Perpetual national championship contender, ACC champion, and one of the best programs in college football. This was the Frank Beamer era at Virginia Tech, when the Hokies were considered giants of college football.
It’s been a while since that was the case. The 2023 season was the first season since 2016, the first year without Beamer as head coach, that the Hokies won a bowl game.
Virginia Tech is looking to keep up with that success. Justin Fuente is now gone and Brent Pry has stepped in to return the program to its former success. He has done a pretty good job of that, in fact Pry has built a team that is considered by many to be the “dark favorite” for the new 12-team playoffs.
That expectation is also justified, especially with a player like Kyron Drones at the helm. He’s surrounded by a ton of talent, has plenty of room at running back, several playable tight ends, and a revamped wide receiver room. Most of those players are from last year, and many key players like Nick Gallo and Ali Jennings are returning from injuries.
Out of the last few years, this is the first year where it feels like Virginia Tech really has a chance to get back to being the program they once were. On the last episode of Late Kick with Josh Pate, he agreed, calling Virginia Tech a “sleeping giant”:
“Here’s a what-if for you: What if a former sleeping giant or I guess a current sleeping giant of college football awakens this year? (Who) would that be? I think Virginia Tech counts among them. Now, kids — kids, some of you in my college audience are laughing right now, but you shouldn’t. You don’t know what you don’t know. You don’t know anything about Virginia Tech, the national championship contender, but Virginia Tech was once a national championship contender. You don’t know anything about an entire generation — including me, who didn’t grow up being Virginia Tech fans, but when we knew there was going to be a Thursday night game in Blacksburg or even a Saturday night game, you definitely tuned in no matter who you were cheering for. They definitely tuned in 10 minutes before game time because you can see ‘Enter Sandman’ and this incredible spectacle up in the mountains, the hills of Virginia, it’s breathtaking. We haven’t seen that as a national spectacle in a long time. What if they wake up? They have a chance this year. They have a chance, they have a workable schedule, they have a team that’s totally in tune with their identity, (and) they could have a top-notch running game with Kyron Drones at quarterback — which adds to that. I was up there this spring and talked to Brent Pry, he’s really excited up there… There’s a game (that’s) a long way away, so I’m not saying let’s talk about it now, but there’s a game in early November where if they get through the early part of their schedule, even if they have one loss, they can afford to lose one. But if they’re a one-loss or more team in early November, then Clemson is coming to town. Nov. 9. (When) Clemson comes to town and we have a loss or more against Virginia Tech that day or night, you’re going to see Lane Stadium the way some of us remember it, maybe a generation ago.”
Could Virginia Tech come back this year? Certainly – no question. It’s also very plausible, the three toughest games on the schedule before Clemson are Vanderbilt, Rutgers and Miami. There is certainly a way for the Hokies to finally thrive in college football and bring back the Lane Stadium atmosphere of years past. If Brent Pry and his entire coaching staff can help turn that around, the entire ACC should be on guard.
