Virginia Tech has almost made it to the start of fall camp for the first time in the James Franklin era. Any time you have a new coach in charge, there can be lots of roster and depth chart overhaul, with many players entering fall camp who have a lot to prove.
That includes several offensive players who enter fall camp under pressure knowing that if they want to be a starter or have a significant role for Virginia Tech either this fall or beyond, this next month could be crucial in determining that. So with that in mind, let's dive into the seven offensive Hokies who are under pressure entering fall camp.
QB Kelden Ryan
Kelden Ryan is the lone survivor in Virginia Tech's overhauled quarterback room, a group that is quite young now with Ethan Grunkemeyer being the oldest QB as a redshirt sophomore. Ryan still has plenty of time ahead of him in his college career being a redshirt freshman who has four years of eligibility remaining.
However, the challenge for Ryan is the fact that Ethan Grunkemeyer is seemingly well on his way to being the starter while Bryce Baker looked like a bonafide No. 2 quarterback at worse during the Spring Game. Add in some of the buzz surrounding Troy Huhn's potential from the spring and despite the praise that Ryan has received, he appears to have lots of work ahead of him if he wants to create a path towards him being VT's starting quarterback in the future.
At worst, Ryan probably needs to be QB3 in a serious battle with Bryce Baker for the QB2 job. That will take a lot of work and growth to achieve that situation but is likely what is required for him to maintain hope for having a path to being Virginia Tech's starting QB in the future.
If things don't work out at quarterback, Ryan could consider following AJ Brand's path and making a position change as Ryan does have good athleticism. However, a transfer to another program where he has a more viable path to becoming a starting quarterback regardless of the level.
RB Bill Davis
I wrote earlier this summer about the pressure facing Bill Davis entering this fall camp after a spring that ended with James Franklin giving him a challenge to show more while endorsing his ability to do just that.
The challenge for Davis is that he is clearly RB3 at best at the moment with Marcellous Hawkins and Jeff Overton Jr being well on their way to leading the RB room this fall. This comes as the redshirt junior Davis has less eligibility than Overton and might have an equal amount to Hawkins who seems to meet the requirement to get an extra year beyond 2026 due to injuries limiting him to only three games in 2024.
Davis also will face some pressure this fall from two other RBs too with one of those teammates making this list plus four-star freshman Messiah Mickens, who VT is very excited about and who definitely could push Davis for the RB3 job.
If Davis wants to be on the path towards a significant 2027 role at VT, he has to be closer to pushing Hawkins and Overton for regular reps instead of simply battling Mickens and others for the RB3 job. If he is stuck at RB3 or worse, a transfer after the season in pursuit of a starting job may be coming despite just arriving from Louisiana this past season offseason.
WR Takye Heath
Takye Heath heads into his fourth season at Virginia Tech looking to break into a permanent starting role after jumping into the first team during the latter half of last season.
