Virginia Tech Football 2025 Offseason Outlook: Quarterback

From a roster perspective, the Hokies are headed into their strongest year at the quarterback position since 2020 when Hendon Hooker and Braxton Burmeister were the shot callers under center. Hooker would go on to be a third-round draft pick in the NFL, and Burmeister would receive a contract from the Los Angeles Rams as a wide receiver. The Hokies mismanaged that quarterback room, but it's—almost—impossible to mismanage this room. Virginia Tech has a solid seasoned veteran in Kyron Drones and a promising young sophomore in Pop Watson.

Who is Returning?

From a coaching perspective, it could be better for the quarterbacks. Drones is losing his offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, as Tyler Bowen has reportedly accepted a job as Ohio State's offensive line coach. With the impending hire of an offensive coordinator undecided, a new hire could be good for Kyron Drones, fixing the mental errors that plagued the Hokies' offense in 2024, or it could be too much change in one season. It's safe to assume the Hokies will hire an offensive coordinator with experience as a quarterbacks coach, or a coach that has worked well with quarterbacks previously.

Kyron Drones brings an excess of talent and experience to the quarterback room for the Hokies. He has two years as a starter in the ACC, and one year as a rotational shotcaller in Baylor's offense. Drones has a career touchdown-interception ratio of 14-5, with 28 total passing touchdowns. Drones has also scored fourteen touchdowns as a ball-carrier, with one of those touchdowns coming from a touchdown reception against Georgia Tech. He has above-average ball-carrier speed with enough elusiveness to consistently pick up first downs and arm talent to place the ball all over the field.

Pop Watson showed flashes of being the quarterback in the future for Virginia Tech. He filled in for Collin Schlee after Kyron Drones and Schlee both suffered injuries, and by the end of the season, Watson was QB2. Watson drew comparisons to Kyler Murray as he was always the most dynamic athlete on the field. He rushed for one touchdown and passed for one, but his season cannot be defined statistically. To put it simply and softly, Pop Watson kept the Hokies in games that Collin Schlee could not. Watson will surely slide right back in to the QB2 role in 2025, and his athleticism is truly A1. He is the future of the Virginia Tech offense and even if he doesn't start next season, his presence will be felt.

Who is Deparating?

The Hokies lost Jackson Sigler to the transfer portal and Collin Schlee is out of eligibility. Schlee played for the Hokies last season while Kyron Drones was injured.

Who is coming in?

Virginia Tech signed three-star quarterback Kelden Ryan in the 2025 class and he is going to have a chance to sit and learn this season before competing for the starting job in the future. Ryan was ranked as the No. 1086 prospect in the country, the No. 66 quarterback in the country and the No. 160 player in the state of Texas.

Biggest Question Mark?

Can Kyron Drones put it all together in 2025? Drones has the talent to be one of the best dual threat quarterbacks in the country, but has not shown consistency. Some of that is due to injuries, but even before that, Drones was not having the season most expected. With Bhayshul Tuten and a lot of other key pieces on offense gone, Virginia Tech needs him to step up in a big way if they want to have a successful season in 2025.

Additional Links:

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