The fortunes of the Virginia Tech football team turned in Week 2 of last season. In a non-league home game against Purdue, the Hokies’ starting quarterback Grant Wells was injured, giving Baylor transfer Kyron Drones the opportunity to step in, and the Texan native took full advantage of the opportunity.

Drones started Week 3 at Rutgers and after getting some experience a week later against the Scarlet Knights and Marshall, he was instrumental in the Hokies winning five of their eight games in the ACC and going 6-6 to bowl eligibility. He announced his return in December, giving him a full offseason in Blacksburg.

The big question heading into the 2024 season is who will be his replacement. One of the better battles in camp has been who is QB2 for the Hokies this season, and it could very well be a transfer who committed in late April.

In the spring game, Pop Watson was better than Dylan Wittke, who entered the transfer portal shortly after the game and transferred to Minnesota. However, in late April, Collin Schlee, who came from UCLA, committed to Virginia Tech. In the summer, incoming freshman Davi Belfort joined the Hokies for training camp.

Now the question is who will be QB2. It will probably be Schlee, as he has the most experience after two stints at Kent State and UCLA. He has a very similar skill set to Drones, a strong arm and the ability to catch and run the ball. Watson, on the other hand, is a former Gatorade Player of the Year in Massachusetts and looked good in April. Belfort is just getting his first experience in college and will learn a lot from the three ahead of him, but will certainly be in the running with Watson and incoming freshmen AJ Brand and Kelden Ryan in 2025.

There are likely a few plays available to Schlee in offensive coordinator Tyler Bowen’s playbook, but one thing we learned last season is that the backup quarterback position is important and can play a big role in a 12-game season.