The Five Best Quarterbacks Virginia Tech Football Will Play This Season

The Hokies open their season on Sept. 5 against VMI.

Nov 29, 2025; Charlottesville, Va.; Virginia Tech quarterback Kyron Drones (1) is tackled while running the ball on a fourth down. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Virginia Tech football's schedule isn't loaded with household names at quarterback in 2026, but there are several proven signal-callers capable of giving the Hokies trouble. Three enter the season among the ACC's best, while I think a pair of talented transfers round out a solid top five.

Here's a look at the five best quarterbacks in my eyes that Brent Pry's defense will have to slow down this fall, plus an honorable mention:

Honorable Mention: Alberto Mendoza, Georgia Tech

Mendoza arrives at Georgia Tech after transferring from Indiana, where he served as the backup under brother Fernando Mendoza, compiling 286 yards and five touchdowns in garbage duty. He also rolled up 190 rushing yards (14.6 yards per carry) and a rushing touchdown on 13 carries.

Replacing Haynes King isn't an easy task, but Mendoza should fit well into Georgia Tech's well-oiled offensive attack. If Virginia Tech loses contain or allows him to get comfortable early, Mendoza has enough experience to make the Hokies pay. I had Clemson's Christopher Vizzina ahead of Mendoza in my ranking of the nine ACC quarterbacks Virginia Tech would face in 2026 — it was released May 22 — but after deliberation, I opted to lift Mendoza up one spot to a de-facto No. 6. His dual-threat ability is ultimately what tipped the scale, giving him enough upside to move ahead.

No. 5: Mason Heintschel, Pittsburgh

Heintschel emerged as one of the ACC's pleasant surprises during his freshman season, taking over the Panthers' offense and showing poise well beyond his years. He flashed impressive accuracy and composure, throwing for 2,354 yards and 16 touchdowns in 2025.

With another offseason under head coach pat Narduzzi, Heintschel has a chance to make one of the biggest jumps of any quarterback in the conference.

No. 4: Beau Pribula, UVA

Pribula threw for 1,941 yards, 11 touchdowns, and nine interceptions at Mizzou last season, completing 67.4% of his passes, while adding 297 rushing yards and six touchdowns on the ground. Pribula appears dangerous enough with his legs to punish hesitation, and inconsistent enough to keep defenses in the game.

Brent Pry’s defense won’t be intimidated by Pribula’s stat line, but they will respect what he can do if containment breaks down. He’s not a quarterback who needs perfect structure to create yards, and the ability to turn a broken play into a momentum-shifting play is what makes him tricky.

No. 3: Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, California

Few quarterbacks in the country had a better freshman season than Sagapolutele. The former five-star recruit threw for 3,454 yards, completed 64.2 percent of his passes and accounted for 18 touchdown throws while immediately becoming the centerpiece of Cal's offense. If he takes the expected sophomore leap, he'll be one of the ACC's premier quarterbacks and better his case for an NFL Draft bid in the future.

No. 2: Kevin Jennings, SMU

Jennings has already established himself as one of the conference's elite quarterbacks. After helping lead SMU into national prominence, he followed it up with another stellar campaign in 2025, throwing for 3,641 yards, 26 touchdowns and completing 66.4 percent of his passes. The Mustangs went 9-4 (6-2 ACC), however, dropping their regular-season finale to Cal to fall out of the ACC title game.

No. 1: Darian Mensah, Miami

Mensah was arguably the ACC's best quarterback in 2025, leading the conference with 3,973 passing yards for Duke while throwing 34 touchdowns against only six interceptions. After transferring to Miami, he immediately gives the Hurricanes one of the nation's most dangerous offenses.

He processes quickly, throws with anticipation, limits mistakes and consistently attacks defenses at every level of the field. Miami surrounded him with plenty of talent, including fellow Duke product Cooper Barkate at wide receiver, making an already dangerous quarterback even more difficult to defend.

For a Virginia Tech defense hoping to compete near the top of the ACC, slowing down Mensah will likely be its toughest assignment of the regular season.