Three Reasons Virginia Tech Football Should Be In Every Way Too-Early Top 25 Ranking

Spring football has wrapped up across the country and for Virginia Tech, it was an interesting first spring under new head coach James Franklin.

The Hokies had a lot of things that they had to figure out, from position battles to the new roster pieces that the team picked up in the transfer portal and in high school recruiting, and there was a lot of promise shown. This is one of the most anticipated seasons in some time at Virginia Tech and I believe the Hokies should be considered among the 25 best teams in the country entering the season.

Here are three reasons why.

1. They have one of the most accomplished coaches in the ACC now

Since Frank Beamer retired, Virginia Tech has not had an edge with their head coach. Justin Fuente had his moments and Brent Pry did a solid job of amassing talent early on, ubut James Franklin is already one of the most accomplished coaches in the country after successful tenures at Penn State and Vanderbilt and I think that the Hokies are going to improve by leaps and bounds thanks to Franklin's coaching.

There was always frustration about Franklin not being able to level up at Penn State and beat the top teams in the country or the teams that had more talent than he did, but besides Miami, those teams don't exist in the ACC. With his ability to recruit at a high level and develop talent, I think Franklin is going to have this team playing above their heads a little bit and in contention in the ACC.

2. Dynamic ground game

Miami and Georgia Tech might have the best running back rooms in the ACC, but Virginia Tech is not super far behind.

The Hokies are returning last year's leading rusher Marcellous Hawkins (749 rushing yards and 6.3 YPC) and he is probably the most underrated ball carrier in the country heading into the 2026 season.

Jeffrey Overton is looking to build off an impressive true freshman season that saw him get better towards the end of the year and total 25 carries for 146 yards and averaging close to six yards per carry.

Add in Louisiana transfer Bil Davis and that has the makings of a three headed monster at running back that is going to be tough for any team to slow down.

3. Talented roster

While this roster is certainly not where James Franklin would like it to be, I think they upgraded at several positions.

Quarterback should be much better with Ethan Grunkemeyer replacing Kyron Drones, I think the running game is going to be excellent, Que'Sean Brown and Ayden Greene should be a strong wide receiver duo, and tight end Luke Reynolds has the look of the next star player at the position in college football. This offense is going to be dynamic in 2026.

The defense got better too and with Brent Pry back in a role that he is better suited for in leading the defense, the Hokies should be stout on that side of the ball after making some impactful portal additions.

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