Penn State transfer and expected 2026 starting quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer will certainly grab the most headlines and attention among Virginia Tech's revamped QB room this spring. That's more than understandable given the promise he showed as Penn State's starting QB following Drew Allar's injury and the solid play he delivered against some very solid competition during his 2025 redshirt freshman season.
While that excitement and intrigue is obviously more than fair, there will be much higher stakes elsewhere in what is a young quarterback room with lots of guys in the same class.
That's because Grunkemeyer is the only non-freshman quarterback on this roster, with three of the four quarterbacks all entering their redshirt freshman season.
Obviously, there's not room for more than one quarterback on the field at a time, and means that whoever gets lost in the shuffle will likely have to look elsewhere if they want to be a starting quarterback at the collegiate level. In the age of the transfer portal, that means at least one of those freshman quarterbacks likely will be heading for either a position change, a transfer departure, or even both.
That sets the stage for a fascinating battle for the backup quarterback job behind Grunkemeyer with a pair of newcomers in North Carolina transfer Bryce Baker and early enrollee Troy Huhn ready to battle redshirt freshman returners Kelden Ryan and AJ Brand.
Let's start with the favorite to earn the backup job, UNC transfer Bryce Baker.
