Virginia Tech

James Franklin arrives in Blacksburg with something to prove after his Penn State departure, and he's brought a transfer portal class that could transform the Hokies overnight. Virginia Tech added 27 portal arrivals worth 114.6 PPA while losing just 37.8 PPA from 27 departures, headlined by quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer (48.1 PPA from Penn State) and wide receiver Que'Sean Brown (32.1 PPA from Duke). The Hokies lost significant receiving production with Isaiah Spencer (13.7 PPA) to Ole Miss, Cameron Seldon (8.9 PPA) to South Florida, and Devin Alves (5.7 PPA) to Hawaii, but Franklin's recruiting connections helped replace that talent with Marlion Jackson (17.9 PPA from Louisiana Tech) joining Brown. The defense remains stable from a continuity standpoint, grading out 57th nationally at +0.5 points, while the offense projects as the 20th-best unit in the country at +5.1 points.

JP+ projects 7.1 wins for Virginia Tech, a dramatic improvement from last season's 3-9 disaster that should validate Franklin's reputation as a program builder. The Hokies face their toughest tests on the road against Miami, SMU, and Clemson, but home games against Stanford, Old Dominion, and VMI offer opportunities to build momentum early. Offensive continuity presents moderate risk with quarterback transition uncertainty despite Grunkemeyer's arrival, and the receiving corps lost 65% of its target share from departures. If the new signal-caller can quickly establish chemistry with the revamped receiving group, Virginia Tech has the talent to compete for bowl eligibility and potentially more in Franklin's debut season.