Virginia Tech Football Announces Its Team Captains For The Upcoming Season
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Virginia Tech has officially announced its captains for the 2025 football season.
Quarterback Kyron Drones, tight end Benji Gosnell, kicker John Love, linebacker Caleb Woodson, and defensive tackle Kelvin Gilliam will all be captains for the season.
YOUR 2025 TEAM CAPTAINS 🤩
— Virginia Tech Football (@HokiesFB) August 19, 2025
CALEB WOODSON
BENJI GOSNELL
KELVIN GILLIAM
JOHN LOVE
KYRON DRONES #ThisIsHome | #TeamOverMe pic.twitter.com/At5P8MxoNB
What will their impact be?
All five of these players are going to be impact players for the Hokies in 2025. Love is one of the best kickers in the country, Drones is hoping to stay healthy and play up to his talent, Gilliam will be the leader of the D-Line, Woodson is the veteran of the linebacker unit, and Gosnell is the leading returning receiver for Virginia Tech.
How good the Hokies are though could depend on the kind of season that Drones has.
Even when he was healthy, Drones did not take the step forward that many around the country were expecting. He finished with 1,562 yards passing with 10 touchdowns and six interceptions, as well as 336 yards rushing and six touchdowns. It was not a terrible season for Drones, but was not the Heisman type of season that some were thinking he could have and he took a step back rushing. Drones did finish as the second-highest graded player on the Hokies offense per PFF (Pro Football Focus), finishing with a 79.6 grade in 533 snaps. He finished with a 73.2 passing grade and a 73.4 rushing grade.
In the nine games that he did play, Drones only had two games over 200 yards passing (vs Vanderbilt and Stanford) and there were some games where he really struggled with his accuracy. In the loss to Rutgers, Drones was 13-27 for 137 yards and in the loss to Clemson, he was 9-20 for 115 yards. Injuries played a big part in Drones season, but he was not very consistent even when he played.
This Virginia Tech offense is going to look a lot different around Drones in 2025. It is a new look backfield, wide receiver group, and offensive line this season and Drones is going to be working with a new offensive coordinator. Head coach Brent Pry brought in former Baylor and Auburn offensive coordinator Phillip Montgomery to call the plays and lead the offense.
Good start to camp
After the Hokies' first practice, head coach Brent Pry had a lot of good things to say about his starting quarterback:
"I thought Kyron looked really rhythmic and consistent today. He operated the offense fast and efficiently. I wasn't sure he'd come out on day one and do that. With the defense lined up and things full-tilted, but he did. He looked really sharp today. He's brought for the early part of camp."
Pry also mentioned how comfortable Drones looked out on the field today:
"Yeah, it's, you know, we've tried to slow him down to be cautious and minimize reps and he hasn't been interested in that, to be honest. We had some reps, you know, that weren't his reps today, that he wouldn't come out. We were subbing somebody in for him and he wanted to stay out there with the ones, which I'm not surprised, but he's worked tremendously hard to get back. You know, it's been a, it's been a, it's been a ride for him and he's got a ton of determination. He trusts the docs. And to this point, it's gone very well."
Is Drones ticked off about how last season went? Pry mentioned that the Hokies QB is playing with a chip on his shoulder at the start of Fall Camp:
"He absolutely is disappointed in how he played at times. He's absolutely disappointed that the injury bug got him and he couldn't finish the year, you know the right way."
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Jackson Caudell has been covering Georgia Tech Athletics For On SI since March 2022 and the Atlanta Hawks for On SI since October 2023. Jackson is also the co-host of the Bleav in Georgia Tech podcast and he loves to bring thoughtful analysis and comprehensive coverage to everything that he does. Find him on X @jacksoncaudell
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