Virginia Tech Football's Running Backs A Quietly Sustainable Group Heading Into 2026

A steady veteran, a rising playmaker and a blue-chip newcomer give Virginia Tech a balanced, sustainable backfield heading into the 2026 season.

Nov 22, 2025; Blacksburg, Va.; Virginia Tech running back Jeffrey Overton (16) runs in for the touchdown against Miami. | Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images

Virginia Tech's tailbacks corps is better positioned than most of its position groups in 2026 to make a statement. It starts with a known quantity, continues with a fast-rising redshirt freshman and gains another layer with one of the most decorated running back recruits the program has signed in more than a decade.

Quick someone help us build a snow-Hokie ☃️#LetItSnow pic.twitter.com/7EglOXd4BT

— Virginia Tech Football (@HokiesFB) December 8, 2025

The steadying force remains Marcellous Hawkins, who grew into the position’s anchor this past season in his first D-I campaign. Hawkins proved to be efficient, reliable and decisive in the 2025 campaign. His comfort in the offense gave Tech a baseline it could utilize each week and eventually helped the Hokies shift towards a run-heavy offense in the second half of the season.

Behind him, Jeffrey Overton Jr. has quickly become one of the most intriguing pieces on the roster. Overton flashed in ways that suggest his ceiling extends beyond complementary work. At 178 pounds, he doesn’t have Hawkins’ build, but his acceleration through the second level and ability to win with angles give the Hokies a change-of-pace runner who can stretch defenses horizontally. Overton missed the first eight games of the 2025 campaign after rehabbing a knee injury suffered in bowl prep vs. Minnesota to end the 2024 season. When he came back, he was stellar, notching 146 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries. Overton also logged a 36-yard pitch-and-catch agaisnt Florida State, before tallying 69 and 53 rushing yards against Miami and Virginia. The contest against the Hurricanes resulted in his first collegiate touchdown, a 38-yard scampering to the outside that he took to the house.

The room becomes even more intriguing with the arrival of four-star signee Messiah Mickens, one of the most highly recruited offensive players the Hokies have landed in years. At 5-foot-10, 220 pounds, Mickens brings a physical, bullying profile akin to Bhayshul Tuten, Hawkins and Stewart. He’s a bit reminiscent of Tuten in how he combines balance with downhill force; he carries more weight and a stronger interior presence than Overton, who weighs 178 pounds. Mickens won’t be handed the job, but his high school resume, which includes Pennsylvania's 2024 Gatorade Player of the Year, makes it hard to imagine he won’t carve out a role early. Even if his workload is modest in Year 1, the long-term upside gives Tech a foundational piece. Mickens is Virginia Tech's first unanimous four-star running back to sign since David Wilson back in 2009.

Together, the backs form a room that could be deeper, more versatile and more structurally sound than in recent seasons. Hawkins provides the floor, Overton brings the spark and Mickens, the future. Tech’s approach — building a stable three-layer rotation — appears set to give it a quiet sense of sustainability heading into 2026.