Clemson Opponents Preview: Week 7 Virginia Tech
By: Jason Priester July 7, 2026

With the beginning of fall camp at Clemson just around the corner, the start of the 2026 football season is inching ever so closer.

With that in mind, now is a good time to start diving into the opponents on the Tigers’ schedule.

2026 Schedule

  • Sept. 5: at LSU
  • Sept. 12: vs. Georgia Southern
  • Sept. 19: vs. North Carolina
  • Sept. 25 (Fri.): at Cal
  • Oct. 3: vs. Miami
  • Oct. 10: Open Date
  • Oct. 17: vs. Charleston Southern
  • Oct. 24: vs. Virginia Tech
  • Oct. 31: at Florida State
  • Nov. 7: at Syracuse
  • Nov. 14: vs. Georgia Tech
  • Nov. 20 (Fri.): at Duke
  • Nov. 28: vs. South Carolina

Week 8: Virginia Tech (3-9, 2-6 ACC)

With an open date and the Charleston Southern game ahead of the home matchup against Virginia Tech, the Tigers should have some time to catch their breath before the home matchup against Virginia Tech, seeing as those first five weeks of the season won’t be easy.

After several down years under multiple head coaches, the Hokies have hit the reset on their football program. James Franklin was hired after being fired by Penn State midseason to rejuvenate this Virginia Tech program, and he’s had a pretty good first offseason. Franklin brought in close to 30 transfers after losing more than two dozen, so the roster definitely got a facelift.

Quarterback Ethan Grunkenmeyer came over from Penn State, as did tight end Luke Reynolds. Franklin also brought former Nittany Lions offensive coordinator Ty Howle to Blacksburg, so this Virginia Tech offense will likely resemble the conservative approach we saw from Franklin’s Penn State teams.

Clemson fans got a look at Grunkenmeyer in the Pinstripe Bowl, with the quarterback completing 23-of-34 for 260 yards and two touchdowns. Reynolds also had two receptions for 28 yards in that game.

Senior Ayden Green leads the wide receiver room after recording a team-high 31 receptions last season. Que’Sean Brown transferred in from Duke and will likely fill the role in the slot, while Marlion Jackson and Keylen “Brodie” Adams will battle it out for the outside spot opposite Green.

Marcellous Hawkins, transfer Bill Davis (Louisiana) and redshirt freshman Jeffrey Overton Jr. pace the rushing attack. Overton missed a chunk of last season injured but really came on after his return, rushing the ball 25 times for 146 yards over the final four games.

The Hokies have some experience returning up front, with the line projected to be, from left to right, Logan Howland, Layth Ghannam, Kyle Altuner, Montavious Cunningham, and Justin Terry. Ghannam played in all 12 games last season, making 10 starts, all at right guard. Altuner started in all 12 games as a redshirt freshman last season playing 793 snaps. He led all Power-4 freshman centers in snaps. Terry is a transfer from Ohio State, who logged just 51 snaps last season.

On the defensive side of the ball, Brent Pry is back as the coordinator after serving as the head coach from 2022 until being fired after the third game last season.

Up front, there are a lot of new faces. One player who is back is monster defensive tackle Kemari Copeland. He was a force to be reckoned with last season, tallying 48 tackles, including 7.5 TFLs and a team-leading 4.5 sacks, while earning third-team All-ACC honors. Elhadj Fall is also back on the interior after starting six games a season ago.

Javion Hilson, Aycen Stevens, Jason Abbey and Mylachi Williams are all in the mix at defensive end. After a strong spring, Stevens could be one of the starters. Hilson transferred from Missouri, where he redshirted after only playing 31 snaps last season. He was a Top 100 prospect coming out of high school. Williams is another player who followed Franklin from Penn State.

Noah Chamber and Kaleb Spencer give the Hokies some experience at linebacker. Spencer played in all 12 games last year, making five starts, and led the team in tackles with 67. Wylie is another one who followed Franklin from Happy Valley. He played in all 13 games at Penn State last season, albeit in a reserve role.

Cornerback Isaiah Brown-Murphy is one of the best returning defenders for the Hokies. He had five pass breakups and one interception while starting mostly on the outside. Jaquez White transferred in from Troy and is likely the other starter at corner. Quentin Reddish and Tyson Flowers are the projected safeties. Flowers started all 12 games last season for the Hokies, racking up 49 tackles and tallying two pass breakups.

With some of the upgrades Franklin has made to the roster, Virginia Tech is expected to take a fairly big step forward during the first year of his tenure. The question is how big of a step will the Hokies take? One thing seems certain, and that is this team will be much-improved.