Five Things We Could Learn About Virginia Tech In The First Month Of The Season

With classes now concluded in Blacksburg, we're under four months away from the start of the 2026 season for Virginia Tech, the first under new head coach James Franklin. The Hokies kick off the season on Saturday, Sept. 5

Here are five things we could learn about Virginia Tech after a month of the season, which encompasses five games: VMI (Sept. 5), Old Dominion (Sept. 12), Maryland (Sept. 19), Boston College (Sept. 26) and Pitt (Oct. 2):

Lane….we missed you 🤝#VTSpringGame pic.twitter.com/iD9tiurx8J
— Virginia Tech Football (@HokiesFB) April 21, 2026

No. 1: How does Ethan Grunkemeyer acclimate to Virginia Tech?

While there won't be a full sample size, Grunkemeyer will be up to 12 starts at the collegiate level, assuming that he starts each of the first five games of the season as is expected. Last year, he threw for 1,339 yards, eight touchdowns and four interceptions, but he got stronger as the year went on. In the final four games, Grunkemeyer threw six touchdowns and no interceptions.

No. 2: Does the early portion of the schedule slot in as easily as it looks?

There's a clear break between the first half of the Hokies' schedule and the second half. In the first half, Virginia Tech draws an opponent it should beat comfortably in VMI, an Old Dominion program that will start a new quarterback in 2026 following Colton Joseph's transfer to Wisconsin, a Maryland squad that went 4-8 last year, a Boston College team that went 2-10 (1-7 ACC) last year and a Pitt squad that appears to be an unknown.

Looking at those five games, Pitt stands out as the clear outlier and the game that Virginia Tech is most subsceptible to losing. Last year, the Panthers finished with a 8-5 (6-2 ACC) record, tying for second in the ACC and winning six of seven at one point under true freshman Mason Heintschel.

In contrast, Virginia Tech plays against California, Georgia Tech, Clemson, SMU, Miami and Virginia to close out the season. It also draws California (Berkeley, Calif), Clemson (Clemson, S.C.) SMU (Dallas, Texas) and Miami (Miami Gardens, Fla.) on the road, though it has a bye week separating its forays to Clemson and Dallas.

Virginia Tech's start-of-season schedule enables it to get out in front of the 8-ball, but the difficulty of said schedule, plus how Virginia Tech adapts to it, will be evident a month into the season.

No. 3: How important does that clash with Pitt end up being?

As mentioned in point No. 2, Virginia Tech’s favorable early-season slate could realistically have the Hokies sitting at 4-0 — and potentially knocking on the door of the top 25 — by the time Pittsburgh travels to Blacksburg on Friday, Oct. 2. Pitt’s path entering the matchup could also break favorably, particularly depending on how Syracuse adjusts with returning quarterback Steve Angeli under center. Here’s a quick look at the Panthers’ schedule leading up to the Friday night showdown:

Sept. 5: Miami (OH)
Sept. 12: UCF
Sept. 17 (Thursday): Syracuse
Sept. 26: Bucknell

If both teams arrive with strong records, as I anticpate, the meeting between the Hokies and Panthers could become Virginia Tech's first true test on the 2026 schedule.

No. 4: Does the Hokies' offensive line show improvement?

Though Virginia Tech’s offensive line looks largely unchanged from last season — with Tomas Rimac being the lone departure — availability was a significant storyline throughout the spring. Oklahoma transfer Logan Howland did not participate in spring practices, leaving the Hokies without a projected starter at left tackle for the duration of camp. Howland, who started six games for the Sooners in 2024, is likely to be starting at left tackle.

Beyond that, most of Virginia Tech's top options on the line are returnees: Kyle Altuner, Montavious Cunningham, Layth Ghannam, Aidan Lynch and Brody Meadows (presumably back from injury).

Virginia Tech should have more options up front this season — neither Meadows nor Auburn transfer Jaden Muskrat played a snap last year — but how effective that added depth will be remains to be seen.

No. 5: How does Virginia Tech's running back room shape up?

Beyond incumbent No. 1 Marcellous Hawkins and No. 2 option Jeffrey Overton Jr., the rest of the room feels rather unclear. Bill Davis tallied 763 rushing yards and six touchdowns at Louisiana last season, though Franklin remarked that the running back must have a "really big offseason" after April 18's spring game. Beyond him, there's returnee Tyler Mason (20 yards on three carries in 2025; 39 yards on 10 carries in 2024) and true freshman Messiah Mickens, though the latter did not suit up in the spring due to injury.

Five games likely offers enough of a sample size to see how the carry distribution shapes up for the latter half of the season.

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