Virginia Tech's 2026 Spring Game did take place after an hour delay due to the rescue of a skydiver who collided with the scoreboard pregame and was stuck for almost 20 minutes of it. Virginia Tech put out in a statement that he was stable after being rescued from the crash.
The Spring Game did resume as planned after the rescue and delay, with the White team surprisingly beating the Maroon team 30-21 despite most of the projected starters being on the Maroon team roster. Note that the Maroon team gained 2 points from a halftime punting competition and the White team gained one point. Both teams gained nine points from a postgame field goal kicking competition as both teams went 3-4.
Excluding the field goal/punting competition, White beat Maroon 20-10.
Ethan Grunkemeyer had a solid performance in his first time playing in front of a crowd inside Lane Stadium as he went 13-17 for 136 yards, one touchdown, and one interception while running for 12 yards. Grunkemeyer was able to get the ball out quickly and on target most of the game minus an interception where it was unclear whether it was a Grunkemeyer misfire or a mistaken route by Takye Heath.
Meanwhile, Bryce Baker wasn't as efficient but flashed a lot of potential going 15-27 for 140 yards and a touchdown while running for 32 yards. Kelden Ryan was 9-14 for 88 yards and a touchdown while Troy Huhn was 5-8 for 64 yards in what was a solid day for Virginia Tech's quarterbacks.
Tight ends played a big role in this game with Luke Reynolds looking quite good with five catches for 69 yards including a nifty one-handed-ish catch down the seams during the opening quarter. Benji Gosnell had five catches for 34 yards as Reynolds and Gosnell led the Maroon and White teams respectively in receptions. Ja'Ricous Hairston led the White team in receiving yards with 58 yards on four catches while Reynolds led the Maroon team in that category.
Que'Sean Brown looked solid with three catches for 22 yards including a touchdown while Tyseer Denmark added four catches for 38 yards and Chanz Wiggins had two catches for 36 yards and a touchdown.
Jeff Overton Jr looked like the explosive player we saw last season with three 10+ yard plays on his way to having five carries for 32 yards plus a 19-yard reception as he led the Maroon team in rushing. Baker was the leading rusher for White with walk-on Gray Peterson getting the most rushing yards among White team RBs with 25 yards on seven carries.
One of the biggest headlines of today's game may be the injuries as CB Jaquez White went down with a leg injury to start the second half and couldn't put weight on what looked like his left leg as he was helped off the field by trainers on both sides. White is projected to be Virginia Tech's top cornerback this upcoming season and losing him for a long amount of time would obviously be a significant loss for the Hokies.
Redshirt freshman DL Zeke Chinwike also suffered a leg injury in the first half and couldn't put weight on his right leg as he was helped off by two trainers.
On the defensive line, Eric Mensah made some flash plays with 1.5 sacks plus a pass breakup while Jason Abbey also had 1.5 sacks and a QB hurry. Mylachi Williams also added a sack and two QB hurries with Williams and Abbey working with first team defensive players in a pregame warmup despite Abbey being on the White team and most the others including Williams being on the Maroon.
Antwone Santiago and Joshua Clarke led Maroon with seven tackles each including 0.5 for loss for Santiago while Amauri Polydor led White with seven tackles including 0.5 for loss. Kaleb Spencer also had five tackles including a sack plus a pass breakup while Jordan Bass had four tackles including 0.5 for loss. Tyson Flowers had 0.5 tackles for loss and two pass breakups
We will have more as this story develops.
