One position of need for first-year Virginia Tech football coach James Franklin when the transfer portal opened was a quarterback. Kyron Drones was out of eligibility, and Pop Watson was hitting the portal himself.
Franklin was bringing in true freshman Troy Huhn, but there were not one, but two needs through the portal for the 2026 campaign and beyond. To nobody's surprise, when Ethan Grunkemeyer, who replaced the injured Drew Allar at Penn State last season, hit the portal, he became a priority for Franklin and quarterbacks coach Danny O'Brien.
After waiting out the signal-caller, Grunkemeyer committed to Virginia Tech, along with North Carolina transfer Bryce Baker. Grunkemeyer is the projected starter for the upcoming season. The experience he got last season finishing out the season for the Nittany Lions is going to pay dividends. Manny Navarro of The Athletic listed 10 rising quarterbacks for the upcoming season. Coming in at No. 4 was Grunkemeyer.
Virginia Tech QB Ethan Grunkemeyer is listed as a top rising signal-caller for 2026 season
When Allar went down, Grunkemeyer guided Penn State to a bowl game with a big season. He completed 123 of his 178 attempts for 1,339 yards with eight touchdowns and four interceptions. Those numbers against the schedule he played are not bad at all. Transferring to a new school can be a learning experience for the quarterback and the new school in terms of the system. Not in Grunkemeyer's case.
"One obvious advantage for Grunkemeyer: He will be playing in the same offensive system with the same coordinator (Ty Howle) and the same quarterbacks coach (Danny O’Brien),'' Navarro wrote.
Having already been under all three coaches is going to help expedite the growing process in Blacksburg. What is also going to be beneficial for both Grunkemeyer and Franklin is that he gets two home games right out of the gate against VMI and Old Dominion. After a non-conference road test at Maryland, the Hokies open ACC play at Boston College. Franklin couldn't have asked for a better beginning stretch for a transfer QB.
Virginia Tech couldn't have asked for a better way to begin the Franklin era than with a quarterback he knows well and a player who knows him and his key coaches well. It could help the Hokies hit the ground running more quickly than in some other instances. Virginia Tech needs to get off to a good start in 2026, and on paper, they are. Now it needs to translate to the field.
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