All Hokie, All the Time. Period. Presented by First Bank & Trust Company

H
HokieKanger OP
Dec 26, 2025 at 07:19 PM ET
Watch Pop kill it at a different school and we wonder why Monty never gave
Him a shot

51 Replies

M
marcbvtgm
7mo
Or watch him still struggle with pressure & prove backup QB lovers wrong
Zanderhokie Zanderhokie
7mo
He will probably wind up at UNLV replacing Colandrea.
YBYSAIAHokie YBYSAIAHokie
7mo
Won't happen. You're dreaming. 5'-9" college QBs are few & far between
C
CMU Hokie
7mo
I will take that bet if he plays at the P4 level - if he goes to a P4,
He’ll be back in the portal next year.
1
1947Sunbowl
7mo
SHoulds and coulds that that transactional basis of football
Its the business, and the players are looking for the best opportunities and after 1 year not well see ya. Like the NBA. Also, schools are having end of year evaluations, and they will determine if they want to keep the current player NIL, reduce it based on performance, or raise it to try to keep him. Football coachihg staffs are doing the same. So, judging does no good,l The college game is booming, big ratings for the big schools, other programs have choices 1) invest and get better and compete, or 2) fade away.
TekkNerd TekkNerd
7mo
I don't see him being the guy for any P4 team....
However I do agree that we should have him given him a chance. We were a three win team. Why not give the kid a shot.
F
Fatman
7mo
Why do you think that? I wish him the best
But let’s be honest, he couldn’t earn PT over drones.
bburgnative bburgnative
7mo
I doubt it
H
Hokie1992
7mo
Do you thing how pop and drones did in practice had anything to do
With who started? I see Watson is 5’11”’201 now, so he’s been drinking his milk and hitting the weight room.
T
TomA
7mo
Exactly what I'm thinking, I'm afraid — I think he's going to be a…
Pava-like player
YBYSAIAHokie YBYSAIAHokie
7mo
You think he's going to be a Pava-like player?
You mean he's going to whine and ***** if he doesn't win an award? Seriously, he's averaged 1.5 YPC, completed 57% of his passes with 1 TD, 2 INTs. Pavia has averaged 5 YPC, completed 62% off his passes with 86 TDs, 27 INTs
G
GoldCoast
7mo
How does he remind you of Pavia?
hokiepro hokiepro
7mo
Uh no. He will do some good things at G5 level
Or FCS. But being compared to a Heisman finalist …lol no
JRHokie JRHokie
7mo
Pop will get his chance..
at the next level down . He , IMHO, needed to slow down and show some discipline in his "reads" before running. Good Luck where ever he goes
S
seacain
7mo
Coaches saw him at practice for 2+ yrs. Sadly he wasn't da man-inconsistent
Atlee Hokie Atlee Hokie
7mo
Then why did they keep him around?
R
RJHokie
7mo
Maybe no one else was better, other than Drones……
Atlee Hokie Atlee Hokie
7mo
I can't believe there wasn't a QB available to us via the portal ...
... who wasn't better than Watson, and close to Drones.
R
RJHokie
7mo
Well, they got Rangle but he apparently didn’t pan out either.
Never played a down…….
Atlee Hokie Atlee Hokie
7mo
I'm not sure the O coaches had a clue.
R
RJHokie
7mo
Really makes you wonder.
S
Stech
7mo
I want the best for Pop, and I hope he does kill it at the next school.
H
Hokie1992
7mo
As long as it’s not ODU or JMU
C
crazylane
7mo
If we lose to ODU or JMU going forward
I don't care if Pop is the QB. It would be on us. I don't see it happening.
S
Stech
7mo
😆
4
40ozDistrict
7mo
I hope the best for him. Hopefully he banked some $$ while at VT
Hokiefied Hokiefied
7mo
He’s going to be playing at an FCS school & will do well there
R
RRHOKIE
7mo
Pop had his moments & UVa
Will remember him. But with no time to pass (see Duke & Minnesota in 2024) & without Drones size in the run game where would we get offense? Could he hold up?
H
Happy Dog
7mo
That was one of the worst uva teams in memory
M
marcbvtgm
7mo
Yep. Terrible D. No pass rush & not good coverage.
Tank Tank
7mo
He had his shot at VT and hopefully, he'll do better in the FCS. No one...
and I mean NO ONE has more motivation to win than the coaches. If Pop showed the coaches that he provided a better opportunity to win, then he would have played more. I wish him luck, wherever he lands. But he was given an opportunity at VT.
W
Windows NT
7mo
ex coach didn't give Pop a chance to win. instead monty bet on a bad horse
C
crazylane
7mo
Our O line couldn't pass block
Our receivers couldn't get open and had the drops frequently. Offensive scheme (tight end anybody?) wasn't helping much. Pop would have been hurt running and a turnover machine dropping back. Not necessarily his fault but we saw enough to know these are facts. ** Edited by crazylane at 12/26/2025, 9:52:28 PM
Hokiefied Hokiefied
7mo
Had his chance every day in practice
I’m sure he gave it hell but he is simply not equipped to be QB1 in the FBS.
D
drc1956
7mo
did he?
I believe NIL was in play. The only way Drones was going to be benched was if he just couldn't play. No special knowledge, just one man's opinion. ** Edited by drc1956 at 12/26/2025, 9:39:57 PM
3
3Manysons
7mo
No way
That is an incredible claim. No way that is true.
Hokiefied Hokiefied
7mo
I’ve seen that said repeatedly and it makes 0 sense
No coach, no where would guarantee QB1 status as a part of NIL. It just didn’t happen and people should quit saying it. Accept Pop has no business being QB1 on a P4 team and move on. So you are correct he was never going to see the field unless Drones couldn’t go but only because he wasn’t a viable option. What we do know about NIL is Bowen made sure Pop got more to keep him just before he bailed. Another brilliant move by that waste of space in developing QBs.
Tombo Tombo
7mo
The coach that just got fired might have made that deal. If you don't have
any more evidence than those with the counterpoint, your argument is as hollow as theirs. Unless you have information you'd care to share that comes from inside the building...
Hokiefied Hokiefied
7mo
I have the common sense to know this is the evolution of the QB2 is the…
Best player on the team myth in the NIL era. We’ve seen him play. And the coaches see him play every day. He’s an FCS talent that has failed to perform in competitive games save vs a neutered UVA. Oh, yeah the new staff said thanks but no thanks confirming the judgement of Monty and Pry. He was an emergency only QB.
Tombo Tombo
7mo
I'm not subscribing to the backup QB is the best player on the team theory.
But Drones failed to break 120 yards passing in how many games? A lot of other staffs would have given someone else a shot. Circumstantially it seems like something else was going on. I'll take your answer as you don't have any more direct evidence than anyone else so it's all just theory at this point. You have yours, other have theirs
M
marcbvtgm
7mo
Did you watch the whole field or just the QB? The entire VT pass O sucked.
Hokiefied Hokiefied
7mo
Direct answer came from Franklin when he told Pop to hit the portal
This isn’t complicated
Tombo Tombo
7mo
You dont think he has a bigger budget than Pry did? Your logic is flimsy
and pulls together information that has not been shown to be related.
H
HokieKanger OP
7mo
So Drones had business being a QB1 on a P4 team????
H
HOKIE75-79
7mo
Remember that LSU came after Drones and we upped his NIL
Hokiefied Hokiefied
7mo
No. I’ve said repeatedly he’s G5 but the best option available.
C
crazylane
7mo
Not on this VT team
He has physical tools but regressed. That's on him and the staff. As I said before, very few quarterbacks would have thrived in our system this year. It wasn't very QB friendly for obvious reasons. ** Edited by crazylane at 12/26/2025, 9:57:07 PM
H
HOKIE75-79
7mo
remember our QB that went to Tenn, and how he improved
2
2hhoop3
7mo
Did he improve.....
or was he just the fortunate beneficiary of a better supporting cast and a system that was a better fit?
H
Hokie1992
7mo
Ah, and Virginia Tech has struggled recruiting and developing top-tier QBs
Since Tyrod Taylor was a star
Tank Tank
7mo
No, but he was the best we had, which we all can all agree is sad.
The good news is that it is all changing.