Virginia Tech Football: Hokies have two glaring transfer portal needs before the 2024 season

There is one week remaining for players to enter the spring transfer portal. So far, things have been rather quiet on the Virginia Tech front with quarterback Dylan Wittke being the biggest name to enter after head coach Brent Pry said following the Spring Game on April 13 that Pop Watson was ahead of him on the depth chart behind Kyron Drones as QB2 going into the fall.

During the winter transfer portal, Pry and his staff hit it fairly big with additions on both sides of the ball and despite retaining a lot of talent from the 2023 roster for the 2024 season, there is still transfer portal work to be done. Here are two glaring needs for the Hokies to address in the transfer portal ahead of the 2024 campaign.

Backup Quarterback

There is no question as to who the guy is under center for the Hokies entering the fall, it’s Drones. The Baylor transfer a year ago had a tremendous first season in Blacksburg coming on in relief full-time in Week 3 for the injured Grant Wells. He played a big part in Virginia Tech turning their 1-3 start in their four non-conference games into a 5-3 ACC record and 6-6 overall to become bowl eligible. He will be one of the top QBs next season in the conference with his ability to be a duel threat and keep defenses guessing.

Virginia Tech and Pry know they need to get another quarterback in the portal ahead of the fall. This week, UCLA transfer Collin Schlee will take a visit to Blacksburg and he would be a perfect fit in the QB room for offensive coordinator Tyler Bowen. He brings a similar skill set that Drones has, which was on display in the Los Angeles Bowl in December against Boise State. If they fail to land Schlee, they need to find someone for depth with only three scholarship signal callers currently for the fall.

Offensive Lineman

Over the winter, Montavious Cunningham transferred in from Georgia State, and in spring practices, he was working out at tackle and guard. Just where he ends up fitting in remains to be seen, but the returns from the practices and Spring Game were very encouraging.

Pry returns nearly his entire line, but there were times last season when depth became an issue and they struggled. They struggled against three of the better defensive lines in the ACC, Florida State, Louisville, and North Carolina State, and need to add depth. With Drones' ability to move around in the pocket and Bhayshul Tuten expected to have a big season, depth along the line is going to be vital in both the passing and running games in 2024.