Which Position Battles Are Still Unsettled for the Hokies Heading Into Week 1?

Virginia Tech enters the final stretch of fall camp with several starting spots still up for grabs.

Virginia Tech Athletics

BLACKSBURG, Va. — There is a point during every fall camp when the questions start to turn into answers. For Virginia Tech, that point is rapidly approaching. The Hokies are less than two weeks away from opening the 2026 season against VMI, and while head coach James Franklin has spent the past few weeks evaluating his roster, there are still a handful of starting jobs that appear to be up for grabs.

Offensive Line

Virginia Tech has more depth along the offensive line than it has had in quite some time, but that has created its own problem for Franklin and offensive line coach Matt Moore: figuring out which five players give the Hokies the best chance to succeed.

The interior appears to be relatively straightforward, with Kyle Altuner, Layth Ghannam and Brody Meadows among the veterans competing for starting spots. The tackles, however, remain more fluid.

Ohio State transfer Justin Terry, Montavious Cunningham and Oklahoma transfer Logan Howland have all been involved in the competition at tackle. Howland missed the spring while recovering from injury, while Terry also missed significant spring time, making the battle even more difficult to evaluate.

Johnny Garrett's long-term injury has also changed the equation. The good news is that this is a competition born out of depth rather than desperation. Virginia Tech brought in four offensive line transfers and added seven high school linemen, giving the Hokies significantly more options than they had a year ago.

Wide Receiver No. 3

The top two spots appear fairly settled.

Ayden Greene returns after leading Virginia Tech with 516 receiving yards and three touchdowns in 2025, while Duke transfer Que'Sean Brown arrives after producing 846 yards and five touchdowns for the Blue Devils.

After that, things get considerably murkier. Takye Heath has the advantage of experience within the program and caught 200 yards worth of passes last season. Marlion Jackson, meanwhile, has emerged as one of the strongest candidates for the job after arriving from Louisiana Tech, where he accumulated 753 receiving yards over three seasons.

Tyseer Denmark, Chanz Wiggins, Keylen "Brodie" Adams, Jeff Exinor, Davion "FatRat" Brown and others are also competing for those opportunities.

The interesting part is that this may not necessarily be a situation where one player wins the job and everyone else disappears. Franklin and offensive coordinator Ty Howle could have plenty of reason to rotate receivers depending on the package and matchups, even using 12-personnel to get two tight ends on the field. Still, someone has to emerge as the third member of the starting group. Right now, Jackson and Denmark appear to be the two out in front, but the competition does not appear completely closed.

Linebacker

The linebacker room is another position worth monitoring, although this battle is a little different.
Kaleb Spencer, Keon Wylie and Noah Chambers appear to be established pieces, but there are still questions about who will fill out the rest of the rotation.

Virginia Tech has dealt with some uncertainty surrounding the position during camp, including the absence of Antwone Santiago, who was absent for several practices, and Gabe Williams, who is out with a "long-term injury", per the program. That has opened opportunities for players such as George Ballance, Curtis Jones Jr. and Sherrod Covil, the latter of whom converted from safety.

The Hokies have plenty of athleticism in the room. What they do not necessarily have is the same level of certainty or the health they have at some other positions.

Quarterback — Technically

This might be the least likely of the competitions to actually produce a surprise, but it is worth mentioning because Franklin has not officially handed the job to anyone.

Ethan Grunkemeyer has long appeared to be the favorite. He is the only quarterback in the room with collegiate experience after starting seven games for Penn State last season, throwing for 1,339 yards, eight touchdowns and four interceptions. That appears to be the coach's way of maintaining competition through the final days of camp, though at some point, the wide-spread expectation is that Grunkemeyer will take the first snap against VMI.

So while the quarterback situation technically remains unresolved, it feels much less uncertain than the offensive line or wide receiver rooms. There are only so many of those questions that can remain unanswered once Week 1 arrives. Virginia Tech enters the James Franklin era with plenty of new faces, a revamped roster and a long list of questions about what this team can become.

The offensive line is the biggest one. The third receiver spot is another. Linebacker still has some moving pieces, while quarterback appears to be more of a formality than a genuine mystery.