CHARLOTTE, N.C. — There’s a different vibe around the Virginia Tech football program this summer.
It’s a hope that what began last October in a homecoming victory over Wake Forest will continue this fall.
Around the ACC Football Kickoff this week in Charlotte, the question among more than a few media members has been: “Is Virginia Tech football back?”
Head coach Brent Pry and three Hokie standouts who accompanied him to Charlotte this week are saying the right thing.
“It’s a good feeling, getting this attention,” quarterback Kyron Drones admitted Tuesday. “But we know we are not yet the team we want to be. We must be better.”
But Drones added, “I feel more confident.”
There are plenty of reasons for confidence around the Virginia Tech program:
- After a 2-4 start in 2023, the Hokies finished 5-2 and smacked Tulane 41-20 in the Military Bowl.
- The Hokies rank fourth in FBS in the category of returning players who produced. And they rank No. 1 nationally in returning offensive producers.
- Most key players return from a pass defense that was among the best in the country a year ago.
‘It was chemistry’
“I think it was chemistry,” defensive end Antwaun Powell-Ryland said of the Virginia Tech surge last fall. “I think we got comfortable with each other.”
Powell-Ryland was a standout on the 2018 Indian River High team that finished 12-1 and reached the third round of the playoffs. He was picked to play in the Under Armour All-American Game and went on to play at Florida for three seasons before transferring to Virginia Tech before the 2023 season.
“We got to know each other a lot better last season,” Powell-Ryland said. “And it’s good to be getting the attention this year. But we’re still working the same way to prepare for the season.”
Asking whether Virginia Tech football “is back” would have seemed unimaginable 15 years ago. Between 1993 and 2011, the Hokies compiled a 193-58 record and were regulars in Orange and Sugar bowls.
The program slipped a bit about a decade ago, but recorded seasons of 10-4 in 2016 and 9-4 in 2017.
Then things sort of went sideways.
After an 8-5 season in 2019, Virginia Tech went 14-21 over the next three seasons.
Pry arrived in 2022, and an inexperienced Hokies team finished 3-8.
All of that changed last fall, and with a lot of returning talent and a solid recruiting year, there is plenty of hope in Hokie Nation.
“We have momentum,” Pry acknowledged Tuesday. “But we’re nowhere near the team we want to be.”
Few portal losses
Somehow, Virginia Tech managed to avoid being gashed by the transfer portal. Only a handful of players left for other locales.
“It’s about bringing in the right people,” Pry said. “We try to bring in people who want to be at Virginia Tech.”
There are question marks, to be sure.
Virginia Tech’s defense ranked 20th overall in FBS, but the rushing defense was 51st. The Hokies tended to give up some long runs last season, and three regulars on the defensive line are gone.
But defensive ends Powell-Ryland and Duke transfer Aeneas Peebles will hope to lead the effort against the run.
Meanwhile, the Hokies figure to make life miserable for opposing quarterbacks. Powell-Ryland had 15 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks last fall, among the best in the ACC in each category. Defensive backs Dorian Strong and Keonta Jenkins were key parts of a 2023 pass defense that was among the nation’s best.
The offense looks solid, with nearly everybody back.
Even the schedule is manageable, as the Hokies won’t face ACC powers Florida State, N.C. State and SMU during the regular season.
“We have guys who spurned going to the NFL or who spurned opportunities to maybe make more money somewhere else,” Pry said. “That speaks volumes about the culture in our locker room right now.”
