Tech head coach Brent Pry (Brian Bishop/NRVSports.net)
By THOMAS HOWLETT
Patriot Publishing
The 2025 Virginia Tech football campaign begins on Sunday, August 31st for the Hokies as they travel to Atlanta to face the mighty thirteenth ranked South Carolina Gamecocks.
This neutral sight contest will hopefully be the thrilling conclusion to an opening weekend that contains some heavyweight bouts.
However, what exactly will this Virginia Tech squad look like, and what are we to expect from this team as they embark on another season?
Head coach Brent Pry is in his fourth season as the Hokies’ boss and this is his make or break year. Luckily for him he has experienced quarterback Kyron Drones leading the offensive unit.
The offense has an overhauled running back room with incoming transfers Terion Stewart, Braydon Bennett and Marcellous Hawkins.
The wide receiver room is led by Wake Forest transfer Donovan Greene who is backed up by the talented Ayden Greene and Cameron Seldon.
Benji Gosnell returns to lead the tight end group for another season, and looks to be a reliable target once again.
There have also been some big improvements to the offensive line especially in West Virginia transfer Tomas Rimac.
The offense as a whole is under new management with Phillip Montgomery being named the offensive coordinator in the offseason. The offense is a mix of returning talent and some new exciting pieces that if molded correctly, could produce a fairly potent attack.
As for the defense, the Hokies look to roll out another strong defensive line, even after losing big contributors Aneas Peebles and Antwaun Powell-Ryland to the NFL. Kevin Gilliam, Keshawn Burgos and Kemari Copeland are all back and ready to wreak havoc on opposing linemen with incoming transfers Ben Bell, James Djonkum and Arias Nash ready to do the same.
Caleb Woodson and Jaden Keller anchor down the linebacker core as they are both back for another season in Blacksburg.
The secondary has added all types of talent whether it is a returning player, transfer, or incoming freshman. Look out for Dante Lovett, Tyson Flowers, Thomas Williams, Isaiah Brown-Murray, Quentin Reddish, Isaiah Cash and Sherrod Covil.
The defense also has a new coordinator with Sam Siefkes, so the ceiling for the defense is unknown. Even though they have yet to take the field, with many new incoming players and returners there is a chance the defense can be one of the best in the Pry era.
However, both units are unproven, and instead of a nice easy tune up game to figure some kinks out, the Hokies are thrown straight into the fire with a meeting against Shane Beamer’s Gamecocks.
South Carolina was on the verge of a college football playoff spot last season, but just got left on the outside in favor of SMU and Indiana.
LaNorris Sellers is at the helm again after his breakout campaign in 2024, but he is missing his dynamic backfield counterpart Raheim “Rocket” Sanders. Sellers is currently one of the best returning quarterbacks in the nation, and is going to be hard to stop for the Hokies’ unproven defense.
However, in good news, South Carolina also had many of their top defenders leave after last season, so that opens the door for Virginia Tech’s offensive attack.
It is truly a tough test week one for both teams, but the Beamer Bowl will have a winner. South Carolina hopes to start the season off right in their hope to finally get to the CFP. Virginia Tech hopes to start the year with a win to prove they will still be a very competitive team in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Looking ahead, the Hokies could make some noise as they only play four true road games this year. The home field advantage at Lane Stadium could give Virginia Tech a boost and they might be able to finish the regular season over five hundred.
The only true road games are against North Carolina State, Georgia Tech, Florida State and UVa.
Overall the Hokies have a solid team this season, but with many question marks that will only be answered as the season goes on. However, we do know the 2025 road begins in Atlanta. Drones and Sellers will duke it out in the Beamer Bowl to welcome us to another year of college football.
Kickoff is at 3:30 Sunday afternoon on ESPN.
