Virginia Tech football position preview: Hokies have options at quarterback

BLACKSBURG — Kyron Drones was tired of the chirping coming from the defensive players once a play was stopped. The Virginia Tech quarterback, sporting an orange jersey, is simply touched to stop the play. It didn’t take long for the defense to let him know he was contained.
Drones began chirping back. He responded that the defenders wouldn’t have brought him down on the particular play. Drones also made sure defensive coordinator Chris Marve knew.
“They don’t really know what I can bring with my running yet just because they can’t tackle me, so I just talk,” Drones said.
The Baylor transfer is champing at the bit to shed the orange practice jersey and showcase his running skills to his new teammates.
His dual-threat abilities are what jumped off the screen when offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Tyler Bowen was evaluating signal-callers in the transfer portal, and Drones’ skill set has kept the battle for the starting job open three weeks prior to the season opener against Old Dominion.
“The way Coach Bowen wants to throw the ball and run the ball and then how he sees me in the offense, being an RPO guy and pro style at the same time, that’s a real big thing,” Drones said.
Drones and last year’s starter, Grant Wells, have been alternating snaps with the first- and second-string offenses since the spring. The anticipation is the two will battle for the starting job all the way up to the Sept. 2 opener inside Lane Stadium.
“Competition’s been real good. We already knew it was going to be a competition, we’re still learning from each other at the same time,” Drones said.
Hokies coach Brent Pry said after the spring and earlier in preseason training camp that he could see one starter being established, then packages for the second signal-caller.
Those packages would look entirely different for Drones, who is more elusive, and for Wells, who can pick apart defenses if the pocket is clean.
“I’ve certainly been a part of playing two quarterbacks in different packages, but I think you’re always trying to trend toward finding a guy that can take over the helm from a leadership standpoint from what you’re trying to build the offense around,” Bowen said. “Fortunately, in that room, I know they’re all a little bit different and unique. Everybody is.
“But when you have a good room and we have good athletes and guys that can run, they can beat you with their feet, can beat you with their arms, and what we’ve really been focusing on is that decision-making, beating people with our minds.”
Bowen’s offense is predicated on getting the run and pass attacks vertically up the field, and the ideal signal-caller is a dual-threat option to fully open the attack.
That is what Bowen saw in Drones when recruiting him.
Drones played in a pro-style scheme at Baylor last season, though his primary utilization was in the wildcat formation off the bench behind starter Blake Shapen.
Drones completed 14 of 23 passes for 219 yards and one interception with 49 rushing yards and two touchdowns in five games with the Bears.
Drones wanted to find an offense that allowed him to showcase his full skill set. His visit with Bowen during the recruiting process was “real eye-opening” for him with how the offensive coordinator walked through the way he wanted the scheme to be operated from the quarterback position.
“Just being able to show everybody that I can run and be a throwing quarterback,” Drones said. “I run when I have to and then if I’ve got to win a game by throwing, I can show that, too.”
Virginia Tech spring game 2023
Quarterback Grant Wells ran 111 times last season for Virginia Tech.
Wells was never tasked with running much during his three seasons at Marshall, with the Thundering Herd utilizing Wells as a drop-back passer.
He ran the ball 115 times during his time at Marshall.
That number jumped to 111 times as the Hokies’ starting quarterback last season, with the number being so high because of Tech having to go deep into its running back rotation.
Bowen hopes a healthy Malachi Thomas and the addition of North Carolina A&T transfer Bhayshul Tuten will allow the quarterback runs to be more out of design than necessity.
“It’s hard when you have to make a defense guard all 11 people in the run game and they have to account for a quarterback in the run game,” Wells said. “That opens up a lot more for the running back as well. I see that being a big part of our offense this year.”
Wells’ experience in Bowen’s system gave him the upper hand in the spring, and he wants to see an increase in production similar to what he had at Marshall.
Wells threw for more than 3,500 yards and completed 66% of his passes in 2021, which were dramatic leaps from his production the previous season (2,091 yards on 165-of-270 passing).
He threw for 2,171 yards, nine touchdowns and nine interceptions last season.
“A lot of that just comes with the familiarity of the offense, a familiarity with the play caller, and I think we’ve made a huge jump from last year to this year,” Wells said. “I expect the offense to move a lot more smoothly this year and I expect big things.”
Wells and Drones both reiterated their relationship is on solid footing. They each said they learn from the other on a daily basis and have a strong line of communication with Bowen, who is in his first season as quarterbacks coach after serving as the Hokies’ tight ends coach last season.
“I love the move. Having T-Bow in our room adds that layer of connection that we didn’t have last year,” Wells said. “I think that’s big when you talk about a coordinator and a quarterback. Hearing from him every single day and hearing exactly what he wants us to do adds that extra layer of confidence for us.”
Quarterbacks
Returning starter: Grant Wells
Other returners: Ben Locklear
Newcomers to know: Kyron Drones, William Watson III
Position coach: Tyler Bowen (second year at Virginia Tech)
Key stat: Tech’s nine touchdown passes in 2022 were the fewest in a season since 2008 when Tyrod Taylor, Sean Glennon and Cory Holt combined to throw six touchdowns.