Five Questions Facing Virginia Tech Ahead of 2025 Season

Year Four of a head coach's tenure usually elicits two opposite yet distinct feelings — confidence or anxiety.

As the Hokies prepare for Brent Pry's fourth season as Virginia Tech's head coach, most fans feel an abundance of the latter. Tech fell short of expectations in 2024 and lost a slew of starters on both sides of the ball. Pry and his staff added key pieces in the transfer portal, as well as new coaches, but the turnover and lack of a track record generate endless amounts of uncertainty and uneasiness.

Just a couple short weeks remain before Virginia Tech's season starts with a critical game against the former prodigal son Shane Beamer and his Gamecocks. As the Hokies wrap up summer camp, here are the five biggest questions facing team.

What Kind of Offense Can Fans Expect From Phillip Montgomery?

Brent Pry did not plan on replacing former offensive coordinator Tyler Bowen — Bowen saw himself out the door en route to a cushy gig at Ohio State. Still, Pry might've found an upgrade.

Phillip Montgomery has been coaching football for as long as I've been alive. His offenses at Houston and Baylor lit up scoreboards across the country. He flamed out at Tulsa, but not before leading the Golden Hurricane to four bowl games in eight seasons.

Montgomery's scheme remains to be seen, but one should expect to see some benefit from having a grizzled coaching veteran calling plays. The offensive strategy should flow better from play-to-play and drive-to-drive. 

It'll take plenty of time for this offense to gel — more on that later — but regardless of how much Air Raid or Spread offense he uses, fans should be able to rely on Montgomery fielding a competent offense.

Did Virginia Tech Appropriately Restock the Skill Positions?

Bhayshul Tuten is Virginia Tech's most productive running back of the last 10-plus years. You don't replace that level of production easily.

Rather than sign an elite running back, the Hokies signed three proven contributors at lower levels in an attempt to replace Tuten's production in the aggregate. Think of it as the Moneyball approach.

Terion Stewart (2,367 career rushing yards), Braydon Bennett (1,954 career rushing yards), and Marcellous Hawkins (1,312 career rushing yards) will all vie for carries in Montgomery's offense. Even with Tuten in the NFL, the Hokies should be just fine at running back.

The bigger questions are in the pass game, where Virginia Tech lost five of their top seven pass catchers from 2024. Benji Gosnell and Ayden Greene return, but everyone else is either new or has little to no experience.

Donavan Greene has had an up-and-down career, while Cameron Seldon has bounced around on offense and is yet to find his footing. Both will need to show more than they have at this point in their careers if the Hokies' offense is going to shine.

Can Matt Moore Make an Immediate Impact on the Offensive Line?

Brent Pry lucked out when West Virginia's Matt Moore was looking for a landing spot. Moore has been coaching since 1997 and was a Broyles Award nominee just two years ago. He's coaches multiple All-Americans.

Those kinds of credentials don't grow on trees.

Moore immediately brought in some of his own players, including soon-to-be starters Kyle Altuner and Tomas Rimac. Rimac was an honorable mention on the All-Big 12 list in 2024, while Altuner is a redshirt freshman.

While getting those guys to transfer in was important, maybe even more important is Moore's ability to develop Virginia Tech's other offensive linemen, namely Johnny Garrett, Layth Ghannam, and Montavious Cunningham.

Neither of those three have made a serious impact yet in Blacksburg. Moore needs to bring the best out of them, or else this unit may never gel.