247Sports‘ “Roster Managers” examines the most interesting roster situations entering spring practices, and what lies ahead for the 2024 college football season.
No team in college football returns as much production as Virginia Tech. Entering the spring and summer, the Hokies are stacked with veteran talent on offense and defense. It amounts to a return of 86% of production — the highest mark in the FBS, according to ESPN. It’s also why Virginia Tech is a trendy pick to challenge for the 2024 ACC title after a 7-6 season in 2023, Brent Pry‘s second year leading the program.
The offense, led by breakout quarterback Kyron Drones, is by far the most tightly-knit unit in the era of NIL and the transfer portal, returning 95% of production to outpace the nearest team by 5%. The defense returns most of its veterans, too, and maintains an attacking style that Pry brought with him from his time coordinating Penn State’s top-tier defenses.
But every team has headaches, even those with battle-tested rosters.
The Hokies lost two of their top four sack masters along the defensive front. In total, three key players in the Hokies’ rotation along the defensive line are gone from a unit that ranked 10th nationally in Pro Football Focus‘ percentage of pressures per snap.
On a team seemingly brimming with confidence, depth and leadership, how Pry plans to replicate last year’s success on defense with a heavy rotation along the line remains a burning question. The answer lies in the transfer portal, where a proven commodity and two players trying to prove themselves in the FBS will be asked to fill the holes.
