Kyle Altuner anchoring improved Virginia Tech offensive line
BLACKSBURG — Ethan Grunkemeyer was understandably excited when he reunited with James Franklin, Ty Howle and Danny O'Brien at Virginia Tech in the middle of January. It culminated a lengthy transfer process that allowed the quarterback to find the right fit.
There was another reason Grunkemeyer was eager to get on the field with the Hokies. As the process was winding down, he texted Kyle Altuner the message, "Teaming back up."
A quarterback's best friend is a center who sees the field well and can help identify the protection needed at the line of scrimmage. If the few practices and the game experience from the 2024 Under Armour All-American Game were any indication, Grunkemeyer knew Altuner was going to be a center he can trust whenever the Virginia Tech offense is on the field.
Virginia Tech center Kyle Altuner lines up between right guard Brody Meadows (left) and left guard Layth Ghannam before a drill during an Aug. 6 practice in Blacksburg.
"Being able to kind of just start working with him again, I was super excited about just because he was one of my favorite teammates from the All-American game. I really liked that," Grunkemeyer said. "He's got a great energy about him. Everyone likes being around him. I'm really excited about him."
Grunkemeyer's excitement also comes from seeing how much Altuner has grown since the two were on Team Fire in the 2024 Under Armour All-American Game. Altuner started every game at center for Virginia Tech last season, and his experience is allowing him to serve as an anchor for an offensive line that is improved and has added considerable depth heading into the season.
Altuner is one of six offensive linemen who made starts last season that are back. (Tomas Rimac, the seventh lineman who made starts at both tackle and guard positions, exhausted his eligibility.)
Those six are joined by Oklahoma transfer Logan Howland, Ohio State transfer Justin Terry, Penn State transfer Michael Troutman III plus other transfers and freshmen who have drastically changed the look and depth of the offensive line room in the second year of Matt Moore's rebuild.
"They look phenomenal. You just walk up on them, and it looks the way you want it to look," Moore said. "Now, it's the process of bringing them all together, getting them on the same page, making sure we're fixing the flaws and the mistakes, and that's what camp is all about. It physically looks the way you want it to look. That's the No. 1 step."
Altuner is a key piece to making sure the starting offensive line is on the same page. He has maintained a stranglehold on the starting center role since last season's conclusion, and those first-team reps with Grunkemeyer have helped build on their previous relationship and accelerated the bond between quarterback and center.
Virginia Tech center Kyle Altuner smiles in between a drill during an Aug. 6 practice in Blacksburg.
"I’d say communication pre-snap," Altuner said of how experience with Grunkemeyer has helped. "We’re up there changing the slide protection, all that good stuff. We might get a different look and want to change the Mike (linebacker) ID. So, the communication is definitely building. He’s a very vocal guy. He’s an elite pocket passer. He can run, too. It’s been a great addition."
Altuner's 12 starts plus Grunkemeyer's seven starts at Penn State have allowed them to take deep dives into what protections need to be set against certain defensive looks. The experience also helps with how the two communicate before and after plays.
"It's helped a lot having trust in him whether it's calling out something in the protection that maybe I didn't see," Grunkemeyer said. "I really have full faith in him to do all those things just because of the player he is and how experienced he is. He's done a great job this fall camp. Just working with him has been awesome."
Offensive coordinator Ty Howle said there's no set timeline on when the starting offensive line needs to be established. He wants to get the first five set at some point during training camp so the group can begin developing a rapport and building cohesiveness with Grunkemeyer, the tailbacks and the tight ends.
"There's never a hardline date, but you want to figure that out as soon as possible so those guys can get used to playing beside one another," Howle said. "We've done a couple different lineup combinations throughout the first couple of days and trying to figure out who can be our best five."
Howland, Terry, Montavious Cunningham and Aidan Lynch are expected to factor into the battle for the starting tackle roles.
Virginia Tech offensive tackle Justin Terry prepares to work through a drill during a spring practice in Blacksburg.
Eight of Howland's nine starts at Oklahoma came at left tackle, and that experience is something the Hokies are lacking after Johnny Garrett suffered a long-term injury.
Cunningham started at right tackle during his time at Georgia State (he made four starts at guard last season), while Lynch made 10 starts at right tackle as a redshirt freshman last season. Terry had limited snaps at tackle last season at Ohio State.
"That was definitely what we set out to do this year in the portal and in recruiting is go to the portal and get guys who can come in and push for starting time right now," Moore said. "I feel like we did that."
Terry's emergence in training camp has put him in position for a starting role. He initially signed with West Virginia in 2024 when Matt Moore was the Mountaineers' offensive line coach, then transferred to Ohio State after Moore was not retained on Rich Rodriguez's staff.
Terry felt reuniting with Moore would help his development, and it's put him in position to get significant playing time this season.
Virginia Tech offensive tackle Justin Terry prepares to run through a drill during a spring practice in Blacksburg. Terry reunited with offensive line coach Matt Moore after spending the 2025 season at Ohio State.
"There's plenty of depth, plenty of talent. It's really good," Terry said. "We've got guys pushing guys, and it's going to make sure that guys are at the top of their game because they know there's so much talent in the room."
Cunningham's previous experience at tackle and guard allows for position flexibility. He could be one of Moore's top five linemen (Cunningham's been working with the first-string unit at right tackle) and be slotted at multiple positions.
"I would say he is really, truly a swing guy. He's truly a swing guy because he's got great power and flexibility to play inside and move people," Moore said of Cunningham. "But you can put him on the edge, and he's got enough twitch and enough length where he can protect the edge, too."
Layth Ghannam and Brody Meadows have spent the first weeks of training camp at left and right, guard respectively. Ghannam started 10 games at left guard last season, while Meadows made two starts while being part of the offensive line rotation in 2023 and '24.
Meadows missed last season with an undisclosed injury.
“Brody’s a wily vet. He works really, really hard. There’s some things he does really, really well. He’s a big, physical kid,” Moore said. “That’s huge having him back and having Mont back. Both of those guys coming back as seniors that can help lead this line and help lead the way that we work on and off the field is a huge, huge thing for us.”
The guard depth features Troutman, Lucas Austin and Gavin Crawford. Freshman Benjamin Eziuka is a lineman Moore feels could play his way into the weekly rotation.
"It's a lot of competition, honestly. I think the offensive line is one of if not the most competitive units on this team," Troutman said. "I feel like having a lot of those guys, so many guys that can play, so many great players, I feel like that keeps you on your toes and it makes you bring your best every day."
Damien Sordelett (540) 981-3124
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Virginia Tech wide receiver Marlion Jackson discusses the development of the offensive line during the early stages of training camp.
