Five Hokies Who Could Decide Virginia Tech vs. Boston College

Virginia Tech has been winning through the air. Saturday's forecast in Chestnut Hill might not let it. Here's who the Hokies will need to rely on.

Sep 19, 2026; College Park, Maryland, USA; Virginia Tech Hokies running back Jeffrey Overton, Jr. (16) leaps out of the grasp of Maryland Terrapins defensive back Lavain Scruggs (2) to score a touchdown in the first half at SECU Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Sabau-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Virginia Tech (3-0) opens ACC play at Boston College (2-1) at noon Saturday on ACC Network. The Hokies are chasing their first 4-0 start since 2017. They're the more talented team and have outscored opponents 152-50. But a coastal storm could turn the ACC opener into a slog. Boston meteorologists expect the heaviest rain and wind to start arriving Saturday, while cautioning that plenty can still change.

First-year head coach James Franklin isn't sweating it.

"We prepare for wet ball every week," Franklin said Monday.

If the storm shows up, these five Hokies matter most.

1. Jeffrey Overton Jr., Running Back

The rain is going to shrink the playbook dramatically. When it does, somebody has to carry the load and hold on to the football.

Overton has 200 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 35 carries, good for 5.7 yards per attempt. He's also Virginia Tech's best bet for a big play that doesn't need a clean spiral. At Maryland, he scored on a 49-yard catch-and-run. He and Marcellous Hawkins Jr. combined for 124 rushing yards that night.

This is the version of Overton the Hokies waited on. The redshirt freshman missed the first eight games of 2025 while rehabbing a torn ACL. Now he's half of a two-back rotation with Hawkins, and he's the half built for the long run that flips a soggy game.

2. Luke Reynolds, Tight End

Short throws hold up better in the wind. Reynolds is Virginia Tech's most reliable target, and it isn't close.

The junior leads the Hokies with 25 catches, 265 receiving yards, and four touchdowns. That's already more yardage than he had in all of 2025 at Penn State, when he caught 26 passes for 257 yards. He scored one touchdown in two seasons with the Nittany Lions. He has four in three games in Blacksburg.

At Maryland, he caught all 12 of his targets for 107 yards. That included the fourth-and-1 grab that ended the game. Expect him to get a lot of targets against the Eagles.

3. Kaleb Spencer, Linebacker

Rain doesn't slow down a quarterback who runs. Boston College's Mason McKenzie is the Eagles' leading rusher with 225 yards on 48 carries. Franklin has seen enough tape to know where he's dangerous.

"I think this guy is at his best when he's outside of the pocket," Franklin said Monday.

That puts a lot on Spencer. The senior led Virginia Tech with 67 tackles in 2025. Through three games this fall, he has 4.5 tackles for loss and three sacks. He has played a crucial role on a defense that ranks first nationally in tackles for loss (30) and is tied for the national lead in sacks (14).

Against McKenzie, keeping him in the pocket will be a key to victory since he has struggled when forced to throw the ball. He is tied for the most interceptions thrown this year with five.

4. Ethan Grunkemeyer, Quarterback

Grunkemeyer has thrown 101 passes this season without an interception. Go back to his final four starts at Penn State, and it's seven straight starts without a pick. In a rainstorm, that's most of the job.

The Penn State transfer completed 31 of 39 passes for 314 yards and three touchdowns at Maryland. He did most of that after starting left tackle Justin Terry was helped off late in the first quarter. It was his second straight 300-yard game, the first by a Hokie since Ryan Willis in 2018.

Terry's status for Saturday is still unclear. Franklin said he'd have more after Wednesday's practice. Boston College linebacker Anthony Palano, who leads the Eagles with 34 tackles, already has two interceptions. Protecting Grunkemeyer, and Grunkemeyer protecting the football, is the Hokies' cleanest path to 4-0.

5. Nathan Totten, Punter

Nobody on this list is more at the mercy of the forecast.

Virginia Tech has punted six times all season, which says plenty about the offense. Totten has made those punts count. He's averaging 44.7 yards and has put four inside the 20. The Marshall transfer set the Thundering Herd's single-season record with a 45.6-yard average last year.

Saturday could look nothing like that. Kicking into 30+ mph gusts can hand a short field to an offense that went 0-for-5 on red-zone touchdowns against Maine.