Spring practices are well underway for the Virginia Tech football team under James Franklin. The roster is going to look different after some pretty big turnover following the coaching change, Transfer Portal activity, and members of the Class of 2026 who have enrolled.
One position that the Hokies are going to be young at is quarterback. Kyron Drones is out of eligibility after the 2025 campaign. Pop Watson hit the Transfer Portal and is at UMass now, while Garret Rangel also hit the portal. That left true freshmen A.J. Brand and Kelden Ryan, who decided to stick it out under Franklin.
Franklin brought in two transfer signal callers, Ethan Grunkemeyer from Penn State, while North Carolina transfer Bryce Baker is also on board. Class of 2026 quarterback Troy Huhn committed to Virginia Tech after he de-committed from Penn State after Franklin was fired. Given how deep the QB room is, one quarterback is making a position change.
Virginia Tech QB A.J. Brand is moving to wide receiver
When the Hokies took to the field on Tuesday, Kolby Crawford of VTScoop reported that Brand was taking some reps at wide receiver. After the workout, Franklin confirmed that Brand is making the move, something he wanted to do.
“A.J. is going to move to wideout,'' said Franklin. "That is the position he wanted to move to.”
Brand is added to a room that retained Ayden Greene and brought in Duke transfer Que'Sean Brown. Some young receivers are returning to Fontel Mines who are knocking on the door of playing time in the fall. Moving positions is something that players do, but it is a little surprising that Brand didn't explore the Transfer Portal rather than changing positions. He is showing commitment to the program he committed to out of high school, and it'll be interesting to see where this goes from here.