BLACKSBURG — Virginia Tech football has its first road game of the season on tap Saturday when it travels to College Park, Md., to take on Maryland. Ahead of the clash, head coach James Franklin fielded questions from the media at his weekly press conference on Monday. Here are the five most pertinent notes/quotes from the presser:

No. 1: The backup competition remains alive.

Franklin has remarked in the past that the battle for QB2 between Bryce Baker, Kelden Ryan and Troy Huhn — Ethan Grunkemeyer remains the presumptive season-long starter; he's thrown for 551 yards on a 48-of-62 clip — is an open, week-to-week battle that will stretch as long as the coaching staff deems it necessary. That battle has not closed, per Franklin, and it remains alive. Grunkemeyer was 31-for-42 for a career-best 327 yards against Old Dominion, while Baker completed one of his two passes for no net passing yards.

"We also had our first developmental scrimmage of the season, where we went live, including the quarterbacks, which I thought was really good from an evaluation standpoint," Franklin said of this week's quarterback development. "Trying to continue to keep that competition going between two, three, and four, get a chance to evaluate those guys — and it was really good."

Baker is the only quarterback other than Grunkemeyer to receive any playing time; the UNC transfer played the bulk of the second half in the season opener against VMI, completing 10 of his 12 passes for 127 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions.

No. 2: Franklin spoke of Maryland starting quarterback Malik Washington as a "special talent."

Washington, a sophomore, has completed 53 of his 72 passes through two games for 533 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions — though his QBR (per ESPN) for the Hampton game clocked in at only a 17.7.

Through two games, Maryland has outscored its opponents 100-14 (62-0 vs. Howard, 38-14 against UConn), with Washington throwing for 347 yards (34-for-41) and two touchdowns against the Huskies Sept. 12.

"[Washington] is a special talent," Franklin said. "He is big; he's athletic. I've known Malik for a long time, and he can make all the throws. ... He's able to make some off-platform throws, some big-time throws, some wow throws."

Franklin also referred to Maryland's offensive line as "big and physical". The former Penn State head whistle spent time with the Terrapins as their wide receivers coach from 2000-2004 and the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach from 2008-2010.

"I learned a ton of ball [at Maryland] in a short time," Franklin said. "Not only offense, but also how to run a program — a tough, disciplined, hard-nosed program. And we won a bunch of games, had a ton of success."

No. 3: Montavious Cunningham is good to go for Saturday.

Cunningham, a fifth-year offensive lineman who's been playing at right guard this season, was ejected in last week's Old Dominion game for throwing a punch in the second half.

"He was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct non-football act, which results in an ejection for the game," Franklin said. "But there's no carry-over into the second game, so he will be available [against Maryland]."

No. 4: How does Virginia Tech acclimate to going on the road for the first time this season?

Virginia Tech played two straight home games against VMI (Sept. 5; 73-3 win) and Old Dominion (Sept. 12; 44-21 win) to open its season; it now has back-to-back trips on the road against Maryland (Sept. 19) and Boston College (Sept. 26) before returning to Lane Stadium for a Friday night showdown vs. Pitt Oct. 2.

"We've been fortunate to start the season with two home games; having the support and having the energy and be able to go on the road and do it in a Big 10 venue and a team that's playing a lot of confidence right now, there's no doubt about [how] that's a different challenge for sure," Franklin said.

Franklin remarked that the road trip will cause a change in routine, one that the staff will need to understand how to change the operations for.

"Instead of just driving across campus to get into the hotel, we'll be traveling to Maryland and staying in a hotel that we haven't stayed in," Franklin said. "So, it's making sure our guys are as comfortable and understand how we're going to operate, which is very similar to what I think Coach Price done in the past."

There won't be a whole lot different, though. The base routine remains important for the student-athletes for Franklin.

No. 5: Franklin elaborated more on DQ Smith.

Smith logged a tackle in his first game of the season vs. Old Dominion; the fifth-year defensive back was ineligible for the opener against VMI due to the NCAA's mandatory five-day acclimation period.

"I think it's impressive how quickly he's been able to pick things up," Franklin said. "I know the coaches and his teammates have been very impressed with just his football IQ and how he's been able to kind of process all this information and do it in a short period of time. So it was great that we were able to get him some experience on defense and some experience on special teams. ... Having another guy who's played a ton of football, his teammates and coaches have a lot of confidence [in him], and I think you're going to see his role just continue to grow, and we need that. It's going to be a long season, so we're fortunate to have him."

In four years at South Carolina, Smith logged 228 tackles, 12 pass deflections, three forced fumbles and five interceptions.

"He's been great in the locker room," Franklin said. "He hasn't said a whole lot, but he's just worked hard. He's got a smile on his face. He's appreciative of being here, and we're appreciative of him."