James Franklin didn’t exactly hide the homework.
After Virginia Tech’s 44-21 win over Old Dominion, the Hokies coach pointed Maryland toward the three names that have fueled Virginia Tech’s 2-0 start: Ethan Grunkemeyer, Que'Sean Brown and Luke Reynolds. “I think the combination of Grunk, Q, and Luke is problematic,” Franklin said. That trio now heads into Saturday’s trip to Maryland, where both teams are 2-0 and both are about to face their first Power Four test.
For Virginia Tech, the offense has been built around a quarterback who’s been sharp from the start, a receiver with explosive upside and a tight end already producing like a featured weapon. And with the Hokies running 42 times for just 89 yards against Old Dominion, there’s a real chance those three have to carry the load again.
Grunkemeyer has been steady and efficient, continuing the high-completion profile he showed at Penn State. Through two games, he’s 48-for-62 for 551 yards and four touchdowns without an interception. Against Old Dominion, he delivered the best passing day of his career, going 31-for-42 for 327 yards for his first 300-yard game.
He’s also already been through the kind of pressure Maryland brings. After Drew Allar’s season-ending injury, Grunkemeyer started Penn State’s final seven games of 2025 and went 4-3 with 1,339 yards, eight touchdowns and four interceptions. Two of those starts came against Ohio State and Indiana, so Saturday won’t be his first time dealing with a major step up in competition.
That matters because Old Dominion got to him four times, and Maryland has three players with at least two sacks. The deep ball could be a separator, too. Grunkemeyer missed Brown on two long throws in the opener before the two finally hooked up.
Brown gives Virginia Tech a different kind of stress point. The Duke transfer has 13 catches for 150 yards and a touchdown, and he’s added 117 yards on three punt returns.
His ceiling showed up immediately in the opener against VMI, when he had six catches for 109 yards and a 51-yard touchdown. Old Dominion kept him underneath most of the night, limiting him to 41 yards on seven catches, but he still made a huge special-teams play by returning a punt 79 yards to the ODU 1 and setting up a field goal.
The 5-foot-8 slot receiver was productive at Duke last season, finishing with 64 catches for 846 yards and five touchdowns. He closed that year with 10 receptions for 178 yards and two scores against Arizona State in the Sun Bowl.
Maryland has already shown vulnerability through the air, with both touchdowns it has allowed this season coming against UConn. Brown looks like the Hokie most likely to challenge that secondary deep.
Reynolds has quickly become the most reliable finisher in the group. He caught 26 passes for 257 yards all of last season at Penn State, and he’s already up to 158 yards in two games at Virginia Tech. He leads the Hokies in catches with 13, in receiving yards and in touchdowns with three, which is already a career high.
Against Old Dominion, Reynolds turned in the best game of his career: eight catches for 108 yards and two touchdowns, all career highs, and ACC Receiver of the Week honors followed. Virginia Tech hadn’t had a tight end top 100 receiving yards since James Mitchell at North Carolina in 2020.
His value spikes in the red zone. The Hokies scored on all seven of their red zone trips against Old Dominion, and Reynolds’ first touchdown came on a fourth-down throw from the 10. That’s where Maryland’s defense gets another test, because the Terrapins are tied for first nationally in red zone defense.
The matchup really comes down to time and space. Maryland’s pass rush will try to squeeze Grunkemeyer, and Virginia Tech’s best answers are the three players Franklin already flagged for the Terrapins.
In Other News...
Virginia Tech Brings Back A Familiar Look For A Huge Maryland Test
Virginia Tech is going with a familiar look for a major early-season test, unveiling an all-white uniform combination for Saturday nights Week 3 matchup against Maryland. The Hokies have had some success in the look over the years, and the switch gives the team a clean, classic presentation as it heads into a game that should carry plenty of attention.
The numbers in white have been solid overall, with Virginia Tech posting a 20-12 record in the uniform set and splitting its games in the 2020s. The Hokies and Terrapins are set for a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff on FS1, so the wardrobe choice will be part of a primetime backdrop for a game that already feels like an important measuring stick. [Read more 🡒]
Maryland Faces One Huge Test In A Season Defining Spot
Maryland heads into its meeting with Virginia Tech carrying the kind of questions that tend to follow a team into a season-defining week. The Terrapins have shown enough on offense to make this matchup interesting, but their recent rhythm and the injury situation around the roster add a layer of uncertainty against a Hokies defense that has been the steadier side of the ball. It is the sort of setup where every drive can matter and every mismatch gets magnified.
Virginia Tech, meanwhile, has the kind of defensive strengths that can make life difficult if Maryland is not clean early and often. The history between the two programs also gives the game a little extra edge, even if the present-day stakes are what really matter now. For Maryland, this is one of those spots where the season can either settle into a better shape or start raising louder questions, and Virginia Tech is well positioned to make the answer difficult. [Read more 🡒]
Virginia Tech Faces A Maryland Defensive Threat That Could Swing Saturday
Marylands defense has already given opposing offenses plenty to sort out this fall, and Virginia Tech is next in line to deal with it on Saturday. The Terps have been especially stingy against the run, giving up just 77 rushing yards on 62 carries with no rushing touchdowns allowed, and they enter the matchup ranked fourth nationally in total defense while sharing the top spot in red zone defense.
The pressure has come from several places, with Holmes, Thomas and Delhomme helping fuel a front that has piled up 10 sacks and made life difficult both in the backfield and near the goal line. For Virginia Tech, that makes this more than just another ACC meeting, because Marylands ability to disrupt the run, force uncomfortable passing situations and shrink scoring chances could end up shaping the whole day. [Read more 🡒]