When Virginia Tech hired James Franklin as their next head football coach to replace Brent Pry, you knew immediate change was coming. That ended up being the case as there was a complete overhaul of the roster.
There was some retention by Franklin and the new staff, and some of those guys were recently honored by Phil Steele by making one of the All-ACC Teams for the 2026 season. However, while that is all well and good, two new members of the Hokies made one of the teams, which proves just how much of an upgrade Virginia Tech is getting on the offensive side of the ball.
2 Virginia Tech newcomers make Phil Steele's All-ACC Team for 2026
Some players who remained from the previous coaching staff got some preseason love. Defensive lineman Kemari Copeland made the first team, while offensive lineman Layth Ghannam made the second. Other Hokies making the cut were running back Marcellous Hawkins (third team), defensive lineman Elhadj Fall (third time), linebacker Kalen Spencer (third team), kicker John Love (fourth team), and long snapper Christian Epling (fourth team).
However, there were two newcomers who made the list, and both earned a spot on the second team. Tight end Luke Reynolds and wide receiver Que'Sean Brown, who also made it as a kick returner on the fourth team. As for Reyndols and Brown, they could end up being the biggest pickups on that side of the ball, along with quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer.
As far as Reynolds goes, he is going to be a breath of fresh air at the tight end position for the Hokies. They haven't really used their tight ends in previous seasons, but with Franklin bringing Ty Howle with him from State College to also be the offensive coordinator in Blacksburg, then you can expect a lot of targets to the tight ends.
As for Brown, he was a good receiver at Duke and should be a weapon for Grunkemeyer on the outside, along with Ayden Greene, who returns for another season at Virginia Tech. All in all, you can take away what you want from Phil Steele's preseason rankings, but make no mistake about it, the Hokies offense is going to look different next season with a mixture of running and spreading the ball around the field.
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