Three Things We Know About Virginia Tech Spring Football So Far

Fifteen days remain until Virginia Tech football takes to the field of Lane Stadium to contest its annual spring game. The clash — set for Saturday, April 18, at 3 p.m. ET — proffers a first glimpse for fans at Virginia Tech's signal-callers, most notably Ethan Grunkemeyer and Bryce Baker, as well as a retooled offensive line in action. Ahead of the clash, here are three things we know and three things we don't.

Knowns

No. 1: Several rooms are dealing with attrition.

The running backs and offensive line have both dealt with injuries thus far in spring ball. On the tailback side, four-star true freshman Messiah Mickens is out for the spring, while incumbent Marcellous Hawkins has been limited. Hawkins has gone through individual workouts, but has not upgraded beyond that, as of yet.

On the offensive line front, Virginia Tech is missing experienced tackle Logan Howland, also due to injury. Howland transferred from Oklahoma in the offseason, and without him, the Hokies' offensive line — which proved porous in 2025 — appears set to be relatively unchanged.

No. 2: Several players have distinguished themselves early.

In the wide receiver room, it's been senior returnee Ayden Greene. In the running back room, it's been redshirt freshman Jeffrey Overton Jr., who burst onto the scene late last season after recovering from a torn ACL.

On the defensive front, defensive coordinator Brent Pry spotlighted defensive end Aycen Stevens and cornerback Kenny Woseley Jr.

No. 3: Every quarterback that isn't Ethan Grunkemeyer will likely get live-action reps in a scrimmage at some point this spring.

The group has a combined seven starts at the collegiate level — all of which came from Grunkemeyer in the second half of the 2025 campaign. As such, Franklin wants to get the other three quarterbacks — Baker, Troy Huhn and Kelden Ryan — live-action reps.

"One of the things I think we're going to do is we're going to have a scrimmage and make the quarterbacks live that have not played in a college game for us to evaluate them, to really see how they're going to play," Franklin said. "Some of these guys, they stand in the pocket. It's unrealistic. It's not a game rep. So being able to see how they're actually going to move in the pocket, make decisions, stay poised when they can actually get hit. And right now, he's the only quarterback that we got that we can really evaluate in a game. So, we need to get a chance to see those other guys live. We're not gonna do that a whole lot, but we need to do it a little bit so we got an idea of who they are, when the bullets are flying."

Unknowns

No. 1: How much of a game will the spring game actually be?

Last year's spring game was an insipid display, where the defense rolled over the offense, 50-21. While the disparity between the offense and defense may be smaller, it's also fair to question just how much of the offensive gameplan will become apparent on the 18th.

In the 2025 iteration, Virginia Tech opted for a no-contact approach for its quarterbacks, and it will be intriguing to see whether that is lifted for this year's contest or not.

No. 2: The outcome of the QB battle.

Like with many teams, Virginia Tech enters the 2026 season with a new signal-caller at the helm in spite of whoever wins the quarterback battle. Grunkemeyer and Baker appear to be the current one-two, based on how reps have gone during spring ball, but nothing has been set in stone, yet, per Franklin.

Competition also appears to be an emphasis among the unit. Throughout the spring, Franklin has championed the idea of a three-deep at every position, and with Huhn delivering an "unbelievable" four-touchdown, one-interception outing in Saturday's non-contact scrimmage, Virginia Tech has its competition, even if it doesn't have its starter yet.

No. 3: The potency of the wide receiver room.

When I asked Franklin about the wide receiver room in mid-March, the only player he mentioned by name was Greene. While that's partially because my first portion of the two-part query was about Greene and his leadership, Franklin also remarked that the rest of the room was in an "earn-it" phase.

That doesn't appear to have changed.

"We got AG, who's been an established guy here for a while," Franklin said on March 24. "Then, we got a bunch of guys battling AG and others, but I just don't see it as crowded. Crowded is, you've got nine starters back on offense and nine starters back on defense, and a bunch of them made First Team or Second Team All-ACC. We're not in that position. I wish we were crowded."

When asked about specific players, Franklin has acquiesced, though when Duke's Que'Sean Brown was brought up, Franklin said he was hesitant to spotlight newer players.

"I'm a little cautious of talking about new guys that just showed up until I have enough evidence," Franklin said. "We've been very pleased with Q-Brown. Obviously, did a ton of stuff in this conference already. He's got a different level of speed, got a lot of confidence. He's not the biggest guy in the world, but he's got elite ball skills. And when you have elite ball skills, it allows you to play bigger and allows you to play faster than what you are.

"So, we're expecting him to continue to evolve and continue to be a guy for us. We brought him here for a reason. Been a ton of production in this league already, and we think we can take it to a whole other level."