The Virginia Tech Hokies finished the 2023 season strong and are now looking to keep that momentum going into 2024, which will be the program’s third under head coach Brent Pry.
Ahead of the 2024 season, Andy Staples welcomed Roddy Jones of the ACC Network onto his show, Andy Staples On3. There, the two broke down what to expect from the Virginia Tech Hokies this season, including breaking down what the win ceiling and floor is going to be for Virginia Tech.
Together, Staples and Jones agreed that at the top end, Virginia Tech is going to be capable of winning 10 games and competing in the ACC. However, the two did have some debate about where to put the floor for the Hokies in 2024.
CEILING: 10-2, ACC contender
For Andy Staples, the Virginia Tech Hokies are one of the most interesting teams in the ACC. The question is just simply whether or not the end of 2023 was an aberration or a sign of things to come.
“This is one that when I was at ACC meetings talking to people who know the league the best, talking to coaches in the league, this team kept popping up in conversation,” Andy Staples said. “Virginia Tech. Has Brent Pry completely got this thing turned around?”
For his part, Roddy Jones believes in what Brent Pry is doing at Virginia Tech and sees the team taking strides forward that he expects to continue in 2024.
“I think he’s really close. Now, the critics would say on the back half of that schedule when they got really hot, the schedule wasn’t the toughest, but look at the way they played and the way they coalesced around Kyron Drones. Offensively, this team made such great strides. I think one of the underrated parts of Brent Pry, he has worked with two first-time coordinators…and those guys have made significant improvements. You can see it. At the beginning of the year last year, defensively Virginia Tech gave up a ton of big plays. Just big play after big play. They corrected that over the course of the year,” Jones said.
“Offensively, they got so much better with Kyron Drones at quarterback that I really think they should be able to take strides this season as well. So, I like Virginia Tech.”
With all of that in mind, Roddy Jones set Virginia Tech’s ceiling at 10-2 for the season and has them as a contender to make a run at the ACC Championship Game and potentially make a run at the College Football Playoff.
“Because the schedule isn’t overwhelming when you look at it. Miami and Clemson scare you. Nobody else really does,” Jones explained.
A huge part of why Jones is so high on Virginia Tech is how much talent the team is returning from last season.
“The other thing is they get Ali Jennings back. Ali Jennings was a transfer from Old Dominion absolutely torched Virginia Tech two years ago. He comes in, gets hurt last year early in the season. They don’t play the vast majority of the season with him. Bhayshul Tuten. I thought Bayshul Tuten was gonna be one of those guys that may be tempted to go to the NFL. I also thought he may be one of those guys who’d be tampered with to go somewhere else. He was phenomenal with them at running back. He comes back,” Jones said.
“Da’Quan Felton comes back. He really improved at receiver. I like this Virginia Tech team. I really, really do. On the defensive line, we even talk about Antwaun Powell-Ryland, who may be the best edge rusher in the conference as we sort of get down to it.”
FLOOR: Between 6-6 and 8-4
Andy Staples and Roddy Jones disagreed on Virginia Tech’s floor, with Jones having a higher floor than Staples does for the upcoming season.
“I think, floor-wise,” Jones said. “It’s probably 8-4, 7-5?”
The difference in the two floors, as Staples explained, is that he’s looking at the floor as what happens when everything goes wrong.
“That’s a higher floor than I was thinking but I will take it. I had 6-6 just in case,” Staples said. “I think when I do the floors it’s if all goes wrong situations. If you look at the schedule and the toss-ups, I think 7-5 or 8-4 is probably a realistic floor.”
At that point, Roddy Jones took a look at the schedule, coming away with the feeling that this is a team that should win the majority of its games.
“You could see a scenario. I don’t think they lose to Vanderbilt. Marshall is not Marshall’s team from last year or two years ago. Old Dominion, that’s an interesting one. Ricky Rahne had some momentum at times last year. Rutgers, that one is the one that if it’s going poorly you could lose that game,” Jones said.
“Then, you get into Boston College, Georgia Tech. Those could go the other way, but ultimately I really like this Virginia Tech team. I think they’re closer to double-digit wins than they are to fighting for a bowl.”
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