Virginia Tech's Five Most Important Players Through Two Games

Virginia Tech is 2-0 for the first time since 2021, and these five players are the biggest reasons why.

Sep 12, 2026; Blacksburg, Virginia, USA; Virginia Tech Hokies tight end Luke Reynolds (85) reaches for the end zone as Old Dominion Monarchs linebacker De'veion McLilley-Bulo (17) during the second quarter at Lane Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Bishop-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Thirty-two tackles for loss. Twelve sacks. Through two weeks, no defense in the country has more of either than Virginia Tech's.

It's the loudest number from the Hokies' first 2-0 start since 2021. Virginia Tech beat VMI 73-3 and Old Dominion 44-21, and head coach James Franklin liked what he saw in the categories he tracks most.

"We won all those," Franklin said after the ODU win. "Usually when you do that, good things happen."

The degree of difficulty jumps on Saturday, when the Hokies visit Maryland at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1 for the first nonconference Power Four game of Franklin's tenure. These are the five players they can least afford to have an off night.

1. Ethan Grunkemeyer, Quarterback

Grunkemeyer has thrown 14 incompletions all season.

The junior is 48 of 62 for 551 yards and four touchdowns without an interception. Against ODU, he went 31 of 42 for 327 yards and two scores, all career highs, and ran for another.

He may have to carry more than his share in College Park. Virginia Tech ran 42 times for 89 yards against ODU. Sacks dragged that number down, but running backs Marcellous Hawkins Jr. and Jeffrey Overton Jr. still managed just 90 yards on 25 carries.

Right guard Montavious Cunningham, ejected against ODU, will be available Saturday. The line needs him. If this becomes a shootout, the Hokies need the ODU version of their quarterback.

2. Mylachi Williams, Defensive End

Defensive end was one of the bigger unknowns on this roster in August. Williams went a long way toward answering it.

The junior Penn State transfer had 3.5 tackles for loss, two sacks and two forced fumbles against ODU and earned ACC Player of the Week honors. The first forced fumble became six points. Williams came off the right side and flattened quarterback Quinn Henicle. Safety Tyson Flowers scooped the loose ball and went 14 yards for a touchdown.

That's the kind of play defensive coordinator Brent Pry wants. Pry was fired as head coach the day after ODU beat the Hokies last September, and Franklin brought him back in February. Franklin said the plan with Pry and defensive line coach Sean Spencer has been simple: "being disruptive and getting people off schedule."

Maryland will push back. Franklin called the Terrapins' offensive line "big and physical."

3. Luke Reynolds, Tight End

Reynolds has 13 catches for 158 yards and three touchdowns through two games, and that touchdown total is already a career high.

The junior caught eight passes for 108 yards and two scores against ODU, all career bests. His second touchdown said plenty about how Franklin sees him. Facing fourth-and-2 at the ODU 10 with a 17-point lead, Franklin kept the offense on the field. Grunkemeyer hit Reynolds in the flat, and the tight end beat a defender to the pylon.

Both players followed Franklin from Penn State. Right now, it's the most dependable connection on the roster.

4. Que'Sean Brown, Wide Receiver

Brown is the only Hokie changing games in two phases.

The senior Duke transfer has 13 catches for 150 yards and a touchdown, plus three punt returns for 117 yards. His 79-yard return against ODU was the program's longest since Tucker Holloway's 90-yarder against Georgia Tech in 2022.

None of this should surprise anyone who watched him at Duke, where he caught 64 passes for 846 yards last season.

At 5-foot-8 and 175 pounds, Brown won't win many jump balls against a Big Ten secondary. He doesn't have to. He needs the ball in space, and Maryland's punter needs to be careful.

5. John Love, Kicker

Kickers rarely make lists like this. Love has earned the spot.

He made all three field goals and all five extra points against ODU, pushing the fifth-year kicker to 303 career points, sixth in program history. He has still not missed an extra point in his collegiate career.

So why does a kicker crack the top five? The offense still stalls. After Brown's return set the Hokies up at the ODU 1, they went backward and settled for a 22-yard field goal. Road games tend to produce more of those drives, not fewer.

Virginia Tech hasn't beaten a nonconference Power Four opponent since 2017. If that ends Saturday night, there's a good chance Love's foot has something to do with it.