BLACKSBURG — After a 35-33 loss to Pitt last Friday, Virginia Tech football heads on the road to Berkeley, Calif., for a Saturday afternoon tussle with cross-country opponents Cal. Ahead of the clash, the ACC revealed the initial player availability report for both teams this week.
The player availability report, which was first used for the 2025 season, provides five types of designations: available, probable, questionable, doubtful, and out. A player being available means that they are not designated on the list.
Probable corresponds to “likely to play”, offering roughly a 75% chance, per the ACC’s explanation. Questionable means “uncertain to play”, offering around a 50% chance, while doubtful corresponds to unlikely (25%). Out means the player will not play in the game, while a game-time decision (on game day only) means that the final decision will be made closer to the game itself.
Here’s the list of players posted on the initial availability report, organized by status:
Out
- LB George Ballance
- OL Justin Terry
- DL Emmett Laws
Questionable
- WR Takye Heath
- WR Shamarius “Snook” Peterkin
- RB Bill Davis
- CB Jojo Crim
- OL Lucas Austin
- OL Roseby Lubintus
- OL Brody Meadows
- WR L.J. Booker
Eleven players are on this week’s report, two fewer than Week 4 and Week 5’s total of 13. Here’s how the availability report shakes out by position:
- Linebacker: 1 (Ballance)
- Offensive Line: 4 (Terry, Austin, Lubintus, Meadows)
- Wide Receiver: 3 (Heath, Peterkin, Booker)
- Defensive Line: 1 (Laws)
- Running Back: 1 (Davis)
- Cornerback: 1 (Crim)
- Total: 11
Season Notes
Virginia Tech opened its season 4-0 for the first time since 2017 with wins over VMI (73-3), Old Dominion (44-21) Maryland (35-26) and Boston College (21-14) before losing to Pitt (35-33).
Against Pitt, the Hokies leapt out to an early 14-0 lead before being outscored 35-10. Panthers quarterback Mason Heintschel was injured midway through the game with what later turned out to be a season-ending ACL tear.
Virginia Tech mounted a nine-point rally with a safety from sophomore linebacker Noah Chambers and a touchdown thrown from quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer to freshman wide receiver Davion “FatRat” Brown — the first of Brown’s collegiate career.
Grunkemeyer finished the game with a career-high 434 passing yards — the second-most in a single contest for a Virginia Tech quarterback since at least 1987, trailing only Bryan Randall’s 504 yards against Syracuse in 2002.
However, Grunkemeyer also threw two interceptions against Pitt, his first of the season, and he coughed up two fumbles (one was recovered by the Panthers). Grunkemeyer is 131-of-177 this year for 1,446 yards, 11 touchdowns and two interceptions.
There will be four reports in total: today’s report, one report on Thursday and Friday, plus a game-day report two hours before Virginia Tech’s tussle with Cal.
The Hokies’ contest against the Golden Bears is set for Saturday, Oct. 10, at 3:30 p.m. ET (12:30 p.m. PT); the contest will be carried on ACC Network.
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