Three Big Questions Facing Virginia Tech's Offense This Summer

Here is what remains unanswered on Virginia Tech's offense heading into the summer.

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James Franklin inherited a 3-9 team. The portal class is complete, spring ball is wrapped up, the school year is over and now it is summer, which means some questions that could not get answered in practice are just sitting there for offseason discussion.

Franklin and offensive coordinator Ty Howle rebuilt the offense almost entirely from scratch, bringing in a new quarterback, a proven No. 2 receiver, a tight end with high upside and fresh bodies along the offensive line. While a lot has been answered about this side of the ball during spring ball, here are three questions that still remain heading into the summer.

1. Can Ethan Grunkemeyer run a new system under a first-time Power Four play caller?

Howle has called plays before, at Western Illinois in the FCS in 2018, but this is his first time doing it at the Power Four level. The person he is counting on is a quarterback who took over at Penn State mid-season after Drew Allar's injury, made seven starts and finished the year completing over 69% of his passes for 1,339 yards, eight touchdowns and four interceptions.

The Pinstripe Bowl was what sold most of the Hokie fan base. Grunkemeyer went 23-for-34 for 262 yards and two touchdowns in a wind chill that sat at 19 degrees in the Bronx, posting an 87.9 PFF passing grade.

The tape shows a pocket passer who cleaned up his decision-making as Penn State's season went on. Running Howle's offense in Blacksburg for the first time is a two-man learning curve. How quickly that connection develops will matter in September.

2. Who steps up at receiver beyond Ayden Greene and Que'Sean Brown?

The top two on the depth chart are clear at wide receiver. Ayden Greene led Virginia Tech in 2025 with 31catches for 516 yards and three touchdowns, averaging 16.6 yards per catch. He is looking to improve upon those numbers in his senior year on the back of better quarterback play. Duke transfer Que'Sean Brown, who caught 64 passes for 846 yards last season, is the new WR2.

The spring game was not a wideout showcase. Tight ends outgained the receivers 205 yards to 157. Penn State transfer Tyseer Denmark was the most productive wideout on the day with four catches for 38 yards. Takye Heath, by virtue of his experience in the program, is the current projection for the third starting spot. Keylen "Brodie" Adams and Chanz Wiggins, both of whom missed the entire 2025 season, are still unknowns.

Franklin said in February that most of the receiver room was in an earn-it phase. The spring game did not dramatically change that. The WR3 competition will get resolved in fall camp, but the range of outcomes is wide.

3. Is the backfield deep enough to hold up for 12 games?

The good news is that on paper, the top two running backs are the most proven returning contributors on this offense.

Marcellous Hawkins carried the ball 118 times for 749 yards at 6.3 yards per carry last season, doing it against defenses that knew the ball was likely going to him. Jeffrey Overton Jr. returned from a torn ACL, played the final four games of 2026 and looked like a real player, rushing for 146 yards on 25 carries, including a 38-yard touchdown run against Miami.

The concern is what sits behind those two, and the fact that Hawkins did not participate in the spring game, limited to individual drills. Virginia Tech also lost Terion Stewart, who contributed 82 carries and 469 yards in 2025, and the one portal addition at the position, Louisiana transfer Bill Davis, managed just four yards on four carries in the spring game and currently sits third on the depth chart.

Overton is entering what amounts to his first full season of college football coming off a major knee injury. Hawkins, a redshirt senior, is the anchor. If both are able to contribute to their expected level, this backfield can take pressure off Grunkemeyer and Howle while the passing game finds its footing. If either misses time, Franklin is asking a new quarterback to carry an offense that does not have the depth to absorb it.