National Analyst Names Virginia Tech's Most Exciting Player For The 2024 Season
The 2024 college football season is getting closer and Virginia Tech's season opener vs Vanderbilt is nearly a month away. The Hokies are getting ready for what should be an exciting 2024 campaign and they are seen as a team that could contend for a spot in the ACC Championship. One of the reasons for that is the play of quarterback Kyron Drones, who had a great second half of the season and is going to be one of the conference's best quarterbacks in 2024. When naming each top 25 team's most exciting player for the upcoming season, 247Sports analyst Carter Bahns listed Drones for Virginia Tech:
"College football fans ought to familiarize themselves with this name as Drones is one of the top breakout candidates for the 2024 season. The dual-threat weapon rushed for 818 yards last season and posted a 17-3 touchdown-interception ratio."
Our own RJ Schafer previewed the quarterback position for the Hokies and thinks Drones is ready for a huge season:
"Drones lead the Hokies with his arm, as well as his legs. He finished the season with 2,085 yards passing, and 818 rushing yards. Drones was one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in the ACC, and with a full season of production, he could touch on 4,000 yards in total.
According to Brad Crawford of 247Sports, Drones will be the fifth-best quarterback heading into the 2024 season. Crawford only listed Haynes King (Georgia Tech), Grayson McCall (NC State), DJ Uiagalelei (Florida State), and Cam Ward (Miami) higher than Drones.
Kyron Drones obviously isn’t perfect. There are two main points for progression for the QB1 heading into next season: ball-carrier vision and panic control. Drones was very solid in the run game last year, breaking off some big runs, but he also has issues. Drones will struggle to find open lanes at time, finding himself running into a tackle, or a crowd of offensive linemen. Drones has room to improve in the passing game too. Drones was extremely efficient when everything worked, his first Reed was open, you bet he’s making the pass. When nobody’s open? Different story. Drones sometimes panics in the pocket, which puts him in positions as a quarterback he should never be in. If Drones can work on his pocket presence in the offseason, he can contend with the top quarterbacks in the ACC.
Despite the standouts of the Virginia Tech offense, it’s no question that if Kyron Drones improves, the whole team will improve. With all of the players returning, this will likely be one of the best offenses in the ACC, led by a quarterback who can run the ball and pass, I’d be scared if I were an opposing ACC coach."
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