Virginia Tech Football: Analyst Labels the Hokies As A Team With "A Lot To Prove" In 2025

Just a few months ago, before the 2024 season ever officially kicked off, Virginia Tech seemed like a program that was trending up. They finished the 2023 season strong and were returning a ton of starters from that team and seemingly had a favorable schedule in front of them. They were talked about as the dark horse to win the ACC and make the college football playoff, but it wasn't long before that was proven to be false.

The Hokies started the season with an upset loss to Vanderbilt, lost to Rutgers a few weeks later, and had the controversial loss to Miami to drop them to 2-3. After rallying to win three straight to get to 5-3 and still have a shot at the ACC Championship, the Hokies collapsed, losing four of their last five, including the bowl game to Minnesota last Friday. Not only was this season very disappointing, but the Hokies are losing most of their contributors from this team to the transfer portal or the draft. RB Bhayshul Tuten, OL Xavier Chaplin, Braelin Moore, and several members of the secondary. They are working to fill those holes in the portal and quarterback Kyron Drones is coming back, but there is not as much optimism heading into this offseason as there was for last season

Does that mean there is pressure on Virginia Tech to prove they can contend under Brent Pry in 2025? 247 Sports analyst Carter Bahns listed them as one of the ten teams with the most to prove in 2025:

"The expectation was that Virginia Tech would pop in 2024 as a dark-horse ACC championship contender. Instead, the Hokies closed the year with a losing record. All of the momentum Brent Pry built prior to the campaign dissipated as Kyron Drones failed to flourish into the star quarterback many expected him to become. The window to climb into the conference's upper echelon may have passed the Hokies by with star running back Bhayshul Tuten and monstrous pass rusher Antwaun Powell-Ryland off to the NFL. It is up to the returning pieces to prove that theory wrong."

The Hokies had to go into the transfer portal to try and patchwork a lot of holes on the roster and it is up in the air whether they have done enough. They have replaced Tuten with three proven running backs, but he was the best player on the offense last season, and replacing him might not be so easy. They are replacing multiple starters on both lines of scrimmage and nearly a completely new secondary. Could all of these changes work? Possibly, but there is a lot of talent departing this team and we won't know until the new season kicks off whether or not the new transfer additions are enough to improve the team's win-loss record.

ESPN's Adam Rittenberg listed Pry as a coach on the hot seat going into 2025 and listed him in the "Don't backslide" category alongside Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman, Florida's Billy Napier, and Cal's Justin Wilcox:

"The hot-seat talk bubbled up around Pry in November, and if the Commonwealth Cup had gone differently, Virginia Tech could have had a decision to make after a disappointing fall. Pry's second consecutive 6-6 regular season got him to a bowl game, but he will enter Year 4 with a new defensive coordinator and a staff that will include former longtime Hokies DC Bud Foster as an advisor/analyst.

Pry is halfway through his contract and Virginia Tech isn't in the best position to eat a seven-figure buyout. Virginia Tech should be more competitive in a very winnable ACC, especially with quarterback Kyron Drones back. The Hokies have eclipsed seven wins just once since 2017."

Will Pry need to improve upon his record in 2025 to be ensured of another season in Blacksburg? Virginia Tech opens the season against South Carolina in Atlanta and the Gamecocks are likely going to start the season with a lofty ranking. They also face Miami, Georgia Tech, Florida State, and Louisville next season, but it is not a murderer row of a schedule. Needless to say, the Hokies need to see some progress next season.

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