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BLACKSBURG — Virginia Tech’s depth chart remains a work in progress after a substantial roster shakeup following the 2022 season.
That includes at quarterback, where as many as four players may still have a chance at being named the starter when Virginia Tech hosts Old Dominion on Sept. 2 at Lane Stadium.
Is there a front-runner? Well, sort of.
Grant Wells, who started all 11 games in 2022 as a transfer from Marshall, is back. He threw for more than 2,000 yards and nine touchdowns and rushed for another six scores. He is the only current member of the team with significant game experience and he earned praise from Hokies coach Brent Pry for his overall performance during spring practice.
“I thought he came out strong,” Pry said following Virginia Tech’s spring game last month. “That’s how he’s been all spring, to be honest. He’s made good decisions, he’s thrown the ball well. He operates the offense really well right now.”
Pry had similar things to say about Wells following the 2022 spring game, which was the first with the Hokies for both the coach and player. There were also a number of post-practice reports during the 2022 season where Wells earned similar accolades.
The problem for Wells, however, was the team results of all that work — the Hokies went 3-8, the lowest win total since Frank Beamer’s 1992 squad finished 2-8-1. His overall quarterback rating of 117.49 was also the lowest of any Hokies quarterback who played at least eight games in the past decade. The nine TD passes were also lower than any of his predecessors who played in at least 10 games.
So the final decision is on hold.
“I don’t want to say for sure,” Pry said after the spring game. “We’re always trying to make sure we’ve got the right guy. At quarterback or any other position. And you take the time you need.”
Because of several offseason departures on the coaching staff, Pry shuffled some responsibilities, including adding QB coach to the responsibilities of offensive coordinator Tyler Bowen.
Bowen’s list of candidates looks set now.
Two players vying for the job during the spring — redshirt sophomore Tahj Bullock of East Orange, New Jersey, and redshirt freshman Devin Farrell of Stockbridge, Georgia — have entered the transfer portal.
That leaves Baylor transfer Kyron Drones, a redshirt sophomore, as Wells’ top rival. True freshmen Dylan Wittke of Buford, Georgia, and William “Pop” Watson of Springfield, Massachusetts, could be considered longshots.
“It’s a talented room,” Bowen said after the spring game. “Those guys have done a great job of embracing the change and developing. It’s like any other position, a quarterback takes development. I talk a lot about the decision making and the synergy with the play-calling, but it’s also developing their skill set.”
Drones, who had to deal with a much less-experienced group of offensive linemen than Wells, did not have many memorable moments during the spring game and has not spoken to the media since arriving in Blacksburg.
He also doesn’t have a lot of game experience. He appeared in just five games last year at Baylor, completing 14 of 23 passes for 219 yards and one touchdown.
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Wells, who completed 12 of 18 passes for 148 yards and a touchdown in the spring game, said during his postgame interview that Drones had shown rapid progress since arriving in Blacksburg for the spring semester. As for himself, Wells believes he has made progress as well.
“I can tell the difference with Year 2,” Wells said. “It’s the second time seeing the offense, the second time installing the offense and seeing different looks that we saw last year. Also, being in the same room with Bowen really helps your thoughts. He really tells me what he thinks, and vice-versa. That goes miles when he calls plays and I understand what he wants.”
The schedule sets up where Wells, and whoever else earns playing time during fall camp, will have time to prove themselves. After the ODU game, the Hokies host Purdue on Sept. 9, followed by two nonconference road games at Rutgers and Marshall.
In his two seasons as Marshall’s starting quarterback, Wells’ Herd teams had a 14-9 record and made two bowl appearances. However, none of those wins came against Power Five opponents and just one of the Hokies’ wins in 2022 was a conference game.
Wells knows he needs to improve in that area, which he believes is more mental than physical.
“I believe I can make all of the throws and all the runs that I need to do,” Wells said. “But it’s really mental. I can do all that, but if it’s the wrong read, all that doesn’t matter.”