It has been a short week for the Virginia Tech football team ahead of their home opener against Vanderbilt on Saturday night at Lane Stadium. Coming off a 24-11 loss to 10th-ranked South Carolina on Sunday afternoon in Atlanta, it's a quick turnaround ahead of hosting the well-rested Commodores.
Vanderbilt scored early and often in a rout of Charleston Southern at home in their opener, and they were able to get their starters out early. Several players need a bounce-back game for Virginia Tech this weekend, but no one needs a bigger one than quarterback Kyron Drones.
Virginia Tech QB Kyron Drones in dire need of a bounce-back effort against Vanderbilt
Drones didn't play extremely bad, but it could have been better. He was 15-for-35 through the air with some of his wide receivers making some big catches, including Donavon Greene and Ayden Greene. There were also throws that were dropped or not put in a place to give receivers the best chance to make a catch.
First-year offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery called a good game, and some of the calls were perfect timing calls; some plays were just not executed. The Gamecocks left the door open all afternoon long until the fourth quarter, and Virginia Tech was not able to take advantage.
This was the first game, and things take time to work themselves out, but for Drones, it was his first game action since last November and his first game action fully healthy since last October. As good as he looked in camp, it's not the same as a game and playing one of the top teams in the country.
This is about as much of a must-win game early in the season as there can be for several reasons, but if the Hokies are going to get revenge for a season-opening loss to the Commodores, they are going to need Drones to have a bounce-back and better performance. Someone who needs that to happen is head coach Brent Pry, who may have tried to light a fire under his signal caller with some comments after playing South Carolina.