Three Biggest Storylines for Virginia Tech's Week One Game vs. VMI

The Hokies open the James Franklin era Sept. 5 against an in-state opponent they haven't played in 42 years. Here are the three biggest storylines for the game.

Blacksburg, VA — James Franklin standing at the exit of the tunnel during Enter Sandman. Spring game, 2026. | Virginia Tech Athletic

James Franklin hasn't coached a football game since Penn State fired him last October. He gets one on Sept. 5 at 7:30 p.m. under the lights at Lane Stadium against a VMI team that Virginia Tech hasn't played since 1984.

Here are the three biggest stories heading into Saturday's contest.

1. Brent Pry makes his return.

Virginia Tech went 3-9 last season, its worst winning percentage since 1992. The Hokies started 0-3, lost at home to Old Dominion 45-26, and fired head coach Brent Pry the next morning. James Franklin was hired Nov. 17.

Then Franklin hired Pry back.

Pry spent eight seasons as Franklin's coordinator at Penn State before leaving to take over in Blacksburg. He got the Hokies to bowls in 2023 and 2024, then lost the job three games into year four.

Now, Pry gets a chance to return to Lane Stadium in a much different role. After spending the last four seasons as the face of the program, he will watch from the sideline as Franklin’s defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. It is an unusual second act, but Pry has embraced the opportunity, saying he is “really enjoying” calling the defense and is looking forward to finally seeing his players take the field.

Saturday against VMI will mark the beginning of Pry’s attempt to help fix the defense he was ultimately responsible for as head coach. It also gives him an immediate chance to show why Franklin believed he was still the right man to lead the Hokies’ defense, even after his firing.

2. Ethan Grunkemeyer gets the keys, probably.

Franklin never named a starting quarterback in camp, and he made a point of not naming one. Then the program posted its 2026 captains on Aug. 22, and Ethan Grunkemeyer was on the graphic. Read into that what you want.

Grunkemeyer is the only quarterback on the roster who has taken a meaningful college snap. He started the final seven games for Penn State last season after Drew Allar's injury, completing 69.1 percent of his passes for 1,339 yards, eight touchdowns, and four interceptions. He closed with four straight wins, capped by 262 yards and two scores in the Pinstripe Bowl.

The interesting part isn't whether he plays well against an FCS team. It's the first look at offensive coordinator Ty Howle's system, at how much tight end Luke Reynolds gets used, and at whether Marcellous Hawkins still anchors the run game.

3. The triple option is coming.

VMI hired Ashley Ingram as head coach in December. He spent 16 years at Navy, went 16-6 in two seasons at Division II Carson-Newman running the triple option and brought it to Lexington.

The Keydets opened Aug. 29 at Idaho State and lost 38-10. The line score tells you what Virginia Tech is preparing for. VMI ran the ball 52 times for 229 yards and a touchdown. It threw just nine passes, completed five, and gained 11 yards through the air.

Option assignments are a discipline problem more than a talent problem. One end crashes when he should stay home, one linebacker chases the dive on a keeper, and a two-yard play goes for 40. Tech's front seven is built partly from Franklin's 50-plus newcomers, and Sept. 5 is its first time together.

Virginia Tech is a heavy favorite and should be, with one game of film on an offense VMI hadn't run before last week. But an FCS opener is the only game all year where a new staff finds out what it has without paying for it.