When it came to the quarterback position for 2026 and beyond at Virginia Tech, one thing was clear after James Franklin was hired: he was going to be able to get his quarterback of choice. That ended up being the case when the Transfer Portal opened back in January.
When the dust settled and to literally nobody's surprise, Franklin and his quarterback coach Danny O'Brien zeroed in on one target, former Penn State QB Ethan Grunkemeyer. It took a little longer than some had hoped who were not behind the scenes, but Grunkemeyer committed to the Hokies in January. So, why did he choose Virginia Tech? The decision was an easy one for the Ohio native.
Virginia Tech QB Ethan Grunkemeyer explains decision to commit to James Franklin in Blacksburg
The time has come in college sports where money talks and relationships matter. The latter was maybe the biggest reason as to why Grunkemeyer ended up in Blacksburg for 2026 and hopefully beyond.
"Continuing to play for the coaches that have coached me the past couple of years and recruited me was just an opportunity I couldn't pass on,'' Grunkemeyer said. "The recruiting process kind of was able to shape my relationship with me coming here, and I really think they're the best coaches in college football to get to where I want to go. It just made it an easy decision for me.''
It wasn't really a tough decision for Grunkmeyer to follow Franklin and O'Brien to Blacksburg. That was a lot of people figured out what would happen. It did, but so did tight end Luke Reynolds and others. A dozen former Nittany Lions are now Hokies and followed their former head coach in State College.
Gurnkemeyer was not the only transfer quarterback to land at Virginia Tech. Bryce Baker came over from North Carolina, along with incoming freshman Troy Huhn and the returning Kelden Ryan. It gives Franklin a very young quarterback room, but Grunkemeyer played the second half of last season in replacing the injured Drew Allar, and that should serve as a huge stepping stone for Grunkemeyer in 2026, despite him not officially being named the starter by Franklin.
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