S DQ Smith wasn't supposed to be playing college football in 2026, but two weeks into Virginia Tech's season, he's already beginning to carve out a role in the Hokies' secondary.
Smith made his Virginia Tech debut in Saturday's 44-21 win over Old Dominion, playing 11 defensive snaps and recording one tackle. It was a relatively small role for now, but head coach James Franklin expects that to change.
"First of all, I think it's impressive how quickly he's been able to pick things up," Franklin said Monday. "I know the coaches and his teammates have been very impressed with just his football IQ and how he's been able to kind of process all this information and do it in a short period of time."
The fact that Smith was on the field at all would've seemed unlikely just a few weeks ago.
