Every Virginia Tech Starting Offensive Position Up For Grabs Entering Fall Camp

BLACKSBURG, Va. — Every fall camp comes with the same message from coaches: every position is up for grabs. Sometimes that's true. Other times, the competition is little more than a formality with the likely starter already firmly in place. As Virginia Tech opens fall camp ahead of the 2026 season, however, several position battles appear to be genuinely wide open. Here's a look at the spots where the Hokies have legitimate competitions that could shape the depth chart before Week 1.

Wide Receiver

The first one I'll take a look at is the second boundary receiver spot. The first is clearly Ayden Greene's spot, and with Que'Sean Brown in the slot, the WR2 spot is more or less up for grabs. The guys that I see battling for the spot are Keylan Adams, Chanz Wiggins, and Snook Peterkin.

All blue-chip recruits when coming to Virginia Tech have found significant footing for the Hokies in their time in Blacksburg. Adams and Wiggins were hurt last season, and Peterkin redshirted, hardly playing in 2025.

Adams has a pair of touches in his career, tallying 61 total yards with a 14-yard reception and a 47-yard rush. Both touches came in the 2024 Duke's Mayo Bowl, where the Hokies lost 24-10 to Minnesota.

Wiggins has even less to his name. He has yet to record any stats in his career, but he did play in four games as a true freshman in 2024.

Shamarius "Snook" Peterkin is the third. He has the most career games under his belt, seeing time in eight games in 2025, logging a pair of catches for 62 yards and a score. He had a five yard catch against Florida State and a 57 yard touchdown against UVA, which were the Hokies' only points of that game.

Running back

Moving on to another offensive skill position, the running back spot is up for grabs as well.

The clear favorite is Marcellous Hawkins, but Jeffery Overton made a significant impact late in the season as well, playing in four games, where he put up 182 total yards — 146 on the ground. He averaged 5.8 yards per carry and had a 38-yard rushing touchdown against Miami, which ranked as one of the nation's best run defenses in 2025.

A veteran, Hawkins is still the favorite. While he scored just two touchdowns in 11 games last season, he tallied 749 yards on 6.3 yards per carry, putting up a pair of 100 -yard performances against California and Florida State, where he averaged over eight yards per carry.

Hawkins was also very efficient in the second half of the season. Among his last 7 games, he averaged at least eight yards per carry in 5 of them, coming against NC State, Georgia Tech, California, Florida State, and Miami. He had 54 carries in those five games, averaging 8.7 yards per carry.

This is the first part of a series of articles. I will have another part out in the coming days detailing a few defensive positions.

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