Virginia Tech football: Updates from the start of fall camp

The Virginia Tech Hokies opened fall camp on Wednesday, and head coach James Franklin met with the media on Thursday. Franklin said he was disappointed with his team’s effort on Day 1, but things turned around on Day 2.

“For us to have the season we want to have, we’ve have to play complementary football,” Franklin said. “And that’s all three phases doing their job and making plays when the opportunities present themselves. So, I was very pleased with the practice today. Now, as you guys always know, I’m going to watch the film, and I’m probably not going to like it as much as I do right now. That’s always the case, but in terms of leaving the field, I felt like we did a really good job of laying the foundation of expectations and standards of how we’re going to work around here.”

Here are some updates from the first two days of fall camp.

Franklin said he was in no hurry to name any starters. That wasn’t going to happen. Why? Because he wants the players competing. He said sometimes fans and media want coaches to name starters at any position, when the reality is you already know. Obviously, almost everyone knows that Ethan Grunkemeyer will be Virginia Tech’s starting quarterback. Still, Franklin says he’s not going to announce the starter until before the opener against VMI.

The most concerning injury at the start of fall camp is offensive tackle Johnny Garrett. The 6-foot-5, 323-pound redshirt senior has played 35 career games at Virginia Tech, making 11 starts. He was projected to start somewhere on the offensive line this year. Garrett is dealing with a long-term injury, so there appears to be no timetable for his return.

Emmett Laws, a 6-foot-0, 301-pound redshirt sophomore defensive tackle, did not practice. After redshirting in 2024, Laws played in all 12 games last season. It appears he will be out for a while, too.

Senior cornerback Jaquez White, one of VT’s top offseason additions, participated fully. He suffered an injury in the spring. White is expected to be the Hokies’ top cornerback this season.

The first five on the field in fall camp don’t necessarily mean that’s who will start in Week 1. There are many factors to consider, including injuries, practice performance, etc. But the Hokies lined up with Justin Terry, Layth Ghannam, Kyle Altuner, Brody Meadows, and Montavious Cunningham on the first team, with Grunkemeyer.

Altuner started all 12 games as a redshirt freshman last fall, while Cunningham started four games last season and Ghannam started 10 of the 12 games he played in. Terry is a transfer from Ohio State, but played for OL coach Matt Moore at West Virginia. Meadows is the most experienced player of the group, as he enters his fifth season. He missed last season with an injury, but has appeared in 24 career games for the Hokies. It wouldn’t be a surprise if this group made it out of camp as the top group.

The Hokies have updated their online roster, which is the chance to see which players added size since the spring. There were some significant gains. This X post from Pete B. was exciting to see.

How many times in the past have we complained about Tech’s lack of size up front on both sides of the ball? No more. Franklin was committed to making the Hokies bigger, stronger and faster. For instance, freshman defensive lineman Kamren Johnson was listed at 6-foot-3, 271 pounds. He was listed at 243 pounds when he signed in December.

We’ll keep you updated on the latest from fall camp.