Hughes: Virginia Tech Football Needs to Get Its Quarterback Choice Right

The Hokies will have a new starter in 2026.

Nov 22, 2025; Blacksburg, Va.; Virginia Tech quarterback Kyron Drones (1) looks to pass against Miami. | Brian Bishop-Imagn Images

Virginia Tech football will possess a new look in 2026 at its quarterback slot. Kyron Drones is gone, having exhausted his final year of eligibility after a disappointing 20225 campaign. Consequently, the search is on for the Hokies to fid their new start.

That era under Drones came to a screeching halt amid a turbulent 3-9 2025 campaign; in the Hokies' finale against Virginia, Drones put up a 4-for-16, 78-yard performance largely embellished by a 57-yard touchdown to wideout Shamarius "Snook" Peterkin when the Hokies trailed,27-0. Removing that, Drones went 3-for-15 for 21 yards, two sacks and as many picks. On third down, the now-former Hokie went 0-for-8.

FINAL. pic.twitter.com/amYLy2ZvDH

— Virginia Tech Football (@HokiesFB) November 30, 2025

But now it's time for change. Drones is no longer eligible, having ran out of eligibility. So now, for the Hokies, their question turns to who takes the starting job.

It's a move that appears unlikely to come from within. William "pop" Watson III has flashes potential at times, but has shown a propensity to take sacks and fumbles at inopportune times. Add to that Garret Rangel's entry itno the trasfer portal, as well as the fact that AJ Brand and Kelden Ryan didn't log a snap in 2025, and you've got a very inexperienced room that willlikely see more turnover with Watson likely bacing up whoever enters.

Thus, the transfer portal looms as both opportunity and risk — the modern weapon capable of reshaping a college football program in a matter of days, weeks or months. For Virginia Tech, it is not merely a supplemental tool. It is the clearest path toward stability at the most important position on the field.

The Hokies are effectively bound to the portal in their search for a starting quarterback, one capable of anchoring the offense and, more importantly, raising its overall ceiling. Getting this decision right is not optional. A miss would ripple far beyond the depth chart, threatening continuity, confidence and momentum at a program attempting to climb back into relevance within the ACC.

Who “the guy” will be remains unknown at the time of writing. The same uncertainty applies to the offensive identity Virginia Tech will ultimately present under Ty Howle, a first-time Power Four play-caller, assuming he did not previously hold full play-calling responsibilities. That lack of clarity only heightens the pressure of the quarterback evaluation process.

The next few weeks, then, represent a defining stretch. Every portal entry carries intrigue, but also consequence. Virginia Tech cannot afford a short-term gamble that fails to translate on Saturdays. The Hokies need more than a stopgap; they need a stabilizer, someone capable of commanding the offense and allowing the rest of the roster to operate with certainty.

In that sense, the portal is less a mystery box and more a proving ground. Whether Virginia Tech emerges with the right quarterback will say as much about its direction as any play call or depth chart decision to follow.

They're more free to do so fiscally, aided by the Board of Visitors' $229 million pledge. For what it's worth, I don't necessarily know what is or isn't the right call for Virginia Tech to go with. A lot of it depends on the archetype that fits what Franklin's looking for. Perhaps a pure pocket passer works more than the dual-threat archetype that's been all the rage for Hokies football recently. Perhaps it's the other way around and Tech finds a diamond in the rough. All I know? Virginia Tech can't mess up its quarterback situation again. It's done it a couple times in the 2020s already.