One year ago, the vibes were different around the Virginia Tech football team. The 2024 NFL Draft in Detroit was wrapped up and there were no former Hokies taken with any of the picks. Yes, some of them picked up undrafted free agent contracts, but a big reason why there were not Tech players taken was because of all the retention Brent Pry got.
All of that retention, along with some key transfer portal additions, hopes were high surrounding the Hokies entering the 2024 season. And really, for good reason. It appeared that Virginia Tech was going to take the next step in Brent Pry's third season in Blacksburg. Heck, there were even some national college football writers who were mentioning the Hokies and the new 12-team College Football Playoff in the same breath.
All the hype and high expectations were squashed quickly in Week 1 when the Hokies went down in overtime at Vanderbilt. From there, things never really took off. Add in a frustrating loss in Miami on Sept. 27, where what appeared to be a game-winning touchdown was overturned with what didn't appear to be indisputable video evidence, it was a frustrating four months. Enough about that.
When the dust settled on the regular season, it was another 6-6 campaign that once again came down to the final weekend, and a win was needed over Virginia on Thanksgiving Weekend just to become. bowl-eligible. After players opted out of the Duke's Mayo Bowl against Minnesota because of the NFL Draft and the transfer portal, Tech lost to finished 6-7. Despite that loss, a lot of people felt like it was a huge swing and a miss opportunity for Pry, and that was exposed again with this weekend's NFL Draft in Green Bay.
The 2025 NFL Draft exposes what a swing and a miss Virginia Tech's 2024 season was
The 2024 season was a frustrating one for Virginia Tech fans, to say the least. This weekend at the NFL Draft, Virginia Tech had five former players selected (Bhayshul Tuten, Jaylin Lane, Aeneas Peebles, Antwaun Powell-Ryland, and Dorian Strong), all on Day 3 on Saturday. In fact, the five players picked had Virginia Tech join an elite group of schools who at least five players selected this past weekend.
Were the expectations of the CFP somewhat unrealistic last season? Yes, but an eight ot nine season and maybe even sneaking in a 10th win was not out of the question. The talent was there on both sides of the ball. Not only the talent that is moving onto the NFL, but also the players who entered the transfer portal.
Pry had a roster that was built to win and win now. It was a very doable non-conference schedule and a favorable ACC schedule, but no matter what happened from week-to-week, it felt like the program was going more backwards than forward. Brent Pry seems like a great person and he has done some good things, but he had a massive oportunity to put his stamp on the Virginia Tech program that he takes so mucn pride in and swung and missed. Big time.
That was exposed more with the NFL Draft this weekend, with five players who have a very good chance to make an impact with their teams as soon as next fall. Then there is the handful of other players who are going to get undrafted contracts.
When all is said and done and with even more pressure on Pry and his staff, which there are some new coaches at key spots after he fired three assistants last December, we are going to look back at the 2024 season and realize what a catastrophic miss it was in terms of the program being back on a national stage. The talent was there, but it was held back, and this feels like a miss that is going to haunt the program for years to come.