Virginia Tech was busier than expected in the spring transfer portal window landing over ten players including a commitment from Iowa State redshirt freshman LS Drew Doyle. However, Doyle isn’t your typical redshirt freshman football player.
See Doyle is a U.S. Navy veteran who after roughly five years in the military, chose to pursue his dream of playing college football starting as a long snapper at Iowa State and now as a long snapper for the Hokies.
When I spoke with Brent Pry earlier this summer, he shared a little story about Doyle and his arrival in Blacksburg as a unique redshirt freshman.
“This guy's got a great story. I mean, we've got a returning starter in Christian Epling who has two years left. But Drew comes in after four or five years in service. And then he goes to Iowa State for a year. So this guy's a redshirt freshman. I stood him up in front of the team and I said, ‘how old are you, Drew?’ 24. The guy next to him in the team meeting was Brennan Johnson, who was 17. So Drew Doyle can be playing at Virginia Tech when he's 28 years old,” Pry said.
It’s not often that you have a 24-year old redshirt freshman but there is something to be said about the unique level of maturity that Doyle will bring to the locker room, something that Brent Pry is very excited about.
“You've got a guy that's been in the service before. You talk about mature. That was a good gift for us,” Pry said.
For a school like Virginia Tech with a deep Corps of Cadets tradition, having a U.S. Navy veteran on the Football team only seems fitting. And while long snappers are not the highest-profile players, Drew Doyle is definitely a player worth celebrating given his service to our country for the preservation of freedom here and abroad.
His focus now will be on becoming one of the best long snappers in the sport and eventually reaching the pro football ranks while getting a degree.
