Virginia Tech is almost at the point where the talking stops and the season starts.
On Sept. 5, the Hokies open against VMI at Lane Stadium, and that game will officially launch the James Franklin era after months of discussion about the transfer portal, the rebuilt roster and what this team might become under its new coach.
There are safe calls to make here. Virginia Tech should be better than the 3-9 group from a year ago.
Ethan Grunkemeyer looks like the likely starting quarterback. The Hokies ought to be more competitive.
But with kickoff close, it’s fair to push beyond the obvious. Here are seven bold predictions for Virginia Tech football in 2026.
First, the record takes a real jump: 8-4 in the regular season.
That would be a massive climb from last year’s 3-9 finish, but this is also a much different roster. Franklin remade the group, brought in Grunkemeyer, a quarterback he already knows, and added talent all over the field, especially at wide receiver.
The road won’t be smooth. Virginia Tech has to travel to Maryland, Boston College, California, Clemson, SMU and Miami, and most of those games come in the back half of the schedule.
Even so, this looks like a team capable of taking care of the games it should and stealing a couple it isn’t expected to win.
Grunkemeyer is next in line for a strong season. Last year, in limited action, the former Penn State quarterback threw for 1,339 yards, eight touchdowns and four interceptions while completing 69 percent of his passes.
Now he gets a full season and an offense built to fit what he does best. A leap past 2,500 passing yards feels in play, along with something in the neighborhood of 20 to 22 touchdown passes.
The breakout candidate at receiver is Ayden Greene. The senior kept getting better even while operating in an offense that rarely created easy explosive plays. Now he has an experienced quarterback and a coaching staff that spent the offseason upgrading the talent around him.
Greene put up 516 yards and three touchdowns during Virginia Tech’s rough 3-9 season last year. There’s real reason to think he could finally put it all together and get over 1,000 receiving yards.
At tight end, Gavin Reynolds looks like one of Franklin’s most interesting additions from Penn State, and he should matter right away. In two seasons there, the 6-foot-4 tight end totaled 257 receiving yards.
With Virginia Tech’s top two receivers drawing enough attention to keep defenses from keying on one target, Reynolds should find room in the middle of the field.
The defense has reasons for optimism, too. Brent Pry is back, but he’s working with a deeper and more experienced roster.
Virginia Tech also added cornerback Jaquez White from Troy, and the defensive line remains one of the most intriguing parts of the team. Returnees Kemari Copeland, Isaiah Brown-Murray and Josh Clarke, who is back after a torn ACL in 2025, should all help push that side of the ball forward.
The offensive line is still the biggest question on the roster, but this group may wind up looking better by season’s end than it does right now. The Hokies have real competition and depth up front with transfers Logan Howland and Justin Terry, plus returnees Kyle Altuner, Layth Ghannam, Montavious Cunningham and Brody Meadows. By the end of the year, that added depth could change the picture simply by forcing the line to hold up through more bodies and more options.
And then there’s Clemson.
Virginia Tech has to go to Death Valley, where the Tigers still rank among the most talented teams on the schedule. But Clemson is also carrying pressure after a disappointing 7-6 season in 2025, and the Hokies could arrive with plenty of momentum. Before that Oct. 24 matchup, they have a chance to start 4-0, with 50-50 games against California, Pitt and Georgia Tech on the way.
If Franklin has Virginia Tech peaking by late October, the Hokies have a real shot to pull the upset and beat Clemson for the first time since 2007.
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A big part of the early outlook rests on quarterback stability, with Ethan Grunkemeyer expected to be the guy under center as the Hokies try to build some continuity. From there, the schedules shape does the rest of the work: a handful of games look favorable enough to build momentum, but the deeper challenge is avoiding the kind of trap weeks that can turn a promising start into an uneven fall. [Read more 🡒]