Rebuilding From the Ground Up

Newly built houses look great on the outside. 

Fresh paint, sleek trim, and beautiful design go a long way toward making a home. Nothing, however, is as important as a solid foundation.

Building a new offense works the same way. Add all the talented skill-position players you want, it means little if the foundation of your offense — the five men up front — isn't up to the challenge.

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James Franklin inherited a faulty foundation this winter. Virginia Tech's offensive line had half the game figured out, but never put it all together at any point in 2025. Tech's offensive front paved the way for a top-40 rushing offense, but failed to support a bare-bones passing attack. Consider the following:

• While Kyron Drones owns much of the blame, the Hokies' passing offense ranked 119th out of 136 FBS teams in 2025, averaging just 166.3 passing yards per game.
• Poor protection up front was a key reason for those struggles. Virginia Tech allowed 29 sacks last season, ranking 99th in FBS.
• Seven different offensive linemen logged more than 100 pass-blocking snaps in 2025, according to Pro Football Focus. Six of those linemen return in 2026, and not a single one of them scored higher than a 62 in pass blocking last season.

So while Virginia Tech returns most of its offensive linemen from last season, that returning group has a long way to go towards successful offensive line play.

Offensive line coach Matt Moore has a few workable pieces to build Virginia Tech's offensive foundation. One of the linemen he brought from West Virginia, Kyle Altuner, started all 12 games as a redshirt freshman last year. Montavious Cunningham has played in 36 games over four seasons, making 19 starts. The Hokies also added a few notable transfers — Justin Terry (Ohio State), Logan Howland (Oklahoma), Justin Bell (Michigan State), and Michael Troutman (Penn State).

At this point, the Hokies' offensive line depth chart looks like this:

• Left Tackle: Justin Terry, Logan Howland
• Left Guard: Layth Ghannam, Lucas Austin
• Center: Kyle Altuner, Tommy Ricard
• Right Guard: Brody Meadows, Benjamin Eziuka
• Right Tackle: Montavious Cunningham, Aidan Lynch

While those groupings may change, it's a reasonable starting point for Moore in just his second season in Blacksburg. It's worth noting that Moore is missing one of his most experienced players, redshirt senior Johnny Garrett, who is dealing with a "long-term" injury. 

Moore's arrival in Blacksburg two years ago came with earned hype. He built an impressive unit at West Virginia and was only in the unemployment line because Neal Brown was let go after the 2024 season. Franklin wisely retained Moore this offseason, giving Moore a chance to continue his reclamation project.

Virginia Tech has lots of shiny new features on offense this year. Ethan Grunkemeyer has a chance to be Tech's best quarterback in a decade, the running back room is chock-full of talent, and the Hokies upgraded significantly at wide receiver and tight end. The new house that Franklin and offensive coordinator Ty Howle are building looks good thus far.

Whether it will hold up over the course of a season depends on its foundation. Virginia Tech needs its offensive line to take a big step forward in 2026. A consistent rushing attack is important, but not enough to win at the level James Franklin expects. The Hokies' biggest question mark heading into this season is their offensive line. It's possible this unit falters and can't hold its own. It's also possible that this unit improves and serves as the cornerstone of Virginia Tech's most explosive offense in years.

The building process is nearly complete. Soon, we'll see just how strong this Hokie House really is.