Ranking 50 Years of Hokie Quarterbacks: A Four-Part Series (Part IV)

We’re back for the final installment of our four-part series ranking Virginia Tech starting quarterbacks of the past 50 years. In the first three parts, we ranked the 25 quarterbacks who started for at least a year. In case you missed them, or would like to refresh your memory:

• Part I:  Quarterbacks #25 - 16
• Part II: Quarterbacks #15 - 6
• Part III: The Top 5

Today in our final installment, we celebrate the 11 reserve quarterbacks who started at least one game for the Hokies. Let’s get started…

Started Games in: 1992

Record as a Starter: 0-1

Treg Koel walked on at Virginia Tech and ultimately earned a scholarship. He appeared in five games in 1992, with his lone start against #1 and defending national champion Miami when Maurice DeShazo had to sit out with a hip pointer suffered a week earlier.

Best moment: October 17, 1992 vs. NC State. With Maurice DeShazo going down with an injury early in the game, Treg Koel was forced into action. Koel went 9-14 for 109 yards against the Wolfpack, including a 52-yard TD bomb to Antonio Freeman. 

Started Games in: 1988-1989

Record as a Starter: 3-4

Cam Young transferred to Tech from NC State, where he had been on the roster when the Hokies defeated the Wolfpack in the 1986 Peach Bowl. He had the most starts among those on this list with seven, all occurring due to injuries to starter Will Furrer in 1988 and 1989. Young dealt with a torn rotator cuff for much of his tenure, impacting his throwing ability, but his three wins as a starter are tied for first on this list. 

Best moment: October 7, 1989 at West Virginia. It wasn’t pretty, but beating Major Harris and #9 West Virginia in Morgantown was a heck of a feat for Young and the Hokies. It was Tech’s first “big” win in the Frank Beamer era, and while Young didn’t have a huge game (15-22, 167 yards), he got them in range for four Mickey Thomas field goals and set the defense up for a huge day. 

Started Games in: 2021

Record as a Starter: 0-1

Connor Blumrick transferred from Texas A&M after being a jack-of-all-trades in College Station. He primarily played quarterback in his first season at Tech in 2021, then moved into more of a tight end role for his final season in Blacksburg. Blumrick’s one start came on a severely-depleted roster in a Pinstripe Bowl loss against Maryland.

Best moment: November 20, 2021 at Miami. Though it came in defeat, our best memory of Blumrick’s as a quarterback at Tech came in a relief role in interim coach JC Price’s first game. Blumrick led the Hokies with 132 rushing yards and threw the only two touchdown passes of his career in the third quarter, pulling Tech to within one score of the Canes. 

Started Games in: 1989-1991

Record as a Starter: 2-2

Wooten struggled with a rotator cuff issue for a good chunk of his time in Blacksburg, but was nevertheless always there when called upon in a quarterback room often beset with injuries. Wooten completed 54% of his passes at Tech for 903 yards, three touchdowns and nine interceptions.  

Best moment: November 18, 1989 at NC State. Subbing for the injured Cam Young, who himself was subbing for the injured Will Furrer, Wooten led the Hokies to a comeback win over the Wolfpack at Carter-Finley Stadium, giving coach Beamer his first winning season (6-4-1) as Virginia Tech’s football coach. While his numbers were modest on the day (9-16, 146 yards), he managed the game well and connected with Marcus Mickel on a two-point conversion late in the contest.

Started Games in: 2024

Record as a Starter: 0-2

Collin Schlee came to Virginia Tech for his final season after stints at Kent State and UCLA, a chance for the Maryland native to end his college career closer to home. The high-water mark of his career was a 2109-yard, 13 touchdown junior season at Kent State. Most of his action at Virginia Tech came in the last part of the 2024 season as starter Kyron Drones battled injuries. In all, Schlee completed 50.9% of his passes for 414 yards, and accounted for five touchdowns in a largely disappointing season for the Hokies. After exhausting his eligibility, Schlee was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Washington Commanders in 2025.

Best moment: November 2, 2024 at Syracuse. If only the moment could have stopped midway through the third quarter. Pressed into a starting role with a late scratch of Kyron Drones, Schlee marched the Hokies down the field for two consecutive first quarter touchdowns, then tacked on another scoring strike to Ali Jennings to give Tech a 21-3 lead. Schlee ended the day 16-24 for 206 yards and a touchdown and he tacked on 54 yards and a score on the ground. Sadly, the Hokies snatched defeat from the jaws of victory at the building where dreams go to die, but not because of Schlee. 

Started Games in: 1981

Record as a Starter: 1-1

Bolton’s first start came in Morgantown in 1981 against quarterback Oliver Luck (yes, Andrew’s dad) and the Mountaineers. The senior filled in due to Steve Casey’s broken thumb and it was a tough day at the office. Bolton was only 6-for-21 for 80 yards and three interceptions, dropping the Hokies’ record to 5-1. He rebounded the following week with a win over Appalachian State. Speaking of which…

Best moment: October 24, 1981 vs. Appalachian State. Bolton got the rare “Mountaineer Doubleheader” patch by drawing consecutive starts against WVU and Appalachian State. In the second of the two matchups, Bolton had his best day in a Hokie uniform, bookending a 72-yard bomb to wingback Billy Hite (no, not the coach) with a pair of TD strikes (for 28 and 45 yards) to Mike Giacolone as Tech cruised to a 34-12 win in Blacksburg.

Started Games in: 1997-1998

Record as a Starter: 3-1

Nick Sorensen came to Blacksburg out of northern Virginia and saw extensive time on both sides of the ball. He was Al Clark’s backup at quarterback in 1997, earning one start against UAB and earning Tech player of the game honors in relief of Clark in the Gator Bowl. Sorensen moved to free safety in 1998, but was moved back to quarterback for three starts after injuries to both Clark and Dave Meyer. His last two seasons were exclusively at free safety with the arrival of Michael Vick. 

Though Sorensen’s passing numbers were modest at Tech (52.3% completion percentage, 470 yards, four touchdowns, nine interceptions), he was productive everywhere he went, and his willingness to serve wherever he was needed should not go unnoticed. Interesting side note: Sorensen’s three wins as a starting quarterback were all shutouts.

Sorensen’s versatility and special teams experience earned him a shot in the NFL. He parlayed that into a 10-year NFL playing career, followed by a successful NFL coaching career. He’s now the Special Teams Coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys. 

Best moment: October 8, 1998 at Boston College. On a rainy night in Chestnut Hill, Beamerball was on full display as Pierson Prioleau had an 85-yard interception return for a TD, Andre Davis blocked and recovered a punt and the defense hassled BC quarterback Scott Mutryn all night. In his first start since coming back over from the defense, Nick Sorensen played his role in managing the offense in poor conditions and the Hokies picked up a 17-0 road conference win.

Started Games in: 2019

Record as a Starter: 0-1

A former Elite 11 quarterback out of Chicago, Quincy Patterson was a great kid who was called on numerous times from 2018-2020. His only start came at Notre Dame in 2019 where he helped give the Hokies a late fourth quarter lead before Ian Book and the Irish came back in the last minute in South Bend.

His passing numbers were quite modest at Tech (42.3% completion percentage, four touchdowns, one interception) but he was a load to bring down (333 yards rushing, 4.5 yards per carry). After his third season, Patterson moved on to North Dakota State (7-0 as a starter) and then Temple. We’ll always remember his best day as a Hokie (keep reading)…

Best moment: October 19, 2019 vs North Carolina. The Hokies’ epic six-overtime win over the Tarheels had a little something for everyone. Third-stringer Patterson was one of three Hokie quarterbacks to throw a touchdown pass in this game. But it was his legs that got Tech fans out of their seats. Patterson ripped off a 53-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter to send the game into the overtime chaos. He threw an 18-yard touchdown to Damon Hazelton on 4th-and-3 to keep the game alive and capped off the win with a gutsy 3-yard run for a two-point conversion in the sixth OT, setting off a wild celebration.

Watch Patterson’s unforgettable night in Blacksburg:

Started Games in: 2024-2025

Record as a Starter: 1-1

William Watson III (Pop) was a product of Springfield, MA where he was named the Gatorade Massachusetts Player of the Year in 2022. He got most of his snaps, and all but five of his pass attempts, in the 2024 season as starter Kyron Drones battled injuries. He didn’t complete a pass in 2025 until he was inserted late in the game against eventual national runner-up Miami. Though Watson’s 63 career pass attempts are one of the lowest on this list of 11, his 130.4 passer rating is the highest.

After appearing in 11 games in three seasons, Watson entered the transfer portal and headed closer to home to play for UMass. 

Best moment: November 30, 2024 vs. Virginia. Beating Virginia always feels good, and Watson played a big role in this being another feel-good story in Blacksburg. He went 14-for-21 for 254 yards and a touchdown, and added 48 yards and a score with his legs as the Hokies won the Commonwealth Cup 37-17. The Hokies still haven’t lost to Virginia in Blacksburg since 1998.

Here are some highlights of that great win:

Started Games in: 1998-2000

Record as a Starter: 3-1

Dave Meyer came down to Tech from Ramsey, NJ. He battled numerous shoulder injuries during his time, but nevertheless found his way onto the field due to injuries to Al Clark (1998) and Michael Vick (1999-2000). Meyer appeared in 17 games in his Tech career, completing 60 of 113 passes for 890 yards and three scores. Along the way, he grew in stature with his teammates and was respected enough to be named a permanent team captain of the 2000 team. 

Best moment: October 28, 2000 vs. Pitt. The undefeated Hokies found themselves without Michael Vick and down 7 in the fourth quarter against Pitt. Enter Dave Meyer, who led the Hokies on a 64-yard touchdown drive to tie it, and a 74-yard field goal drive to win it and keep hope alive for another week. 

Watch the final drive of that Pitt Game in 2000 (courtesy TechSideline for the CBS video snippet):

Started Games in: 2015

Record as a Starter: 3-3

A local product out of Christiansburg, Brenden Motley was pressed into the lengthiest string of starts of anyone on this list when Michael Brewer went down with a broken collarbone. He went 3-3 in his six starts. All told in his career, Motley completed 54.5% of his passes for 1253 yards and 12 touchdowns (all tops on this list). He added 420 yards and five touchdowns rushing (also #1 on this list). In fact, his career rushing yards would place 14th on the list of 25 primary starters despite starting only six games.

Best moment: September 19, 2015 at Purdue. The Hokies went to West Lafayette and laid the wood to the Boilermakers in arguably Motley’s most complete game as a Hokie. In their 51-24 win, Tech racked up 471 yards of offense. For his part, Motley completed 15 of 24 passes for 220 yards and a pair of scores for a 167.0 passing efficiency rating. He also ran for 24 yards and a score, and even caught a 13-yard pass from Sam Rogers to set up another score.

Here are the highlights from that impressive win at Purdue:

From walk-ons to future NFL coaches, these 11 quarterbacks at times played vital roles in Tech history. And the entire fraternity of 36 quarterbacks flooded us with great memories, and we could probably fill a book with additional memories we didn’t even get to. 

One note for those who have asked. Yes, Don Strock casts a large avian shadow due to his prolific passing, but he did not play for the Hokies in the last 50 years so he wasn't in scope for this exercise. Strock held Tech's career passing yards record for nearly 30 years, and went on to a 15-year NFL career. A great Hokie. His career stats, for comparative purposes:

• Record as a starter: 10-11-1
• 440-829 (53.1%), 6009 yards, 29 touchdowns, 47 interceptions
• Passing efficiency rating: 114.2
• -138 rushing yards, four rushing touchdowns

Thanks so much for reading this series!

As promised, below are the statistics that helped guide the ranking process. First, the 25 full-season starters:

And here are the statistics for the 11 reserve quarterbacks who got the starting nod at least once in their Hokie careers:

Finally, here is a sorted leaderboard for a select number of metrics for all 25 primary starters: