Virginia Tech Kicker John Love Announces Return for Redshirt Senior Campaign

Love was an All-ACC Honorable Mention in 2023 and 2024.

Aug 31, 2025; Atlanta, Ga.; Virginia Tech place kicker John Love (17) kicks a 56-yard field goal against South Carolina on the final play of the first half at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Love is in the air. Virginia Tech place kicker John Love announced today on his X (formerly Twitter) account that he'll be returning to the Hokies. Love, a rising redshirt senior, has one year of eligibility remaining, which he will exhaust this season, barring a medical redshirt.

Year 5! pic.twitter.com/moVMPJH0XD

— John Love (@johnlove97) January 6, 2026

Love was named an All-ACC honorable mention twice, cracking the list in both 2023 and 2024.

Love, who attended Spartanburg High School in Spartanburg, South Carolina, exited the high schools ranks as a two-star recruit with an overall rating of 79. However, kickers have historically been weighed low on 247Sports' metrics; Love was ranked as the No. 5 kicker in the Class of 2022, and as the No. 47 player in the state of South Carolina. In 247Sports' composite rankings, he compiled a three-star ranking with a overall of .8181 and was ranked as the No. 1,913 player in the Class of 2022, the 13th-highest kicker and the No. 38 player in his state.

Virginia Tech's special teams, then spearheaded by James Shibest, was the one team that offered Love, doing so on Aug. 14, 2021. Per 247Sports, Love committed the same day.

In 2022, Love redshirted his freshman year and went 1-for-2 on kicks, playing in the final two games of the season against Duke and Liberty. Against the Flames. Love made his one field goal, a 23-yarder, and knocked down three extra-point attempts in a 23-22 victory.

Love starred in the following season, starting in all 13 games in 2023. Love went 22-for-24 on field goals with a long of 47, a 91.7% clip. In addition, he went 6-for-7 on field goals from 40 yards out or longer. Love was also an unblemished 44-for-44 on extra point attempts and logged 110 total points. Love, in his first full season, was named All-ACC Honorable Mention for his efforts.

2024 was just as strong, with Love's highlights being a 57-yarder vs. Miami, which earned him ACC Specialist of the Week, a three-FG performance against UVa that earned him a second nod as the ACC Specialist of the Week and a career-high 60-yarder against Minnesota in the Duke's Mayo Bowl. Across the year, Love made 16 of his 18 field goal attempts for a 88.8% clip. Love was a perfect 5-for-5 from 40 to 49 yards and hit on three of his four tries from 50 yards or deeper. For his efforts, Love was named to the All-ACC Honorable Mention team for the second straight year.

In 2025, Love's numbers slightly dipped, as the now-redshirt junior converted on 15 of 20 field goals, a 75% mark. Love moved into sixth-all time on Virginia Tech's scoring list with 276 total points. The kicker notched two FGs over 50 yards, with a 56-yarder in the season opener vs. then-No. 13 South Carolina, as well as a 52-yard attempt against California. Love was named ACC Specialist of the Week after knocking down three field goals vs. NC State on Sept. 27; the final field goal was a go-ahead 49-yarder with 6:31 that proved to be the game winner.

Through three full years and a redshirt campaign, Love remains perfect on extra-point attempts, not missing any of his 114 extra tries.

Love is one of 15 Hokies to officially announce their return for the 2025 campaign, joining wide receiver Ayden Greene, safety Quentin Reddish, cornerback Joshua Clarke, safety Jordan Bass, wide receiver Chanz Wiggins, defensive lineman Kemari Copeland, safety Sheldon Robinson, running back Jeffrey Overton Jr., running back Marcellus Hawkins, cornerback Knahlij Harrell, defensive lineman Zeke Chinwike, center Kyle Altuner and offensive lineman Brody Meadows.

Love's brother, Will, is a member of Virginia Tech's incoming 2026 freshman class and will join John as one of the team's place kickers for the 2026 campaign.