James Franklin entered his first transfer portal cycle at Virginia Tech with urgency. The Hokies lost three QBs after the 2025 season, leaving a depth chart that featured two redshirt freshmen and an incoming true freshman. The former Penn State head coach knew experience was non-negotiable, and the portal was the only realistic solution for now. Fortunately, a big opportunity presented itself via the portal announcement of his former QB Ethan Grunkemeyer. 

“Penn State quarterback transfer Ethan Grunkemeyer is expected to transfer to Virginia Tech, sources tell me and @chris_hummer,” CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz reported on X on January 4. “Was a Class of 2024 top-100 overall recruit. Started the final seven games of the season for Penn State.”

For James Franklin, this is about restoring stability at the most important position with a QB he knows, trusts, and once built a plan around.

Ethan Grunkemeyer’s portal move comes during a volatile stretch for Penn State football. Less than a year removed from coming within three points of a national title game berth, the program spiraled early in 2025. Losses piled up and the margin for error disappeared. The QB had not started a game under James Franklin. His playing opportunity came only after Drew Allar suffered a season-ending ankle injury against Northwestern. The following day, their head coach was gone. 

Ethan Grunkemeyer inherited the job ahead of a brutal schedule and an unsettled locker room. His first three starts ended in losses, including narrow defeats against Iowa and No. 2 Indiana. Then the performance began to stabilize. He picked up his first win on the road against Michigan State and did not look back. Penn State closed the season with four straight wins, capped by a 22-10 victory over Clemson in the Pinstripe Bowl. In that game, he completed 23 of 34 passes for 260 yards and two touchdowns. It was the most complete showing of his young career, and it changed the perception of his ceiling.

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His progression was clear. Ethan Grunkemeyer finished the 2025 season completing 123 of 178 passes for 1,339 yards, eight touchdowns, and four interceptions. He also added a rushing touchdown. His 69.1 percent completion rate set a single-season program record. Those numbers came across 11 games, seven of them starts, and most of them under circumstances that don’t favor a first-year starter. 

Before any of that, Grunkemeyer was a 4-star recruit from Lewis Center, Ohio. He ranked No. 103 nationally and No. 8 among quarterbacks in the 247Sports Composite and earned Elite 11 Finalist honors. James Franklin and QB coach Danny O’Brien recruited him to Penn State with a long-term vision. Virginia Tech now stands to benefit from that original evaluation. And that connection matters more now than ever, because the VT rebuild is following a familiar blueprint.

James Franklin returns to familiar ground in Blacksburg

Since arriving in Blacksburg, James Franklin has leaned heavily into his Penn State ties. He flipped multiple recruits to Virginia Tech in the Class of 2026 and rebuilt parts of his staff with familiar faces, including Brent Pry as defensive coordinator. The portal has followed the same pattern. TE Matt Henderson, a Virginia native Franklin once pulled to Penn State, committed to Virginia Tech on Sunday night. 

Henderson also reunites with Ty Howle, his former TE coach and now Virginia Tech’s offensive coordinator. His commitment felt inevitable as he picked Penn State over Virginia Tech in the 2025 cycle. James Franklin is now bringing him home. Another former Penn State player, DL Daniel Jennings, has also committed through the portal. He has four years of eligibility remaining, according to VTScoop. 

If Ethan Grunkemeyer follows, he would be the most significant of them all. Virginia Tech does not need a project at QB. It needs a proven starter and he offers that. James Franklin already knows what he is getting. That familiarity may be the Hokies’ biggest advantage in a portal era defined by volatility.