Virginia Tech head coach James Franklin didn't release a depth chart during this week but he did reveal some starters during his Monday media availability including Ethan Grunkemeyer as the Hokies' starting quarterback plus the entirety of his starting offensive line.
The offensive line portion did include a major surprise as redshirt sophomore Aidan Lynch was named the right tackle, with Montavious Cunningham sliding inside to right guard and pushing out Brody Meadows while Oklahoma transfer Logan Howland was also relegated to the bench with Ohio State transfer Justin Terry claiming the left tackle job. Additionally, Layth Ghannam and Kyle Altuner were the starting left guard and center as expected.
Not only was Lynch the surprise entrant into the starting lineup, but James Franklin's comments mentioning that the close battle was between Terry and Howland for the left tackle suggested that Lynch was pretty solidly in the starting five.
Lynch earning a starting job makes him arguably the biggest surprise of fall camp as of now, and yet there's a lesson to be taken away from him earning the job too. Let's look at why it even is such a surprise that Lynch earned the job.
