BLACKSBURG - Sometimes the sharpest coaching move happens long before the final whistle. For James Franklin and Virginia Tech on Saturday, though, the key call came in real time: when the run game wasn’t there, lean harder on Ethan Grunkemeyer.
That shift paid off in a 44-21 win over Old Dominion. The Hokies finished with only 89 net rushing yards on 42 attempts, a week after Jeffrey Overton Jr. and Marcellous Hawkins had combined to run wild against VMI with five scores. Against the Monarchs, Virginia Tech chose a different path and put the ball in Grunkemeyer’s hands.
He responded with the best passing performance of his young Hokies career. Grunkemeyer went 31 of 42 for 327 yards and two touchdowns, all career highs.
His 31 completions tied for the second-most in a single game for Virginia Tech since at least 1987. He also added a one-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Just as important, he did it without forcing the issue. Grunkemeyer threw no interceptions, spread the ball to 11 different receivers and kept taking what Old Dominion’s defense was willing to concede.
Luke Reynolds was the biggest beneficiary. The tight end caught eight passes for 108 yards and both of Grunkemeyer’s touchdown throws.
Saturday also carried a different kind of weight for Grunkemeyer. It was just his sixth collegiate start and his second since transferring to Virginia Tech from Penn State. His opener against VMI - 17-of-20 passing for 224 yards and two touchdowns - hinted at what he could do, but that game came in a 73-3 blowout that never asked him to carry much.
Old Dominion made things far tougher at the line. The Monarchs finished with 10 tackles for loss and four sacks, and Virginia Tech was already dealing with the absence of starting center Kyle Altuner, which pushed Tommy Ricard into his first collegiate start in the middle of the line.
With the ground game bogged down, the Hokies could have kept trying to force production there. Instead, they trusted their quarterback.
That trust showed up early. Grunkemeyer was 21 of 27 for 211 yards and two touchdowns in the first half, helping Virginia Tech race to a 34-6 lead. The Hokies scored on each of their first five possessions, and while the defense helped build that cushion, the passing game kept the offense converting chances into points.
There will be days when Overton and Hawkins can carry more of the load. There will probably be others when the balance comes more naturally than it did against Old Dominion.
But on Saturday, Franklin and his staff didn’t try to force the script. They adjusted to what the game was giving them.
And they were right to put it in Grunkemeyer’s hands. Two games are far too early to draw a full picture, especially with Virginia Tech heading to Maryland for its first Power Four test on Saturday. But when the Hokies needed their quarterback to shoulder more of the offense, Franklin trusted him - and that trust was rewarded.
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