Virginia Tech QB Kyron Drones is a longshot in the early 2025 Heisman Odds
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No Virginia Tech Hokie has ever won the honorable Heisman Trophy, even the legendary Mike Vick placed as high as 3rd in the Heisman voting. Bleacher Report ranked Vick as the 40th best college football player to not receive the honor.
Although Virginia Tech quarterback Kyron Drones is far from a favorite for the award, Kyron Drones has the chance to make history as the first Virginia Tech player to win the Heisman Trophy. Kyron Drones is listed at +9500 at FanDuel Sportsbook to win the Heisman Trophy, this gives Drones an implied probability of 1.04% to win the award.
The reason why Virginia Tech was looked at as a dark horse ACC contender threat heading into last year wasn’t just the amount of returners to the roster, it was the fact that they had a quarterback who was perceived to be one of the best in the conference. In his first year after transferring from Baylor, Kyron Drones looked solid. More than solid actually, he put the world on notice with some of his throws and it seemed like the Hokies had a true NFL talent under center.
Whether it was the lack of help around him, a tough schedule, or both, Drones was not as efficient in 2024. In a year where he battled injuries, the quarterback threw three more interceptions on seven less touchdowns and a quarterback rating that was 8.5 points lower.
Is this all his fault? I’m going to confidently say no. He was too inconsistent to be viewed as a great quarterback for his play in 2024, but it’s not fair to not consider outside factors. We’ll get into offensive line report cards at some point, but to say that the blame relies on Drones would be silly. Kyron is sometimes too afraid to make mistakes, but there were plenty of recallable times this season where Kyron did not get much help from the boys up front, and he was forced to make decisions that he regretted. Brent Pry spoke on this to a certain extent early in the season when asked about Kyron Drones, “He is pretty hard on himself, I don’t know that it’s to a fault. He doesn’t want to make a mistake. He doesn’t want to hurt the team.”
Kyron has all of the talent in the world at quarterback. Even with the injuries he was battling this year, he is still a viable dual-threat quarterback, he has pro-level arm talent and accuracy, but the mental game was a separater for him this season. Granted, the team around him needs to get better, and with the additions of Kyle Altuner, Tomas Rimac, Lucas Austin, and others, Kyron has to put it all together in 2025. Like Brent Pry has said on plenty occasions, Drones always wants to get better, and always wants to fix his mistakes, and now that it is announced that he’ll return for the 2025 season, he has to fix some mental errors, and maybe a Heisman could come his way.
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Additional Links:
Former Hokie Star joins Michael Vick’s Coaching Staff at Norfolk State
Virginia Tech Football: Grading the Hokies’ Hire of Sam Siefkes as Defensive Coordinator
RJ Schafer joined the On SI team in 2024, contributing to the coverage of Major League Baseball, Collegiate Basketball, and Collegiate Football at https://www.si.com/college/virginiatech/. Prior to this, RJ built a strong portfolio covering Georgia Tech and the Tigers for the Bleav Network. With a solid background in sports journalism, RJ has conducted interviews with both collegiate and professional athletes, enhancing the depth and authenticity of his reporting. RJ's extensive experience in the sports industry has equipped him with a keen understanding of the dynamics and intricacies of both collegiate and professional sports. His work is focused on providing insightful analysis and comprehensive coverage, making him a trusted voice in the sports community.
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