Five Most Important Notes From Aug. 25's Fall Camp Practice

Virginia Tech football hosted its final open-to-the-media fall camp practice Aug. 25, continuing to inch closer to the Hokies' season opener against VMI — set for Saturday, Sept. 5, at 7:30 p.m. ET on the ACC Network. Here's the five most pressing notes from what head coach James Franklin said and from Aug. 25's practice at large:

No. 1: The third wide receiver battle has seen more clarity.

In terms of who kicked off the uncontested catch drills for the wide receivers, it was Ayden Greene, Que'Sean Brown and Marlion Jackson who were the first three going. Davion "FatRat" Brown, Tyseer Denmark and Keylen "Brodie" Adams were the next three up, while redshirt freshman Luke Stuewe and redshirt junior Takye Heath were to the side and did not participate in the drill. Both were in uniform.

Franklin: “They should call that.” — Believe he was referring to a potential OPI by Jeff Exinor vs. Joshua Clarke.#Hokies
— Thomas Hughes (@thomashughes_05) August 25, 2026

"[Davion Brown and freshman cornerback Zaevion Cleveland] are two of the fastest guys on our team," Franklin said. "[Davion Brown's] also put on like 15 pounds since he got here. ... He's put on significant weight, and he's been confident. He's caught the ball well; the speed shows up on the field. He just made a bunch of plays. ... I've been impressed with him overall, and he's getting a ton of reps with us right now."

As for the running backs, it's stayed the way it has, save for Bill Davis being out: Marcellous Hawkins was first and Jeffrey Overton Jr. was second.

No. 2: The one-on-one drills were more sloppy.

Greene started off the one-on-one repetitions with a back-shoulder win against cornerback Jaquez White, but Franklin thought wideout Jeff Exinor got away with a push-off over cornerback Joshua Clarke, saying that the refs "should call that."

Jeff Exinor wins over Josh Clarke, although James Franklin thought Exinor got away with a push off. pic.twitter.com/jWqc3PpVeL
— Sons of Saturday Virginia Tech (@SonsofSatVT) August 25, 2026

Tight end Ja'Ricous Hairston and wide receiver A.J. Brand dropped passes, while true freshman Tyrell Grant Jr. was whistled in his rep against walk-on wideout Drew Hube. Brennan Johnson also broke up a pass intended for tight end Benji Gosnell.

Order through those uncontested catch drills: Ayden Greene, Que’Sean Brown, Marlion Jackson, Davion “FatRat” Brown, Tyseer Denmark, Keylen “Brodie” Adams.#Hokies
— Thomas Hughes (@thomashughes_05) August 25, 2026

No. 3: Who led off the quarterback drills?

Franklin has stated before that there remains a quarterback competition, though from the writing perspective, it still appears as if Penn State transfer Ethan Grunkemeyer is the favorite. The redshirt sophomore led off quarterback drills, being followed by UNC transfer Bryce Baker, redshirt freshman Kelden Ryan and true freshman Troy Huhn.

Grunkemeyer is the lone signal-caller of the four with true-game experience; he started seven games in 2025 for Penn State, compiling 1,339 yards, eight touchdowns and four interceptions and winning each of his final four starts.

No. 4: There is a currently ongoing battle for the third running back spot.

Marcellous Hawkins and Jeffrey Overton Jr. appear to be the 1-2, but now since Louisiana transfer Bill Davis has missed time in fall camp, the third spot has morphed into a battle between Messiah Mickens and Tyler Mason. Mason is a redshirt sophomore, while Mickens was a highly-regarded four-star recruit who enters his first year of collegiate football.

"Those two guys are battling for the third back, and part of that battle is who's going to have the most significant role on special teams," Franklin said. "So, that's been an interesting battle. Mason's one of the most improved guys in our program from the time we got here; he's really improved since spring ball. It's really hard to evaluate a running back unless you're live; we've only done so much live work. But we got two guys that at least we have some game reps on. ... I think we'll have a chance to have three, possibly four backs, that could go in a game and play well enough to allow us to win."

No. 5: The quarterback room has caught Franklin's eye.

Franklin again declined to name a starting quarterback, but when I asked him who across the roster had caught his eye, he said the quarterback room as a whole had before pivoting to signal-caller Kelden Ryan, the lone returnee from last year's quarterback room.

"Kelden is a guy that has improved as much as probably anybody in our program," Franklin said. "Really, that hole room, we feel really good about."

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