2024 Coaches Poll: Should Virginia Tech have been included in this year's Preseason Top 25? (2024)

The 2024 college football season is getting closer and today, the coaches poll was released. While Florida State, Clemson, Miami, and NC State were the ACC teams that did make, Virginia Tech was one of the ACC schools that got left out. The Hokies return the most production in the country and are getting some predictions to be a darkhorse in the conference this season, but they were left on the outside looking in.

The AP Top-25 is going to be released next Monday.

I think Virginia Tech is definitely a candidate to be a team that starts the year unranked but finishes the year unranked. The Hokies did check in at No. 24 in the 247Sports top 25 poll that was released over the weekend.

Virginia Tech will not be talked about much during the first couple of weeks of the season, but they have big games against Rutgers andMiami, which could set the tone for the rest of the season. Florida State (13), Clemson (14), Miami (16), and NC State (22) were the ACC teams ranked above them, which is right in line with how the media voted them to finish in the ACC (6th). This could be the best Virginia Tech team since 2016, the last time that the Hokies made the ACC Championship game. They have a dynamic quarterback and run game, head coach Brent Pry has praised the wide receiver group this offseason, they return a solid group of pass rushers, and perhaps the best cornerback duo in the ACC. There is a lot to be excited about in Blacksburg this upcoming season.

How dangerous could quarterbackKyron Dronesbe this season? 247Sports analyst Brad Crawford has Drones as one of the top college football players that could ruin theCollege Football Playoff Projections:

"Kyron Drones and the Hokies play Miami and Clemson — two teams that finished just behind Florida State in the preseason ACC title media voting — this season. And that's not going to be an easy game for the Hurricanes or Tigers. Virginia Tech brings back more starters (21) than any team nationally and Drones is going to press the issue offensively as a junior second-year starter. He rushed for 412 yards over Virginia Tech's final three games in 2023 and was responsible for 10 total touchdowns (nine passing) over that stretch. He's one of the most underrated players nationally heading into the season."

I agree that Drones is one of the most underrated players in the country. His passing still has to come along, but he might be the top rushing threat at the quarterback position. When you look atVirginia Tech'sschedule, it is not a stretch to say that their season could come down to two games, if they take care of business in the other games. They are likely to only be underdogs against Miami on the road and against Clemson in Blacksburg. Split those two games (or win both) and take care of every other game, Virginia Tech could emerge as a possible playoff contender in the ACC.

Last year, LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels took a huge leap in his second season with the Tigers and ended up winning the Heisman Trophy and being picked No. 2 overall by the Washington Commanders. Is there a quarterback in his second year after transferring who could make a similar leap? Maybe not, but One3 Spots Andy Staplesthinks Dronesis in for a huge second season with the Hokies:

"Virginia Tech’s Drones, who came from Baylor before last season, is an excellent choice for this category. It seemed as if it took about half of last season before Hokies offensive coordinator Tyler Bowen and Drones got comfortable with one another. But once they did, Drones got much more efficient. Virginia Tech’s final two regular-season games — a 35-28 loss to N.C. State and a 55-17 win against Virginia — felt like a turning of the page.

But Drones isn’t the only QB trying to join a growing club of transfers who thrived in their second seasons with their new team. Though Baker Mayfield’s 2016 season, the year before he won the Heisman Trophy, probably was the first of this phenomenon, Joe Burrow’s 2019 Heisman season is the ultimate example of this jump. But the group keeps expanding as more teams take transfer quarterbacks with eligibility remaining. Last season, the top three Heisman Trophy votegetters (LSU’s Jayden Daniels, Washington’s Michael Penix Jr., Oregon’s Bo Nix) were transfers in their second season with their new teams. Dillon Gabriel produced jumps in completion percentage (62.7 to 69.3), yards per attempt (8.6 to 9.5) and touchdown passes (25 to 30) in the same number of games in his second season at Oklahoma. (He’ll take over for Nix at Oregon this season.)"

Dronesplayed well last season, especially in the second part of the year and he has the Hokies primed to be contenders in the ACC this season. Could he end up being thebest playerin the conference this season? 247Sports analyst Carl Reed Jr had this to say on that topic:

"I think a kid that not enough people are talking about is Virginia Tec quarterback Kyron Drones. Kyron Drones is a guy that first got put on my radar by a couple of NFL scouts who really like his game. This kid is a bigger, thicker kid, he has a similar body type that Jalen Hurts had at Alabama. Virginia Tech last year, 17 touchdowns, 3 INT's, 818 rushing yards for five more touchdowns. He is an incredible dual-threat quarterback. Virginia Tech has five or six guys that are trending towards the NFL draft. I think that not only Kyron Drones has a chance to really push Cam Ward, he is also a part of the quarterback training group that is always with him, Cam Ward, Shedeur Sanders, he does not get talked about enough, he is a pro and not only can Kyron Drones push Cam Ward to be ACC Player of the Year, Virginia Tech is going to be my sleeper team in the ACC because of the amount of NFL talent that I continue to hear scouts talk about. They have great quarterback play in Kyron Drones, they have a couple of defensive linemen and secondary guys."