When Virginia Tech hired James Franklin as football coach, you knew that there was going to be some big turnover with the roster for the 2026 season. You got the feeling that once the Transfer Portal opened in January, some of Franklin's former players from Penn State were going to follow him to Blacksburg.
That was the case, and some good players are going to make an immediate impact in 2026 for the Hokies. One of those players is quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer. After the Nittany Lions' starter, Drew Allar, went down with an injury, the freshman from Ohio stepped in for the rest of the season and left his mark. When he committed to Virginia Tech, he became the logical starter for next year.
Joel Klatt of FOX take Ethan Grunkemeyer should fire up Virginia Tech fans
Joel Klatt of FOX Sports, who calls the network's biggest Saturday games at noon, called the Penn State-Indiana game this year in State College. Grunkemeyer was the starter by then for the Nittany Lions, and Indiana's defensive coordinator came away impressed with Grunkemeyer, according to Klatt.
"Grunkemeyer played really well (against Indiana), and after the game, I'm texting with Bryant Haines (Indiana's defensive coordinator) in preparation for some of the games,'' said Klatt. "I was like, man, credit that offensive line, they ran the ball well, and he texted me back, 'I was so impressed by their quarterback', and Grunkemeyer was obviously playing for Allar at the time, and now he's leaving, and he's going to follow James Franklin to Virginia Tech.
"I got to tell you, I think the guy I respect, one of the two or three defensive coordinators I respect the most in college football, and one of those would be Bryant Haines from Indiana. When that guy tells me is unbelievable, and he was hard to stop, that tells you something.''
Grunkemeyer threw for 1,339 yards and eight touchdowns for Penn State when he took over for Allar in October. He led the Nittany Lions from 3-6 to bowl eligibility by winning their last three games before beating Clemson in the Pinstripe Bowl. Virginia Tech could benefit greatly from Grunkemeyer's experience he got last season.
Virginia Tech has nowhere to go but up, and Grunkemeyer comes to Blacksburg with some valuable experience and a lot of praise from the defensive coordinator of the National Championship team last year.