2026 VT Position Previews: Return of the Tight End

When Ty Howle was named the Offensive Coordinator at Virginia Tech, everyone knew that would mean more emphasis on the tight end position. Howle coached the tight ends at Penn State from 2021-2025, producing several talented players, including Colts first-round pick Tyler Warren. Howle was also named the 2024 National Tight Ends Coach of the Year, the same year Warren took home the John Mackey Award, which recognizes the most outstanding tight end in college football. 

While Penn State found massive success utilizing their tight ends, the story could not be more different for the Hokies. In 2025, Virginia Tech primarily played three tight ends throughout the season: Ja’Ricous Hairston, Benji Gosnell, and Harrison Saint Germain. Combined, those three caught just 28 passes for 226 yards and 3 touchdowns, with all those scores coming from Hairston. Now none of those three guys may go on to produce at the level of Tyler Warren, but they certainly have more ability than that stat line shows. The lack of production from tight ends last season could mainly be attributed to a run-heavy offense that wanted to throw the ball downfield, rather than to the short and intermediate areas where tight ends normally roam. This season, the offense will look a lot different. OL Coach Matt Moore says the quarterbacks are more focused on getting the ball out quickly, mixing in more short passes to take the stress off the QB and the offensive line. We saw this play out in the Spring Game, where the Hokies utilized tight ends several times on short, bootleg passes like this one:

Overall, the Hokies' tight ends showed out in that exhibition game, combining for 16 catches for 190 yards. While that may not be a sign of what to expect this Fall, with James Franklin saying he needs to see more production out of the wide receivers, it does demonstrate that there will be more of an emphasis on getting the ball out faster and getting the ball in the hands of the tight ends.

Luke Reynolds

Luke Reynolds was one of James Franklin’s biggest offseason acquisitions, as he was ranked the number 98 player in the entire transfer portal following two seasons at Penn State. Reynolds was a highly touted high school recruit as well, ranked as the 29th best player in the country, and the number one tight end. Reynolds saw limited action during his time in Happy Valley, but there are absolutely no limits on his potential. A big reason why Reynolds wanted to come to Blacksburg was to continue playing with QB Ethan Grunkemeyer, another Penn State transfer. The connection between Grunkemeyer and Reynolds is obvious, as the two linked up five times during the Spring Game. Reynolds finished the day with almost 70 yards receiving and showed off his versatility and playmaking ability. Reynolds was able to be the “security blanket” for Grunkemeyer on a few short throws, but also demonstrated that he can stretch the field vertically on a seam route that split the middle of the defense. 

Reynolds also plays with an intense physicality. During an open practice in the Spring, the Hokies were running routes in the end zone. Reynolds went up over the corner and boxed him out to come down with the score. Standing 6-4 and 250 lbs, Reynolds will be a matchup problem for teams across the ACC. He’s too big to cover with a safety or a cornerback, but too athletic for a linebacker to stay with him. His unique skillset, and relationship with the projected starting quarterback Grunkemeyer make him an easy breakout candidate in 2026. One area of Reynolds’ game to watch is his blocking. Coming out of high school, scouts said he needed to improve his technique and continue to build muscle in his lower half to develop into a great blocker. While Reynolds can still be a difference-maker without elite blocking ability, the more skills he can bring to the table will make the Hokies’ offense more versatile and balanced when he’s on the field. 

Benji Gosnell

Four years ago, Benji Gosnell arrived in Blacksburg with his brother Stephen as a talented four-star TE, playing behind veteran pass-catcher Nick Gallo. Now, Gosnell enters this season as the veteran in the tight end room, having played in nearly 50 games as a Hokie. However, his production does not match his experience. Gosnell has just 564 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns in his career. When targeted, Gosnell has proven to be a reliable and talented weapon for the Hokies; the problem is, he just has not been targeted that much. As I mentioned earlier, Virginia Tech’s passing offense with Kyron Drones at quarterback primarily featured deep passes to outside receivers, as Drones seemed to struggle at times with his accuracy in the short- and intermediate-range passing game. The change in offensive schemes and in quarterback should mean increased targets for Gosnell, which we already saw in the Spring Game. Like Reynolds, Gosnell also had five catches and went for 34 yards. Gosnell has long been respected by both coaches and players within the program, and was even named a team captain last season. From all accounts, he is a hard worker and a team-first individual, and now he’ll finally have a chance to turn that hard work into big plays this season. However, it will be interesting to see how Ty Howle juggles the reps between his talented tight ends. He will have to be creative with his personnel packages to get the most out of this talented position group. The good news for Gosnell is he is an experienced and capable blocker, meaning he can be featured in two tight end sets with Reynolds and serve as the more traditional, on-the-ball tight end while Reynolds flanks out as a receiver. 

Ja’Ricous Hairston

With Gosnell and fellow veteran tight end Harrison Saint Germain both returning for the Hokies last season, not much was expected out of Hairston, a redshirt junior from Bassett. However, Hairston surprised many with his unique skill set at tight end. Hairston plays more as a big wide receiver than the traditional blocking tight end. Hairston’s route-running and ability to create separation were big assets in his game and made him a red-zone threat in 2025. Hairston only caught 12 passes for 112 yards last year, but three of those catches were for touchdowns. Now, Hairston comes into this season with bigger expectations and increased competition in the tight end room. At practice during the spring, coaches seemed to emphasize getting Hairston to play more physical at the point of attack, and are trying to improve his game as a blocker. Similar to Reynolds, the more Hairston can expand and improve his game, the more reps he will likely see in the Fall. Hairston also had an extremely productive Spring Game, including one of my favorite plays of the game that demonstrated his receiving ability as a tight end. In the second half, QB Bryce Baker was flushed from the pocket and scrambled out to his right. Hairston demonstrated great field awareness and drifted himself into open space downfield. Baker hit him perfectly for a big 32-yard gain. Hairston’s ability to be a big-play passing threat is where I believe he can separate himself in this stiff tight end competition, but he will need to develop more consistency to carve out a bigger role for himself in this offense. 

Harrison Saint Germain

Similar to Gosnell, Harrison Saint Germain has a ton of game experience for the Hokies, suiting up 35 times across four seasons in Blacksburg. Unfortunately, also like Gosnell, Saint Germain does not have the stat line to match that experience. In his career, he has just 10 catches for 66 yards. It seemed like he was poised for a big 2024 season after a solid performance in the Military Bowl against Tulane back in 2023, where he caught two passes, including a 12-yard touchdown in the driving rain. However, that expected breakout for Saint Germain never came, as the entire Hokies offense took a step back over the next two seasons. Now, he finds himself in the thick of this tight end competition, looking for a way to separate himself. Saint Germain does possess an ideal frame for an elite tight end, coming in at 6-4 and just shy of 250 lbs. This gives him a similar body type to both Reynolds and Gosnell, as they all compete for reps at in-line tight end. Germain caught two passes for 29 yards in the spring game, but it feels like he could be the odd man out in this tight end room. However, college football is anything but certain, and there is still a wide-open competition for spots across this roster. If Harrison can deliver a strong fall camp, there’s no reason he can’t play his way into a big role this season. However, even if he does slip down the depth chart, his veteran experience and size will make him a valuable depth piece and potential special teams contributor for the Hokies. Ty Howle mentioned special teams as an important component of being a tight end, saying that the position’s body types lend themselves to being productive in that phase of the game. So even if Harrison Saint Germain does not make a major impact at tight end, I’m willing to bet he will still have an important role on this team.

The tight end group also mirrors exactly what James Franklin has been trying to develop in terms of depth on the Hokies’ roster. Behind these four experienced players sits a pair of talented young athletes. Matt Henderson redshirted last year at Penn State, but did play in five games, and Pierce Petersohn arrives as a true freshman. Both were highly-touted three-star players by 247, and represent the next wave of playmakers that Howle and Franklin will develop. While I doubt either Henderson or Petersohn will make much of an impact this season, given their relative inexperience and the quality of talent VT already has at the position, they will be names to highlight moving forward.

 This summer, Howle talked about the development of this group and the luxury of having several guys with lots of game experience, saying that the emphasis has been on refining their games and continuing to improve. Howle said that the group will need to be selfless this season, and the room has been “hungry to help the team in any way they can.” The usage of the tight end position will be an early test of Howle’s creativity as a playcaller to see if he can get the most out of all these talented players. 

We are moving our way through the offense, with just the wide receiver and offensive line positions left to preview. Those will be coming out next week, but until then, have a safe and happy 4th of July weekend, everyone. 

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