Virginia Tech Freshman QB Troy Huhn 'Unbelievable' In Saturday's Scrimmage

BLACKSBURG, Va. — After the move of A.J. Brand to wide receiver, Virginia Tech football now has four quarterbacks on its roster: redshirt sophomore Ethan Grunkemeyer, redshirt freshmen Bryce Baker and Kelden Ryan, and true freshman Troy Huhn.

Huhn, a three-star recruit from Mission Hills, Calif., had a strong day in Saturday's scrimmage, which was non-contact.

"He had an unbelievable scrimmage on Saturday, statistically," Franklin said of Huhn. "Think he threw four touchdowns and was very efficient. He had one interception. But he played really, really well. Played really well. He's very calm, he's very poised, very smart. He works at it. He's wired the right way. I've been very impressed with him."

Huhn comes from a sports-heavy background. His mother, Donna Huhn, played basketball at Florida International, while his father was a football player at Cal poly San Luis Obispo.

That extends a generation down, too. In addition to Troy playing football, two of his three sisters are also both Division I athletes. Madison Huhn is a basketball player at the UT Rio Grande Valley, while Abby Huhn is a softball player at East Carolina, after spending a year at Iowa State.

March 21, 2026; Troy Huhn readies a throw. | Virginia Tech Athletics

"Just very poised," Franklin said. "... The game kind of seemed to make sense to him. One of the biggest improvements he made from his junior year to senior, which is a little bit of a concern, is his mobility. ... That has translated here as well. But I think the biggest thing is he's just wired the right way to me, the quarterback. To me, the quarterback position is a position you have. It's you have to live it. It's a lifestyle. And he's in here every morning, at 6 a.m."

In Huhn's senior year, the 6-foot-4, 222-pound recruit went 180-for-240 (75%) on his passing attempts, racking up 2,015 passing yards and 19 rushing touchdowns. While his effectiveness as a rusher was limited in his junior year — he compiled 14 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 26 carries — he improved dramatically in his senior year, posting 228 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns in 2025. According to Franklin, that degree of improvement has carried over into his first months in Blacksburg.

"I thought he made a huge move in that area, after us emphasizing it," Franklin said. "Really had a good senior year when it came to making plays with his feet as well."

Beyond that, Franklin pointed to Huhn's extra-work-wanting mindset, something that's permeated throughout a quarterback room whose starter is by no means settled in Franklin's eyes.

"He's out here on the field on his own, getting extra work in," Franklin said. "Bryce [Baker] is like that too. Really, the whole room is. But for a young kid, very smart, he's very poised. Kind of knows who he is as a player. He's developed as a runner last year, but we need that to continue. Needs to continue to get faster, quicker and stronger, but in terms of distributing the ball and understanding protections and all those things.

"The other thing is, like we recruited him for from California, And every chance he got, he was out there. I don't know how, but he was out there visiting us for camp, for games. And he's been the same way since he's committed here. So just very impressed. His dad was here. His dad flew out. [Troy's] sister plays basketball at East Carolina. So, [his] dad came out, watched practice here Friday, Saturday, then drove to East Carolina, watched his sister play basketball. So, been pretty cool."

Huhn was initially committed to Penn State, but like many other Nittany Lions commits, pulled away from committing to play in Happy Valley and instead shifting to Virginia Tech.

The Hokies' 2026 season starts on Saturday, Sept. 5, against VMI, in what will be the two schools' first matchup since 1984.