Three Reasons Virginia Tech's Roster Is More Talented Than the Narrative Suggests

FanDuel set Virginia Tech's win total at 6.5. That number is priced off a 3-9 season, not off the roster head coach James Franklin spent the offseason building. Look at what he actually assembled, and the talent sits a tier ahead of the projection.

1. The portal class grades out better than its headline number.

247Sports finalized its 2026 rankings with Virginia Tech at No. 27 nationally, and that number drove the offseason takes. It undersells the class. On3, which weighs the talent a program adds against what it loses, ranked the Hokies seventh in the country. ESPN's Craig Haubert had them 15th.

The headliners explain the gap. Quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer, who followed Franklin from Penn State, landed at No. 37 on ESPN's top 100 newcomers. Wide receiver Que'Sean Brown arrived from Duke off a 64-catch, 846-yard, five-touchdown season. Tight end Luke Reynolds, a former five-star, was the No. 99 overall prospect in the entire portal. Those three, and the multitude of three- and four-star transfers Franklin stacked around them, are better than a No. 27 class.

2. The returning core is better than a 3-9 record admits.

Bad teams don't run the ball like Virginia Tech did last season. Running back Marcellous Hawkins, back for a redshirt senior season, carried 118 times for 749 yards and 6.3 yards per carry, forced 44 missed tackles and gained 562 yards after contact.

What makes that more impressive: everyone knew the run was coming. Kyron Drones completed just 56.5% of his throws last fall and did his real damage with his legs, so defenses crowded the box and dared him to throw. Hawkins hit 6.3 a carry anyway.

That returning core doesn't change. The quarterback does. Franklin retained Hawkins, tight end Benji Gosnell and wide receiver Ayden Greene, then fixed the position that capped the whole thing. Grunkemeyer closed his Penn State audition with 777 yards, seven touchdowns and no interceptions over his final three games. Give that run game a passer defenses have to respect, and the math shifts.

3. Franklin has turned talent like this into NFL players before.

A roster is only as good as the staff developing it. Franklin spent 12 seasons at Penn State turning recruits into pros, 59 into NFL Draft picks, with a particular knack for building edge rushers. That reputation already shows up in Blacksburg: several of the pass rushers he added through the portal followed him from Penn State.

The recruiting haul says this is a foundation, not a one-year splash. Virginia Tech signed the No. 24 class in the country, flipped 11 former Penn State commits and drew Haubert's No. 1 grade among coaches who best rebuilt their 2026 classes. Backed by a $229 million investment in the athletic department, the Hokies are stockpiling talent at a level Blacksburg hasn't seen in years.

The market has Virginia Tech pegged as a fringe bowl team. The roster looks a tier above that.

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