Rock.
As on offensive lineman at Slippery Rock, Fields played in 31 games in his three-year career. His senior season in 2017, Fields helped anchor a line that blocked for an offense which ranked fifth in the nation in passing, eighth in fourth down conversions, 11th in scoring, 11th in third down conversion, 21st in first downs and 24th in total offense. He began his collegiate career at West Virginia, where he redshirted.