Virginia Tech’s preseason buzz keeps building, and Athlon Sports added another wave of recognition with eight Hokies landing on its Preseason All-ACC teams.
The group stretches across both sides of the ball and special teams. Brown was the biggest multi-category name in the bunch, earning a spot on Athlon’s Preseason Second Team at receiver and also landing on the Preseason Third Team as a punt returner. Reynolds was placed on the First Team, Copeland on the Third Team, Hawkins on the Third Team, Spencer on the Third Team, Altuner on the Honorable Mention list, Brown-Murray on Honorable Mention and Love on Honorable Mention.
A few of those names are already familiar from Phil Steele’s preseason ACC selections. Reynolds, Copeland, Brown, Reynolds, Spencer and Love also made Steele’s list for Virginia Tech.
Love was Honorable Mention in both outlets, while Spencer and Hawkins were both Third Team selections in each. Brown was Second Team in both rankings, though Athlon also recognized him as a Third Team punt returner and Steele listed him as Honorable Mention in that role.
Reynolds earned a First Team nod from Athlon and a Second Team nod from Steele, while Copeland drew the opposite split. Altuner and Brown-Murray were both Honorable Mention picks from Athlon, but neither appeared in Steele’s nine-player group.
Reynolds is projected to step in as Virginia Tech’s starting tight end. He arrives after posting 368 receiving yards over the past two seasons at Penn State, and he added 69 receiving yards in the Hokies’ spring game on April 18.
Copeland followed a strong 2024 campaign with All-ACC Third Team recognition last year. He finished with 48 tackles, including 11 solo stops, seven tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks, and he had three sacks against California on Oct. 24.
Brown’s production last season at Duke made him one of the more dangerous skill players in the mix. He recorded 846 receiving yards and five touchdowns, and he also handled punt returns, piling up 116 yards on nine attempts. His biggest single-game output came in the Sun Bowl, when he went for 178 receiving yards against Arizona State.
Hawkins led Virginia Tech in rushing last season with 749 yards, highlighted by a 167-yard game against California. Spencer was the team’s tackle leader with 67 and also topped the Hokies in tackles for loss with 9.0.
His best game came against NC State, when he finished with 11 tackles. Pro Football Focus gave him a 76.2 run grade in 2025.
Altuner started all 12 games at center as a redshirt freshman and allowed just two sacks all season. The 6-foot-3, 302-pound lineman also logged a combined 12 knockdown blocks and nine “great blocks” against then-No.
13 Georgia Tech and then-No. 16 Louisville, according to his HokieSports page.
Brown-Murray was another full-season starter, appearing in all 12 games and posting 39 tackles, 29 of them solo, along with two tackles for loss, five breakups and an interception against Wake Forest on Oct. 4.
Love remains the steady force in Virginia Tech’s kicking game. He went 15-for-20 last season, earned All-ACC Honorable Mention in 2023 and 2024, and connected on kicks from 56 and 52 yards against South Carolina and California. He has not missed a PAT in college, going 114-for-114.
Virginia Tech opens its 2026 season on Saturday, Sept. 5, at 7:30 p.m. ET against VMI, and it will be the first meeting between the two schools since 1984.
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