Unlike last year where Grant Wells officially earned the QB job early in fall camp, Virginia Tech has had a battle throughout the first 15 practices of fall camp between the incumbent Wells and the newcomer Kyron Drones. Neither has been able to win the job yet, but the Hokies are getting close to a decision as head coach Brent Pry shared.
"We’re getting pretty close," Pry said.
So what does Pry see as the timeline for making a decision currently? Within the week with Saturday's second scrimmage being a critical data point as Pry shared on Friday.
"I would hope over the next three or four days. Tomorrow (Saturday, 8/19) will be a big test. That’ll be a lot of snaps for both those guys. It’s obviously something that everybody is looking at closely each day. And both guys, to be honest, the last two days, have done some good things. So we’ll see how tomorrow goes and then we’ll roundtable as an offensive staff, and I’ll also get the defensive staff’s perspective on the quarterbacks and anybody else offensively that’s in a competition for playing time or a spot," Pry said.
There's no doubt that this has been a true battle between Grant Wells and Kyron Drones with both quarterbacks under pressure to perform to win this job. That's also led to a great competitive environment that has helped everyone develop as cornerback Mansoor Delane shared.
“It’s been great. You know sometimes you get out of a break and you pick it. Well sometimes with these quarterbacks, you get out of the break and the ball’s right there. So you can just tell each day that both guys are going out there and competing, and it’s bringing the best version of me out," Delane said.
So what growth have the Hokies seen in each of their two quarterbacks competing for the starting job? Well let's start with the incumbent Grant Wells who has improved his timing and decision-making speed in the eyes of Brent Pry.
"I tell you what, again, he's just throwing a very accurate ball. You talk about a guy in man-to-man coverage, which the defense is giving him a bunch of it, he can place the ball where it needs to be. I said that last year. He's one of the more accurate guys I've been around. I think he's making faster decisions. When I stand behind and watch the offense, I realize the guy is coming open, he's seeing it sooner and he's able to kind of throw it in a more timely fashion," Pry said.
Meanwhile, Pry has seen plenty of growth in Baylor transfer Kyron Drones now that he's had more than just a spring in Virginia Tech's offense. That's left Pry excited about what Drones can bring to the Hokies' offense long term.
"I think the understanding of our offense and then seeing his confidence level rise. I don't know that you can play quarterback without being confident. Early on - it was the same way in the spring - practice by practice you saw him make a few more plays and then you saw him get a little bit better. It was the same thing this camp. There's been days he's outshined Grant; there's been days he probably would like to have back. He's come a long way. I'm very excited about what he can bring to our football team," Pry said.
As fall camp nears its end, the Hokies are nearing a decision with Grant Wells and Kyron Drones making their final pushes to win the starting quarterback job.
