Virginia Tech quarterback Kyron Drones will miss the remainder of spring practice, the school announced on Saturday afternoon.
"Kyron Drones is scheduled to have a minor medical procedure and we've made the decision to hold him out for the remainder of spring practice," head coach Brent Pry said in a statement. "Kyron has demonstrated excellent leadership and has had an outstanding winter and spring. We fully anticipate he will be ready to return for summer workouts."
The 6-foot-2, 235-pound starting quarterback had been a normal participant the first few weeks of spring ball before being in sweats when the media observed practice on Tuesday, April 1. Pry did not address the media this week, but Virginia Tech described it as a "load management" situation and a day of general rest. The Hokies only have a few more days of practice before their annual spring game on Saturday, April 12, at 3 p.m. ET in Lane Stadium.
Drones is coming off a 2024 season where he started nine games, throwing for 1,562 yards and 10 touchdowns while rushing for 336 yards and six scores. However, he dealt with an MCL injury, a stress fracture and turf toe at the end of the year, which held him out of four of the final five contests.
It's an unfortunate setback for the Houston, Texas, native, who seemed to be nearing full health.
"Physically, he looks back to form," Pry said on March 18 before spring ball began. "In these winter workouts, we do a lot of competitions, and he was very tough to beat. It didn't matter who I put him against â sled push, agility drills. We challenged him each and every morning and he was hard to beat. He's one of our best workers and had probably the highest winning percentage."
It's been a crucial spring for everyone involved with the program, but especially Drones, given the recent injuries and having to learn new offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery and his system. The Hokies hope he can regain his 2023 form, which featured 2,085 passing yards, 818 rushing yards and 22 total touchdowns in 11 starts.
The attention now turns to the other four quarterbacks on the roster, a group led by Pop Watson (5-11, 201). The redshirt sophomore filled in for Drones in the final three games of 2024 and threw for 481 yards, highlighted by a 14-of-21, 254-yard performance vs. Virginia.
The room is extremely young behind him with redshirt freshman Davi Belfort (5-11, 196) and true freshmen A.J. Brand (6-2, 210) and Kelden Ryan (6-2, 195). While it was already likely given the importance of Drones' health, with him sidelined for the near future, Watson and Belfort will be in the spring game spotlight.