Five Players Who Can Change Everything for Virginia Tech in 2026

There are plenty of reasons to believe Virginia Tech can be a significantly better football team in 2026 from a glass-half-full perspective. James Franklin is taking over as head coach. The Hokies added a number of impact players through the transfer portal. Brent Pry is back in Blacksburg, this time running the defense. And after a 3-9 season that saw Virginia Tech struggle to find any consistency, there is nowhere to go but up.

But ultimately, all of that will only matter so much if the players on the field don't deliver. Virginia Tech has a number of players who could have excellent seasons in 2026. These five, however, could change the entire trajectory of the Hokies' season depending on how they perform.

No. 1: QB Ethan Grunkemeyer

Grunkemeyer is the player with perhaps the most responsibility on the entire roster. The Penn State transfer is presumably stepping into the starting quarterback role in his first season at Virginia Tech, barring a surprise, and how quickly he adapts to Ty Howle's offense could determine just how high the Hokies' ceiling is.

The good news is that Grunkemeyer isn't coming in completely unproven. He has starting experience at Penn State, and Franklin clearly believes enough in his ability to bring him to Blacksburg as the centerpiece of the new-look offense.

If Grunkemeyer becomes the steady, efficient quarterback Virginia Tech needs, suddenly a lot of the questions surrounding this team look considerably less concerning.

No. 2: TE Luke Reynolds

The tight end came to Blacksburg as one of the most intriguing pieces of Franklin's offensive rebuild, and the expectation is that he will be heavily involved in Howle's system. That's particularly important because the Hokies need to find ways to make life easier for Grunkemeyer.

A productive Reynolds could do exactly that. In the past two years at Penn State, he

He can give Grunkemeyer a reliable safety valve over the middle while also creating matchup problems against linebackers and safeties. If Virginia Tech can consistently get the ball into his hands, the entire offense becomes more difficult to defend.

No. 3: DE Aycen Stevens and DT Kemari Copeland

On the other side of the ball, Stevens could be one of the most important players on the roster who doesn't receive enough attention.

The redshirt junior defensive end is expected to take on a significantly larger role in 2026 after spending the past two seasons primarily as a reserve. Franklin and Pry have both praised his improvements in strength, speed and football intelligence.

Stevens doesn't need to become a double-digit sack artist for this defense to improve. If he can consistently win his one-on-one matchups and force opposing quarterbacks to speed up their decision-making, it could have a ripple effect across the entire defense.

That also opens up Copeland since more attention will be focused elsewhere on the line, creating multiple issues and enabling Copeland, who logged 7.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks, to wreak havoc.

No. 4: S Quentin Reddish

The safety missed the final nine games of the season after sustaining a shoulder injury, but his return gives Pry a potentially elite piece to work with in the secondary. Reddish's experience and physical tools make him one of the more important veterans on the defensive side of the ball, particularly for a defense that needs to create more turnovers.

Virginia Tech forced just six turnovers in 2025, an area that is in need of improvement if the Hokies are to make a meaningful jump.

If he's healthy and playing at the level the coaching staff believes he's capable of, the Hokies could have a completely different defense on the back end.

No. 5: WR Ayden Greene

The senior receiver is coming off a season in which he caught 31 passes for 516 yards and three touchdowns, and he now enters 2026 as one of the established pieces of a receiving corps that has undergone a significant overhaul.

With Que'Sean Brown arriving from Duke and several other receivers competing for the third starting spot, Greene could benefit from having more talent around him. If he can take another step forward, however, he could give Grunkemeyer a dependable No. 1 target and make the entire passing game more dangerous.

None of them has to single-handedly save Virginia Tech's season; that's inherently not how football works. But each one represents a major piece of the puzzle, and a breakthrough from even a couple of them could dramatically change what the Hokies are capable of accomplishing.

Grunkemeyer needs to establish himself as the answer at quarterback. Reynolds needs to become the matchup nightmare the offense desperately needs. Stevens needs to provide a pass-rushing presence. Reddish needs to stabilize the secondary. And Greene needs to continue developing into a true No. 1 receiver.

If they do, Virginia Tech could look even more like a completely different football team from the one that went 3-9 a year ago.

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