Virginia Tech Football: Top Position Battles to Watch As The Hokies Begin Fall Camp
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Fall camp is here for Virginia Tech and the season opener against South Carolina is five weeks away. This is going to be a big season for Virginia Tech head coach Brent Pry and his entire program. After receiving lots of hype last offseason, the Hokies fell flat and finished 6-7. They then lost a lot of talent in the transfer portal and to the NFL Draft while also replacing both coordinators. There is a lot of new faces on this team compared to last year's and Brent Pry seems confident that this team is going to be one to breakthrough, but we will have to wait and see.
As fall camp is set to begin this week, here are the position battles to keep an eye on (listed in no particular order).
1. Backup quarterback
Kyron Drones is the Hokies starter, but he dealt with injuries last season and in the spring, making the backup position very important. Last year, true freshman "Pop" Watson was forced into action and played well, but Pry and his staff brought in Oklahoma State transfer Garret Rangel in for some competition. Virginia Tech needs to be able to rely on their backup in case Drones gets injured.
Watson had to play some last season when Drones and Collin Schlee were out, and there were intriguing flashes from him, but he was inconsistent as you would expect from a freshman. HIs best performance came in the rivalry win over Virginia last season.
Watson had the highest PFF grade of any Virginia Tech player in that win with an 87.3 grade. He’s the real deal. Being listed at 5-foot-11, there were always doubts, similar to the doubts that some analysts had about Kyler Murray, but Watson essentially silenced those doubts. He limited the number of times he was sacked in comparison to the Duke game, and he showed athleticism that could be the best Virginia Tech has seen at the quarterback position in some time.
Watson threw for 254 yards and added 48 yards on the ground. He did not turn the ball over once against the Cavaliers and he honestly looked like a seasoned player out there on the field. He did not take very many high risk opportunities at all, scanned the field with patience, and he’s one of the quarterbacks that understands that not every play needs to be 50+ yards.
Watson can generate big plays, too, though. He threw a 66-yard pass to Jaylin Lane, a 42-yard pass to Da’Quan Felton, and a 40-yard pass to Ali Jennings. He oozes confidence and he is exactly the type of quarterback that Virginia Tech will need in the future.
Rangel was a spring transfer addition to the team. Rangel played three seasons in Stillwater, with 2022 being the year he saw the most snaps. That season, Rangel threw for 711 yards with four touchdowns and five interceptions while completing 51% of his passes. According to PFF (Pro Football Focus), Rangel 229 snaps during the 2022 season and finished with a 49.0 overall grade on offense. In 2023, Rangel played 68 snaps and then he played 66 snaps last season. While the numbers won't blow you away, Rangel has experience and could be better in Phillip Montgomery's offense than the one he was in with Oklahoma State. With his addition, it will be worth keeping an eye on the backup quarterback spot now.
2. Wide Receiver
Virginia Tech is losing Da'Quan Felton, Jaylin Lane, Stephen Gosnell and Ali Jennings from last year's team and some other young players went into the transfer portal after the season. The wide receiver group has a lot of questions it has to answer and we are going to start with the guys that are coming back to Blacksburg this season.
Ayden Greene is the leading returning wide receiver and he posted 19 catches for 268 yards and two touchdowns last season. According to PFF (Pro Football Focus), he finished with a 60.7 overall grade in 344 snaps. He is the guy who seems most likely to have a big role amongst the players returning, and if he can take a step up, it would be a welcome development for the Hokies.
akye Heath is a player with potential, but it is hard to know what his impact will be after only catching one pass in 37 snaps last season. Our former writer Connor Mardian wrote this about Heath and why he might be a breakout sophomore star for the Hokies:
"Heath hailed from the famed Highland Springs High School in Richmond, V.A, where he culminated a career that saw him over 900 yards and 10 touchdowns as a senior before committing to Virginia Tech as a three-star recruit. So far as a Hokie, Heath has seen limited playing time with last season resulting in just appearances with one reception and one rush, but the young Heath was awarded with a spring games award, tallying the "Most Improved Player" on offense.
Now, there are the obvious names ahead of Heath in the general VT pecking order. Yesterday we overviewed some of those names in our position battle series. Those are names that include the likes of Cameron Seldon, Ayden Greene and Donavon Greene. All of which will be vying for that no.1 spot. But, with Heath's clearly improved Spring, he should be in a place where he could begin his rise to the top of the chart like [Ayden] Greene is doing now."
Virginia Tech has one true freshman coming into the room and three transfer receivers that they landed from the portal.
True freshman Micah Matthews is going to have a path to playing time due to the uncertainty everywhere else in the group. ESPN ranked Matthews as the fifth-best player from Virginia in the class of 2026. He’s listed at 6-foot-2, 200 pounds, and he recorded some great stats at wide receiver in his junior year. According to 247Sports’ National Recruiting Analyst Greg Biggins, Matthews totaled just under 1,500 receiving yards in his senior year.
The most experienced receiver on the roster now is Wake Forest transfer Donavon Greene.
Greene is a 6'2 210 LBS receiver who adds size and experience on the outside. In his career, Greene has hauled in 102 catches for 1,853 yards and 13 touchdowns. His most productive season as a Demon Deacon came in 2023 when he caught 37 passes for 642 yards and six touchdowns. According to Pro Football Focus, Greene finished with a 61.3 grade in 293 snaps this season, a 70.6 grade in 576 snaps in 2022, a 72.5 grade in 507 snaps in 2020 and a 74.0 grade in 214 snaps in 2019. He clearly has experience and should compete for playing time instantly with the Hokies offense.
Isiah Spencer transferred to Virginia Tech after Spencer spent the first two years of his time at Jackson State where the Tigers went 19-6 through Spencer's two years.
Combined, Spencer tallied 861 yards and five touchdowns, although last season is where Spencer shined. Last season, en route to a Tigers' Cricket Celebration Bowl victory, Spencer marked four touchdowns and 660 yards, all while raking in nearly 20 yards per reception (18.9).
Tennessee transfer Cam Seldon promises to be a Swiss Army knife type of player for the Hokies, able to play both running back and quarterback.
Seldon was ranked as the No. 9 running back in the transfer portal, according to 247Sports. Seldon totaled 48 carries for 224 yards and a touchdown, plus one reception in his two-year career. Seldon also fielded 6 kick returns as a Volunteer, totaling 113 yards with an average of 18.8 yards per return and a long of 35 yards.
Seldon's role could change heavily from Tennessee to Virginia Tech.
Someone needs to emerge as Drones go-to target this season. As much as they might like to, Virginia Tech can't run the ball every play of the game.
3. Offensive Line
Virginia Tech's offensive line is going to look a little different this season.
West Virginia transfer Tomas Rimac seems like a sure thing to start and is one of the best offensive line pickups in the portal for any team this offseason. WVU transfer Kyle Altuner is another player who seems like a good bet to start, but Virginia Tech brought in other players up front in the transfer portal and it is not clear who will be in and who will be out.
WVU transfers Gavin Crawford and Lucas Austin are two players to keep an eye on, as is Auburn transfer Jaden Muskrat. Muskrat was the latest addition for VT this spring and will look to crack the starting lineup
4, Defensive Tackle
Virginia Tech is losing one of the most productive DT's in the country with Aeneas Peebles now in the NFL. So who will replace him? Kelvin Gilliam seems like a good bet to see snaps, but what about the others?
Kemari Copeland is going to be an intriguing player to watch this fall while NDSU transfer Kody Huisman, Georgia Southern transfer Elhadj Fall, Mercer transfer Arias Nash, and Hampton transfer Jahzari Priester are all going to be competing for snaps at this position during camp. Copeland, Huisman, and Fall are the ones that I am projecting to make the biggest impact, but it is going to be a battle to watch for the next few weeks leading into the game against South Carolina.
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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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