When James Franklin was hired at Virginia Tech last November, he went right to work in terms of targeting which players he was going to retain from the 2025 roster. One of the players who stayed was tight end Benji Gosnell. He has been a staple the last couple of seasons in the Hokies' offense and that should be the case again this fall.
However, there are some additions to the tight end room, with Luke Reynolds following Franklin from Blacksburg to go with the trio of players retained: Gosnell, Harrison Saint Germain, Matt Henderson, and Ja'Ricous Hairston. The position could be a secret weapon for Virginia Tech, and Gosnell didn't mince words when it came to the room.
Benji Gosnell drops bold quote on Hokies tight end room
Under first offensive coordinator and tight ends coach Ty Howle, the tight end position is going to be a big part of the offense in 2026. Gosnell is one of a few weapons that will be available, and he was honesta bout the room as a whole.
"It's probably the deepest tight end room in America,'' said Gosnell.
The deepest tight end room in America? Now, that's saying something, given all the tight end rooms there are at some of the top programs in the country. However, one look at Franklin's history at Penn State and the way he recruited and used the tight end position, it shouldn't come as a surprise that Gosnell feels that way.
It is a veteran room highlighted by Reynolds. The Massachusetts native is primed for a breakout season after he caught 26 passes last season from Nittany Lions quarterbacks Drew Allar and Ethan Grunkemeyer for 257 yards. So far in his first Virginia Tech camp, he's impressing in a lot of 1-on-1 drills. It also helps that he already has a connection with Grunkemeyer from their Penn State days.
This will be Gosnell's fourth season for the Hokies, and after a breakout 2024 season that saw him haul in 32 passes for 341 yards and two touchdowns, he had just 12 catches for 86 yards in 2025 in seven games.
As for Hairston, he had 12 catches for 112 yards and three touchdowns last season for quarterback Kyron Drones. He had two touchdown receptions on Oct. 11 at Georgia Tech and one against Vanderbilt on Sept. 6. He gives Howle another option in a deep room.
Gosnell's statement is a rather bold one, and one that I'm sure a lot of coaches and teams are going to pick up on. Like Franklin's statement about Virginia Tech winning the offseason, Gosnell knows that he'll have to back up that statement along with the rest of the tight ends. You can't help but love the swagger there is right now in Blacksburg around the football program.
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