Could Drew Mestemaker Be A Fit for Virginia Tech At Quarterback?

The redshirt sophomore was named the American Conference's Offensive Player of the Year this past season.

Oct 10, 2025; Denton, Texas; North Texas quarterback Drew Mestemaker (17) warms up prior to a game against South Florida. | Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

Virginia Tech football is on the search for its new starting quarterback. Kyron Drones is out of eligibility following his redshirt senior campaign in 2025; consequently, the Hokies now turn to either their internal pool or a far more likely proposition: the transfer portal. One option that could be an intriguing choice for the Hokies is North Texas transfer Drew Mestemaker.

The redshirt sophomore will have three years of eligibility, meaning that if he suited up for Virginia Tech, he could steer the ship for the 2026, 2027 and 2028 campaigns.

BREAKING: North Texas star QB Drew Mestemaker is expected to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal, @PeteNakos reports.

Mestemaker led the country with 4,129 passing yards this season👀https://t.co/rudZLeQvTS pic.twitter.com/7WwORi5FeD

— On3 (@On3sports) December 16, 2025

Some statistics:

Mestemaker didn't start for his high school, Vandegrift High School, and instead played defensive back. He committed to North Texas as a walk-on and eventually securing the backup job behind Chandler Morris, who's now the starter at Virginia.

Mestemaker served as North Texas' second-string signal-caller for the entirety of the 2024 season, save for one game: the 2024 ServPro Fist Responder Bowl. In a narrow 30-28 loss to Texas State, Mestemaker completed 26 of his 41 passes, throwing for 393 yards, two touchdowns and interceptions while absorbing three sacks.

This past season, Mestemaker shined, accumulating a nation-leading 4,129 passing yards, in addition to 31 passing touchdowns (second-most in FBS) and a quarterback rating of 75 (24th).Mestemaker threw for over 200 yards in every game and over 300 yards in five games. The shining performances were a 366-yard, three-touchdown performance against Temple, preceded by a three-touchdown, 469-yard outing against Rice and a four-touchdown, 608-yard performance in a beatdown of Charlotte.

My thoughts:

Virginia Tech is in need of a pocket passer. Mestemaker is looking for a move to a Power Four school that suits his system. While the Hokies' offensive identity isn't set in stone, that perhaps could be for the best, allowing Tech to shape its offensive game plan around its quarterback of the future.

CBS Sports' Will Backus stated that a Mestemaker-to-Oklahoma State move would make sense, though Mestemaker is likely to garner attention from "quarterback-needy" teams, a marker that Virginia Tech falls under in spades:

"Though it makes sense to think that Mestemaker would follow Eric Morris to Oklahoma State if he enters the transfer portal -- especially after he emerged as one of Morris' latest diamond-in-the-rough success stories at quarterback. But the Mean Green star is expected to garner robust interest from quarterback-needy teams, according to CBS Sports' Matt Zenitz."

Eric Morris has played a part in the collegiate development of several highly touted quarterbacks, including Patrick Mahomes, Cameron Ward, Chandler Morris and John Mateer.

Mestemaker profiles as an ideal, if still somewhat unproven, fit within a more traditional, pocket-oriented Virginia Tech offense. His strengths align with a system that prioritizes timing, anticipation and structure over improvisation, particularly if the Hokies elect to move away from a true dual-threat quarterback model.

That said, the projection is not without risk. Mestemaker has yet to fully demonstrate that he can consistently elevate an offense across an entire season, and much of his evaluation remains rooted in traits rather than sustained production. Still, if Virginia Tech is intent on recalibrating toward a pocket-passing identity, the upside lies in pairing that philosophical shift with a quarterback whose game is built on decisiveness and efficiency rather than mobility. In 2025, Mestemaker tallied 71 net rushing yards on 55 carries.