'We've Got To Go Out And Execute': James Franklin Reflects on Quarterbacks, Backup Competition

James Franklin reflected on Virginia Tech's quarterback play against VMI and the ongoing competition to back up Ethan Grunkemeyer.

Virginia Tech Athletics

BLACKSBURG — Quarterbacks are, in many ways, the lifeblood of an offense.

They dictate its rhythm, distribute the ball and are often tasked with making the decisions that separate a successful drive from a stalled one. Even with the talent surrounding them, an offense can only go so far without consistent play from the position.

For Virginia Tech, there doesn't appear to be much uncertainty surrounding the player currently entrusted with that responsibility.

While it wasn't confirmed Monday whether junior Ethan Grunkemeyer will start, Franklin's discussion of the backup quarterback job made it sound like Grunkemeyer still has the starting job to himself as of now. Grunkemeyer completed 17 of his 20 passes against VMI, accumulating 224 passing yards and throwing two passing touchdowns in the Hokies' 73-3 season-opening win over VMI.

Handled business.#LetsGoHokies | @cmgleasing pic.twitter.com/gGw4QazTrj

— Virginia Tech Football (@HokiesFB) September 6, 2026

"I thought Grunk did a really good job of running the offense and managing the offense, communication and distributing the ball, getting us in the right plays and getting us out of the wrong plays," Franklin said. "Touchdown-interception ratio, completion percentage, those things were good."

Two of his three whiffs through the air were long balls intended for wide receiver Que'Sean Brown, one where the ball was simply a step or two ahead of the Duke transfer. The majority of Grunkemeyer's passes were short throws, but the quarterback did his job and did what was needed. The deep-ball misses are a point to monitor, but one the team will work to fix.

"When you're the head coach, you're spending most of your time on things that you can improve," Franklin said. "And obviously, we had some opportunities for two big explosive plays that that we missed, we've got to be able to hit those. We're going to need those moving forward. But overall, I thought [Grunkemeyer] played well."

The more intriguing question going forward is who will serve as Virginia Tech's backup. Bryce Baker was the only quarterback besides Grunkemeyer who received snaps in Saturday's opener; he went 10-of-12 for 127 yards and a score, dialing up a 40-yard deep ball for wide receiver Chanz Wiggins.

"Bryce went in and did some really nice things," Franklin said. "It's funny we hadn't hit that part of the progression [in the naked bootleg play where Baker threw a touchdown to Wiggins], and it had been open a couple times. It's really not part of our true read; it's more of an alert. Once he went through his first progression, his second progression, his third progression, he had time, looked down the field; it was open, and [he] took it."

Baker did not log any rushing yards, though Franklin believes that the UNC transfer has the ability to show off his running ability. Similar to Grunkemeyer, Franklin harped on the third- and fourth-down plays, referring to them as gimmies where "you're basically throwing on air."

"We've gotta hit those gimmies specifically on third and fourth down, so we can stay on the field and not put our defense in a challenging spot," Franklin said. "I think the quarterbacks want us to be aggressive in those situations, and the offense wants us to be aggressive in those situations that when we do it, then we've got to go out and execute."

Baker is not the QB2 by default for the whole season, however. Franklin emphasized that Virginia Tech's backup quarterback spot will continue to be a competition that's "close enough" to take to Week 2.

"I thought {Baker] did a nice job, but it's not like we're ready to crown him as the No. 2 quarterback... that will continue to be a competition," Franklin said of the backup job, which Kelden Ryan and Troy Huhn are also fighting for. "All three of those guys, again, we feel like the competition is close enough that it will continue, and we'll see how that plays out this week, as well."

Ryan and Huhn did not log any snaps in Saturday's 73-3 victory over VMI. Both were on the scout team in practice last week.

Virginia Tech's opener against VMI is not indicative of what the program will face going forward. The Keydets entered the clash ranked No. 405 in Bill Connelly's SP+ rankings. Old Dominion, the next squad Virginia Tech faces, is at No. 95. The Hokies themselves slotted in at No. 35. On FPI, Virginia Tech is No. 31, while the Monarchs are at No. 92.

Virginia Tech's 2026 season continues on Saturday, Sept. 12, when the team hosts Old Dominion at Lane Stadium. The contest will be available for viewing on The CW.