College Football Rankings: Virginia Tech Starts Season at No. 24 in 247Sports Top 25
Virginia Tech Football is bringing back the most production in the country, has one of the most talented quarterbacks in the ACC, one of the best defenses, and has a favorable schedule in 2024. All of that should equal a big season from Brent Pry and his program. While the AP Top 25 has yet to be released, Virginia Tech came in at No. 24 in the newly released top 25 from 247Sports.
I think this is a fair ranking for Virginia Tech at the start of the season. They will not be talked about much during the first couple of weeks of the season, but they have big games against Rutgers and Miami, which could set the tone for the rest of the season. Florida State (13), Clemson (14), Miami (16), and NC State (22) were the ACC teams ranked above them, which is right in line with how the media voted them to finish in the ACC (6th). This could be the best Virginia Tech team since 2016, the last time that the Hokies made the ACC Championship game.
How dangerous could quarterback Kyron Drones be this season? 247Sports analyst Brad Crawford has Drones as one of the top college football players that could ruin the College Football Playoff Projections:
"Kyron Drones and the Hokies play Miami and Clemson — two teams that finished just behind Florida State in the preseason ACC title media voting — this season. And that's not going to be an easy game for the Hurricanes or Tigers. Virginia Tech brings back more starters (21) than any team nationally and Drones is going to press the issue offensively as a junior second-year starter. He rushed for 412 yards over Virginia Tech's final three games in 2023 and was responsible for 10 total touchdowns (nine passing) over that stretch. He's one of the most underrated players nationally heading into the season."
I agree that Drones is one of the most underrated players in the country. His passing still has to come along, but he might be the top rushing threat at the quarterback position. When you look at Virginia Tech's schedule, it is not a stretch to say that their season could come down to two games, if they take care of business in the other games. They are likely to only be underdogs against Miami on the road and against Clemson in Blacksburg. Split those two games (or win both) and take care of every other game, Virginia Tech could emerge as a possible playoff contender in the ACC.
Last year, LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels took a huge leap in his second season with the Tigers and ended up winning the Heisman Trophy and being picked No. 2 overall by the Washington Commanders. Is there a quarterback in his second year after transferring who could make a similar leap? Maybe not, but One3 Spots Andy Staples thinks Drones is in for a huge second season with the Hokies:
"Virginia Tech’s Drones, who came from Baylor before last season, is an excellent choice for this category. It seemed as if it took about half of last season before Hokies offensive coordinator Tyler Bowen and Drones got comfortable with one another. But once they did, Drones got much more efficient. Virginia Tech’s final two regular-season games — a 35-28 loss to N.C. State and a 55-17 win against Virginia — felt like a turning of the page.
But Drones isn’t the only QB trying to join a growing club of transfers who thrived in their second seasons with their new team. Though Baker Mayfield’s 2016 season, the year before he won the Heisman Trophy, probably was the first of this phenomenon, Joe Burrow’s 2019 Heisman season is the ultimate example of this jump. But the group keeps expanding as more teams take transfer quarterbacks with eligibility remaining. Last season, the top three Heisman Trophy votegetters (LSU’s Jayden Daniels, Washington’s Michael Penix Jr., Oregon’s Bo Nix) were transfers in their second season with their new teams. Dillon Gabriel produced jumps in completion percentage (62.7 to 69.3), yards per attempt (8.6 to 9.5) and touchdown passes (25 to 30) in the same number of games in his second season at Oklahoma. (He’ll take over for Nix at Oregon this season.)"
Drones played well last season, especially in the second part of the year and he has the Hokies primed to be contenders in the ACC this season. Could he end up being the best player in the conference this season? 247Sports analyst Carl Reed Jr had this to say on that topic:
"I think a kid that not enough people are talking about is Virginia Tec quarterback Kyron Drones. Kyron Drones is a guy that first got put on my radar by a couple of NFL scouts who really like his game. This kid is a bigger, thicker kid, he has a similar body type that Jalen Hurts had at Alabama. Virginia Tech last year, 17 touchdowns, 3 INT's, 818 rushing yards for five more touchdowns. He is an incredible dual-threat quarterback. Virginia Tech has five or six guys that are trending towards the NFL draft. I think that not only Kyron Drones has a chance to really push Cam Ward, he is also a part of the quarterback training group that is always with him, Cam Ward, Shedeur Sanders, he does not get talked about enough, he is a pro and not only can Kyron Drones push Cam Ward to be ACC Player of the Year, Virginia Tech is going to be my sleeper team in the ACC because of the amount of NFL talent that I continue to hear scouts talk about. They have great quarterback play in Kyron Drones, they have a couple of defensive linemen and secondary guys."
JACKSON CAUDELL
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