Going into the 2024 season, expectations were high for the Virginia Tech football team, but it ended up being another 6-6 regular season with a win needed over Virginia Thanksgiving Weekend just to become bowl-eligible. Since that Saturday night in late November in Lane Stadium, there have been some massive changes.
The transfer portal saw nearly 30 players hit it for a new home for the 2025 season, while head coach Brent Pry added some pieces through the portal himself. Pry fired three coaches, and a fourth, offensive coordinator Tyler Bowen, left for the offensive line coaching position at Ohio State. Two new coordinators and a new offensive line coach highlight the changes, leaving the Hokies with more questions than answers.
You get the feeling that 2025 is a big one for Pry after last season and his 16-22 through his first three seasons at Virginia Tech. Maybe, just maybe, the Hokies will surprise this fall, and if they do, one college football analyst reveals how they can.
Greg McElroy explains how Virginia Tech can get over the hump in 2025
Greg McElroy on his Allways College Football with Greg McElroy podcast said there are two ways the Hokies can be a player in the ACC this season. One, Kyron Drones returns to the Kyron Drones from 2023, and that is something that Hokies fans hope does happen. The second? Well, that's easier said than done.
The second is that Virginia Tech finds a way to win one-score games, something they are 1-11 under Pry, according to McElroy. He compared it to the Scott Frost days at Nebraska, where the Cornhuskers were 5-22 in one-score games under the former quarterback. We know how that tenure ended.
"I am super optimistic about Virginia Tech and will always be optimistic about Virginia Tech,'' McElroy said. "But quarterback play and winning close games gets them over the hump.''
Look, Pry's struggles in one-score games are what it is and have been talked about enough, but hopefully with a new offensive coordinator, Philip Montgomery on staff and a former head coach, he can help with that and also help with getting Drones back to his 2023 form as long as he's healthy. If that happens, then this could be an under-the-radar team in the ACC.