James Franklin got comfortable as soon as he became the head coach of the Virginia Tech Hokies.
What that looked like was raiding his old program for some of his favorite players.
Virginia Tech brought in 27 players via the transfer portal this past offseason, and 12 of them came from Penn State Nittany Lions.
The list of ex-Nittany Lions includes defensive lineman Randy Adirika, wide receiver Tyseer Denmark, wide receiver Jeff Exinor, quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer, defensive lineman Cortez Harris, tight end Matt Henderson, defensive lineman Daniel Jennings, tight end Luke Reynolds, offensive lineman Michael Troutman, defensive lineman Mylachi Williams, cornerback Kenny Wosely Jr. and linebacker Keon Wylie.
That’s a lot of familiarity for Franklin, and it’s a safe bet to assume that several of those players will play a major role for Virginia Tech in 2026.
Gtunkemeyer is expected to be the Hokies’ starting quarterback. Reynolds is a former five-star recruit who saw playing time at tight end as a freshman and caught 26 passes for 257 yards. Wylie played in nine games last season for PSU and notched 16 tackles and a sack.
Jaquez White expected to make big impact for Virginia Tech Hokies
And yet, ESPN’s Bill Connelly believes that it’s not a Penn State transfer, but rather a transfer from Troy, who could make a big early impact for the Hokies in 2026.
Connelly ranked cornerback Jaquez White as one of his favorite transfer players in the ACC heading into this season. White was extremely productive for Troy as a junior.
“While Franklin brought a lot of former Penn State players and commits with him from State College, a Troy transfer might have the biggest early impact,” wrote Connelly. “White picked off three passes, broke up 12 more and even made 3.5 TFLs as a do-everything cover man last season.”
To be fair, there will be a jump for White going from playing in the Sun Belt to playing in the ACC, but he’s got a good pedigree coming in as a senior.
His first two college seasons were spent at Washburn, where he was a two-year starter and a team captain. He’s a former unranked recruit from Blackshear, Georgia, who is one of nine siblings.
From unranked to a starting ACC cornerback, White clearly has the grit to make a huge impact for Franklin and the Hokies in 2026.
