2026 Game Preview: Virginia Tech

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If Hurricanes fans dream of College Gameday visiting Coral Gables this year, then root for James Franklin to make a splash his inaugural year in Blacksburg, because this late November matchup might be Miami’s best chance to entice McAfee and Herbstreit to town. Unless of course you think Florida State or Duke will be ranked late in the season. No? Didn’t think so.

In three seasons at Virginia Tech, Brent Pry could do no better than 7-6 and was relieved from his head coaching duties after an 0-3 start to the 2025 season. Pry had been hired away from Penn State, and found himself in the unexpected position to have his former boss, Franklin, take over the Virginia Tech program. This led to an unusual situation where Pry will actually return as the Hokies’ defensive coordinator in 2026. Joining him in the coordinators’ booth will be Ty Howle, who was Franklin’s co-offensive coordinator at Penn State.

Out With the Old, In With the New

The Virginia Tech coaching staff is effectively ‘Penn State South.’ To some extent, so are the players. Twelve (12) Penn State players followed Franklin to Virginia Tech via the transfer portal.

The headliner of the Penn State transfers is QB Ethan Grunkemeyer, the No. 10 QB in the transfer portal according to 247 Sports. Grunkemeyer started 7 games for Penn State after Drew Allar went down with an injury, finishing with 1,339 passing yards with 8 passing TDs to 4 INTs. On the surface, those numbers seem respectable for an underclassman thrust into an impossible situation. But think about it…8 passing TDs in 7 starts is not exactly shouldering the load for that offense. Penn State’s best game with Grunkemeyer under center was as 37-10 walloping of then 7-3 Nebraska in which Grunkemeyer finished 11/12 for 181 yards while the team rushed 39 times for 231 yards.

To simplify all that for Hurricanes fans: 2025 Grunkemeyer is basically 2023 Emory Williams. The stats are comparable, it’s just Grunkemeyer got more reps. Last year, Grunkemeyer’s arguably best win was over Clemson (in the Pinstripe Bowl) leading an offense that scored just 22 points. In 2023, Emory Williams’ inarguably best win was over Clemson (at home in double OT) leading an offense that scored only 17 points at the end of regulation.

Also transferring to Virginia Tech this offseason is TE Luke Reynolds and WR Que’Sean Brown, the Hokies’ other 4 star rated portal additions. Reynolds comes from Penn State where he played second fiddle to 2026 first round draft pick Tyler Warren, but still appeared in every game and caught 26 passes for 256 yards. Brown arrives from Duke and was Darrian Mensah’s second leading WR behind Cooper Barkate. Expect both Reynolds and Brown to feature prominently in Virginia Tech’s offense: Reynolds led the spring game with 5 catches for 69 receiving yards, while Brown caught Grokenmeyer’s only touchdown pass.

There are far fewer flashy additions on defense than offense, but two notable exceptions should boost the VT secondary. CB Jacquez White earned Second Team All Sun Belt honors last season at Troy, and CB Cam Chadwick snagged 4 interceptions for UConn last year as a team captain.

Speaking of defensive transfer portal additions, here’s a fun fact for ‘Canes fans: Samuel Okunlola, the older brother of Miami starting offensive lineman Samson Okunlola, is a senior defensive end for the Hokies who transferred from Colorado this past off season. Fans could legitimately see two ‘Pancake’ brothers battling in the trenches this November.

With a new coach also comes ample opportunities for freshmen, so don’t be surprised if a few emerge as contributors throughout the season. The headliner of Franklin’s first recruiting class is high 4 star LB Terry Wiggins, who decommitted from Penn State to join Franklin at Virginia Tech. RB Messiah Mickens is another 4 star recruit that switched his commitment from PSU to VT.

Little Returning Production for VT

Since coach Pry is still in the building, the portal exodus was not that bad – only 27 players departed, none carrying a 4 star rating. Compare that to other programs changing head coaches like Penn State (47 outgoing transfers), LSU (38 outgoing transfers), and Auburn (37 outgoing transfers). That may not be a good thing coming of a disastrous 3 win season.

Senior RB Marcellous Hawkins is the key returner on offense. Hawkins led the team with 749 rushing yards last year, averaging 6.3 yards per carry including 72 yards on 8 carries against Miami. WR Ayden Greene was last year’s leading receiver, though he only hauled in 31 catches for 516 yards. Virginia Tech is counting on Greene and Hawkins to get a boost from their other transfers.

While the promising portal additions are mostly on the offensive side of the ball, expect Virginia Tech to lean heavily on familiar faces on defense. That’s definitely not a good thing. In 2025, Virginia Tech gave up 30.2 points per game (third worst in the ACC) and produced an ACC worst 6 turnovers the whole season.

Senior LB Kaleb Spencer led the Hokies last season in tackles (67) and tackles for loss (9). James Franklin defenses are known for their pass rushing, and Senior DL Kemari Copeland hopes to improve on his 4.5 sacks last season. In the secondary, veteran CB Isiah Brown-Murray is expected to be one of the better nickelbacks in the nation.

Virginia Tech Preseason Predictions

ACC Media Members predicted Virginia Tech to finish 8th in the conference, which is a sign of optimism coming off a (3-9) season. Defensive Lineman Kemari Copeland was the sole Hokie to earn All-ACC preseason honors, joining Miami’s Ahmad Moten as a DT selection.

Virginia Tech has one of the most favorable starts to any schedule and could quite conceivably jump out to a 6-0 start on the season. The Hokies open the Franklin era with VMI, Old Dominion, at Maryland, at Boston College, Pitt, and at California. After that begins a season defining three-game stretch vs. Georgia Tech, at Clemson, and at SMU. A home contest against Stanford is their last test before travelling to Miami Gardens on November 21st.

If everything goes right for Franklin, and the Hokies can build momentum during the weaker first half of their schedule, it’s possible that Virginia Tech could enter its contest with Miami having just one or two losses and a top 25 ranking with dreams of an ACC Championship Game berth. Should that happen, there’s a very real chance that College Gameday heads to Miami for this Week 12 rival matchup. Keep in mind this is SEC cupcake week when Alabama hosts Chattanooga and Ole Miss hosts Wofford. The best games that week are probably: Texas A&M at Oklahoma; LSU at Tennessee; Ohio State at Nebraska; and Indiana at Washington. You better believe that a ranked Miami v. Virginia Tech matchup could top that slate.

So for the first 11 weeks of the season…go Hokies. Bring Miami a national audience.

Way-to-Early Game Prediction

Notice how there was zero mention of the Virginia Tech offensive line? That’s because there’s little to discuss and it should be a glaring weakness for the Hokies’ offense this season. Expect Miami’s pass rush to be relentless and force numerous big plays in Miami’s favor. Also expect relatively conservative play calling from Shannon Dawson while the game develops and opportunities begin to present themselves. It doesn’t matter if Virginia Tech comes into the game with 9 wins or 9 losses: anything short of a methodical dismantling would be disappointing for Miami given the talent discrepancy.

Miami 41, Virginia Tech 13

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