By now everyone knows that this is a big fall in Blacksburg on the gridiron for a number of reasons. The biggets being Brent Pry's future at the helm of Virginia Tech after a 2024 season that was filled with so much expectations and potential falmmed out into a 6-6 campaign.
Between the NFL Draft and the Transfer Portal, the roster is going to look a lot different and with three new assistant coaches at spots, offensive and defensive coordinator, and offensive line coach, you can see why there are more questions than answers facing the Hokies. There are several people who think that Virginia Tech could surprise, being what they have been the last two years, a .500 team, or a team that doesn't even reach bowl eligibility.
Phil Steele has a ranking for the Virginia Tech football team that should surprise a lot of fans
Phil Steele ranked all 136 FBS schools for the upcoming season, and he had Virginia Tech coming in at No. 41, which is surprising considering all the turnover the Hokies had and the questions facing them as fall camp is less than a month away from beginning.
Phil Steele's Preseason Poll of all 136 FBS Schools pic.twitter.com/L1i751SiPr
— The Big Ten Huddle 🎙️ (@TheBigTenHuddle) July 9, 2025
New offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery does have quarterbacks Kyron Drones and Pop Watson coming back with a lot of young players who are itching to get into the lineup and play. Matt Moore, hired from West Virginia to remake the offensive line, has a lot of work to do replacing the whole line for Drones and the running backs.
On the defensive side, Sam Siefkes is tasked with turning around a unit that struggled to close out games and replacing a lot of NFL talent. And of course, Pry improving his one-score record and coming out on the winning end would go a long way toward having a better season.
Teams like Virginia Tech, who enter a season with more questions than answers, tend to surprise, and if things go right, the Hokies could be one of those teams. ESPN's FPI likes Virginia Tech this season and believe it or not, we're getting on board on Tech surprising this year too. We'll see.