CBS Sports Reveals the Biggest Burning Question for Virginia Tech Ahead of ACC Media Days
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ACC Media Days are just a day away, and with that, Fall Camp is going to be quickly approaching, and the season is right around the corner. For the Virginia Tech Hokies, there is some uncertainty as to what this season is going to entail. After being one of the most talked-about teams in the ACC a season ago, there is not a lot of buzz around this program heading into 2025. They lost a ton of talent to the transfer portal and to the NFL Draft, and have two new coordinators in place. They have a massive transfer class incoming and not a murderer's row of a schedule, though, so could a surprise season be in store for the Hokies in Brent Pry's fourth season?
What is the biggest burning question for Virginia Tech heading into this week's media days? CBS Sports analyst Chip Patterson gave his thought's on that in a recent article:
How does Kyron Drones think Virginia Tech's offense will improve under Philip Montgomery?
"There have been far too many close losses for Virginia Tech recently, and one way that Brent Pry has addressed his 1-12 record in games decided by seven points or fewer is to bring in some fresh eyes to retool the offense. Philip Montgomery had high-level success as Baylor's offensive coordinator under Art Briles, and while he and quarterback Kyron Drones never overlapped in Waco, the two former Bears will be the face of an offensive bounce-back effort. Sometimes winning close games means getting more timely stops, but it can also be making sure you aren't in as many one-score games with better offense to create larger leads. If Montgomery can unlock another level in Drones' game, the Hokies might be defending more double-digit leads rather than hoping for regression from the coin-flip results."
Heading into last season, there was a lot of talk about Virginia Tech quarterback Kyron Drones building off of his strong finish to the 2023 season and potentially being a darkhorse choice for the Heisman Trophy.
One of the voices of college football, Josh Pate, had this to say on am episode of his show heading into the season:
"Virginia Tech has an opportunity to be a playoff contender late in the year, they have a chance to be an ACC title contender late in the year, they have a chance to have a dynamite run game. Now, I don't think Drones is going to have the passing numbers that some of these guys do, he is going to have to supplement it with his work with his legs, not that he is going to have triple option passing numbers, but last year, 17-3 touchdown to interception ratio, he ran for five, he needs to double that rushing touchdown number, his completion percentage needs to bump up from 58% and into the 60's and it absolutely could, it absolutely could. They are going to have a really complementary style to help him and it is going to take voters watching him. Don't be checkin box scores, which a lot of Heisman voters unfortunately do, but if that ground game is churning and as a voter, if we really care about playing in a manner that best equips your team to win football games and we understand that yards gained on the ground count just as much as yards gained through the air, if we understand that, then Kyron Drones should be in this thing as well."
It might not be fair to put an entire season on one player, but it is hard to see a path to a successful season without Drones staying healthy and reaching his full potential under new offensive coordinator Phillip Montgomery.
Even when he was healthy, Drones did not take the step forward that many around the country were expecting. He finished with 1,562 yards passing with 10 touchdowns and six interceptions, as well as 336 yards rushing and six touchdowns. It was not a terrible season for Drones, but was not the Heisman type of season that some were thinking he could have and he took a step back rushing. Drones did finish as the second-highest graded player on the Hokies offense per PFF (Pro Football Focus), finishing with a 79.6 grade in 533 snaps. He finished with a 73.2 passing grade and a 73.4 rushing grade.
In the nine games that he did play, Drones only had two games over 200 yards passing (vs Vanderbilt and Stanford), and there were some games where he really struggled with his accuracy. In the loss to Rutgers, Drones was 13-27 for 137 yards, and in the loss to Clemson, he was 9-20 for 115 yards. Injuries played a big part in Drones' season, but he was not very consistent even when he played.
This Virginia Tech offense is going to look a lot different around Drones in 2025. It is a new look backfield, wide receiver group, and offensive line this season and Drones is going to be working with a new offensive coordinator. Head coach Brent Pry brought in former Baylor and Auburn offensive coordinator Phillip Montgomery to call the plays and lead the offense. Montgomery spoke highly of Drones' ability this spring to be a building block for the offense this season:
"Yeah, I think he's done an outstanding job. As we've sat through meetings and been able to start talking ball and installing, I think he's picking it up well as long as well as you know a lot of the other guys offensively you know this thing won't be all about about him you know it's about us as a unit and what we can accomplish as a unit and it's 11 guys paying attention to details and executing on the field so obviously a lot of it starts and stops with him but I could say the same thing about the offensive line it all starts and stops with them as well."
With so many new faces on the offense and a new coordinator, what should be the reasonable expectation for Drones this season? Will we see the talented player who looked like one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in the country in 2023? Or will the inconsistencies slow him down, as well as all of the new faces? Virginia Tech has a huge test to start the season against South Carolina, which had one of the best defenses in the country last season. If Drones is healthy and playing like his 2023 self, this could be a closer game than many expect.
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Jackson Caudell has been covering Georgia Tech Athletics For On SI since March 2022 and the Atlanta Hawks for On SI since October 2023. Jackson is also the co-host of the Bleav in Georgia Tech podcast and he loves to bring thoughtful analysis and comprehensive coverage to everything that he does. Find him on X @jacksoncaudell
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