2025 FB Op-Eds: Hokie Heartbreak to Hokie Hope...Not Another 6-6 Prediction

Editor's Note: This season, we will be featuring op-eds from various SoS contributors and writers. This opinion piece was submitted by Patrick Bowers (@pbowwow on X.com)

I get it, Virginia Tech has been a let down of late. Nobody in this fanbase is excited over mediocrity, 6-6 seasons and crossing their fingers in the 4th quarter against yet another Sun Belt team. I have sat on the couch like all of you and have been in dismay as we let another 4th quarter lead squander away against opponents we would have demolished back in our hay day. I have been there when we made SportsCenter NOT top 10 as Parker Clements tripped Kyron Drones against Rutgers and the football was launched into the stadium. I watched as we had a meltdown at ODU’s Ballard stadium, twice. I watched as we ICED an inexperienced Liberty kicker. I watched the flipping of the double birds from Maalik Murphy in celebration and I was speechless after the refs stole the game from us down in Miami. Guys, I recognize the pessimistic emotions surrounding this program. I get it.

What I find lacking in coverage this offseason is an ability to separate emotion from facts. In years past, this way of thinking has lead Hokie fans to think ‘we are a dark horse for the playoffs!’ …and then getting let down. Now, we are doing the inverse. Our fan base has faced so many excruciating losses that our hearts are taking over our brains and the defense mechanisms are leaving us void of excitement and juice. I get it. But you know what? The Pamplin School of Business would advise you to not buy stocks based on emotion, and I’m advising you to not sell this team based on the emotional trauma of the past.

What I saw last year was a team that was THIS close in basically every single game. I know, I know horseshoes and hand grenades…many didn’t our way. However, if the ball just bounced differently (in 6 games) we are looking at an undefeated season. No, last years team wasn’t an undefeated caliber squad, but they could have been. Maybe it’s just my optimism speaking, but this is my article. So let me tell you why the ball will bounce differently this year. 

Brent Pry may not have had the best few years as a head coach. Yet, he didn’t reach this milestone accidentally. He has performed as a top level coach in all the stops he has had to climb the mountain to this point in his career. He is a successful coach with his back against the wall. I gotta believe he has studied his errors, addressed them, and found ways to correct them moving forward to the 2025 season.

We all saw his opening run against Old Dominion where he lowered his shoulder and demolished the defender. Everyone in our fanbase knew in that moment that this guy was built differently. He’s playing smash mouth football and he’s got that mojo that makes him an all-star. Last season, it has been reported that Kyron was dealing with a number of injuries from game 1 and if we’re being honest, he probably shouldn’t have played through them all. However, what this tells me is, he’s tough as nails, he knows his time is now, and his ceiling is extremely higher than what we saw in 2024.

The obvious X factor in all of sports is your fitness. This was a disgrace last year. Players were barely showing any gains from offseason strength workouts and conditioning was clearly an issue as 4th quarter leads were squandered week in and week out. Virginia Tech placed long time Hokie, Jarrett Ferguson, in charge of Strength & Conditioning in the offseason and it’s already made a significant impact. Would there be anyone more inspired to build back our program to national relevance than a man who played in the National Championship game in 1999? This was a grand slam hire and I can only imagine Coach Ferg (in Miracle fashion) screaming AGAIN! AGAIN! AGAIN! All offseason long to make these players stronger. Expect an edge, and a toughness from these boys that we haven’t seen in years.

In many of our games last year, all we needed was one stop. Virginia Tech’s DNA is built on historic Bud Foster defenses and in the last few years Coach Marve put out some soft squads that folded under the pressure of needing to step up to win the game. It was time to move on from Marve and reach a new level with the potential this defense has. Coach Sam Seifkis brings a lot of experience from college teams, NFL teams and most recently linebacker experience which was arguably the Hokie’s glaring weakness in the defense. I expect to see a smarter squad back on the field for Virginia Tech in 2025.

Could this have worked out any better? Hokie fans were calling for Tyler Bowen to be fired and instead of having to pay any buyouts, he just left on his own. He literally demoted himself because clearly he was in over his head as an OC. Give me the man who’s done it before. Give me the man who coached Heisman winning RGIII. Give me the man who has head coaching experience. Give me the quarterback himself, Philip Montgomery.

I feel like Virginia Tech was absolutely robbed by Ron Crook in 2024, and I’d bet Kyron Drones feel’s similarly. His pass protection was horrible, and it didn’t matter how many mistakes Parker Clements made, Ron Crook put him back out there week in and week out. Brent Pry made the right decision to fire Ron Crook and had impeccable timing because our couch-burning rival up the road had a changing of the guard at West Virginia. This allowed the Hokies to level up, not just the coach but the entire room. Thomas Rimac, Kyle Altuner, Lucas Austin and Gavin Crawford all transferred to Virginia Tech with Matt Moore to level up the offensive line in an Avengers-like fashion. That’s almost 1200 pounds added to this OL room, and I expect the most important position in football just improved.

Today’s college football landscape can be frustrating. Am I bummed that we lost some studs from last year? Of course. We will miss the Bayshul Tuten’s and the APR’s from 2024. However, the group we had last year was 6-6…and 6-6 the year before. Maybe some new faces would help the team chemistry and overall vibe of the program. Brent Pry and co. have been excellent at identifying talent in the portal and bringing in emerging stars. Terion Stewart, Tyson Flowers, Donovan Greene, Ben Bell, James Djonkam and Marcellous Hawkins all have me excited for the new juice they can infuse into the program.

It wouldn’t be 2025 without a Taylor reference. Many of you might roll your eyes with me here, but it fits. The 2024 offseason was marked by way too much hype, that lead to players expecting success. The 2025 season? This squad has bad blood with how their stories are written currently. Look at almost every player, coach and personnel in this locker room. They all have something to prove and I expect them to be hungry to prove the haters wrong. We have hungry guys in this program and to quote my Philly brother Jason Kelce, HUNGRY DOGS RUN FASTER!

Terion Stewart (RB) from Bowling Green

The bowling ball from Bowling Green. This man can break tackles and will be a lot of fun to watch. 

Marcellous Hawkins (RB) from Central Missouri and Braydon Bennett (RB) from Coastal Carolina

To round out the RB room

Donovan Greene (WR) from Wake Forest 

Greene has freak athletic capabilities if he can stay healthy.

Cameron Seldon (RB + WR) from Tennesee 

Overlooked at Tennessee, has something to prove in Blacksburg.

Tyson Flowers (S) from Rice

This man exudes leadership, and after watching him interview with Kolby Crawford, I want him leading my defense.

James Djonkam (E), 3-Star Ben Bell (E)

I can’t wait to watch these guys rushing the QB. They just look mean.

Isaiah Brown-Murray (S), Sherrod Covil (S), Garrett Rangel (QB), Jaden Muskrat (OL), Joseph Reddish (CB) Isaiah Cash (S)