‘I Wasn't Going to Look Back': Hokies QB Kyron Drones Speaks with Adam Breneman

When did Kyron Drones realize that he made the right decision venturing to Virginia Tech? "I never even thought about Virginia Tech," Drones said in an interview with Adam Breneman on Breneman's "Next Up" podcast.

"But the first day [the] portal [was] open, [offensive coordinator Tyler Bowen], he flew to Waco and that just spoke volumes to me.

Like first day it open, you made it a point, like I was the priority and that's all I wanted out of a school." Drones now enters his third season in Blacksburg and his second where he will be the presumed Day 1 starter.

Due to COVID-19, Drones didn't receive the typical official visit experience.

As such, Blacksburg was the only visit he ever had.

"I knew it was going to be a challenge," Drones said about coming to Blacksburg.

"Just me still having to work and show everybody what VT brought me here.

And unfortunately, I didn't get to earn that starting role in the first two games [of 2023]." When Drones was told that he was going to be the backup quarterback behind mainstay Grant Wells, he said to Breneman that he "didn't have a bad attitude about it", but that "when my opportunity did come, I wasn't going to look back." When asked when football became more than just a game, Drones said that his "whole family's a football family.

My dad, he was a football coach.

I grew up a coach's kid.

My grandpa was my dad's coach.

So, just always been around football...

[But] my main sport was basketball.

Like I wanted to go to college for basketball.

I wanted to do that.

But then I realized like I'm 6'2, 6'3, shortest on the team.

It's not really like that easy like it was for football.

And then I made that sacrifice to not play basketball that summer, just to really lock in on football and the team and just get to really like be with the guys.

And then we had a good season my junior went undefeated, won state.

I started getting the offers and then that's really like when I fell in love with football for real.

Just having those moments with the guys each and every week, Friday night, just going out there and winning games.

And then when we won state, it was a surreal moment for me just cuz to win state with my dad was a big thing.

And then, he had already been to state two or three times before that.

Him winning his first state championship with me as the quarterback, it was just a huge moment for both of us." Drones didn't start until his junior year, but that year, his school not only went undefeated but went on to win states.

In his own words, Drones was a "late bloomer", but to him, his philosophy is that "if you do what you're supposed to do, somebody gonna find you and somebody gonna want you." The night before the state game, Drones was offered by William and Mary; after Drones became a state champion, his phone "started blowing up after that." He eventually settled on Baylor despite initially not wanting to stay in Texas for college.

In the end, he decided that he wanted his family to watch him play.

Drones redshirted his freshman year, saying that it "taught me a lot about patience and just staying witht he course, just seeing how hard guys really worked".

Drones stated that he wanted to battle for a starting spot going into that season, but then saw the level of effort required to get ready for a game while he was still getting acclimated to juggling college football and his schoolwork.

Eventually, he transferred to Virginia Tech, making his first career collegiate start against Rutgers on Sept.

16 of that year.

"It's the moment that I've been preparing for my whole life," Drones said.

"Been waiting for to get this opportunity.

Unfortunately, we didn't get to win that game, but uh it taught me a lot.

And just seeing that tape, from then to now, I feel like I'm a completely different player, just from growing and seeing a lot of stuff.

But, I didn't take it for granted.

I just wanted to keep my head down and do whatever it took to win the game.

Like I said, it didn't happen, but I was really proud of myself." That year ended with a 7-6 record and the feeling of an upward trajectory for Hokies football.

But then came 2024, a campaign that for many, was tinged with the feeling of a missed opportunity.

But Drones battled through that adversity, utilizing what his parents instilled into him at an early age.

"Just no matter what, keep working.

Don't really get into what other people think about you.

You know, the work you put in and just really like have that confidence and trust in yourself.

Believe in yourself and no matter what just get the job done...

Last year, I had a very up and down year.

I showed sparks of I could be this top player.

when I want to be and then I showed times where I wasn't really on my game.

So, this year going into it...

I want to be consistent, just be that consistently good player and that's going to take me a long way." In terms of improvements Drones is working on in this year's camp, he pointed to consistency, becoming more of a vocal leader and improving both his footwork and calmness under pressure.

"It's like once I'm more calm, I know I can make every throw on the field," Drones said.

Like he mentioned at the ACC Kickoff in July, Drones mentioned that he's not a screaming "rah-rah" kind of guy, preferring to lead by example and knowing who he can or can't yell at.

That example is one that Drones has been trying to make truer to himself.

"I was trying to show that I can throw, especially in the first early games where I wasn't really truly being myself.

And then I would say going into that Miami game, I really just changed the switch and just like went out there and started being me again until I couldn't play anymore." That game, Drones steered the Hokies to a near-upset of then-No.

7 Miami, undone by a reversed Hail Mary that was intiailly ruled a completion to wideout Da'Quan Felton.

Drones then went on to speak on his best Coach Pry story, saying that he never yells but that he "loves Micah Parsons" and brings him up every time he can, saying that "sometimes, it's like OD." The conversation then shifted to adversity, with Breneman asking Drones about when was the toughest challenge he had faced: "Last year was the most adversity I faced," Drones said.

"Just having a not a great start and then being up and down and then just battling through injuries that nobody really knew about and I was almost hurt the whole season.

So, just going out there, try to battle through that each and every day, let alone my first year, my first time ever, just letting the what people on the outside said was getting to me was last year.

Usually, I was a guy that never really cared.

So, just me having that up and down year, battling through injuries, and then just hearing the outside noise.

I would say that was my biggest adversity.

And then just me having my procedure done, coming back to rehab, how I did it this summer, and then just I picked up where I left off when I got the procedure in spring.

I'm back rolling now.

I feel perfectly fine.

If I had to play a game tomorrow, I'd be perfectly fine.

And then just my confidence level is even higher now than it was last year.

So, I'm just real proud of myself for that.

And I can't wait for the season." When asked about what he would say to himself on his first day at college if he had a chance to go back, Drones said to not take anything for granted and that "these five years will go by fast...

be consistent, be the same person each and every day and then just go have fun." When asked about the teams overall goals and the mindset inside the locker room, Drones emphasized a grounded, day-by-day approach.

"[The ultimate goal is the] ACC championship, but the main goal is just to be where our feet are," Drones said.

"Don't go thinking about like the first game.

Right now, we still in camp.

So, just go out there and be 1-0 each day in camp and then when we get to the first game, go 1-0 that game, 1-0 each and every week.

Be where our feet are.

Don't take anybody for granted because I feel like that's what happened last year.

We had all this hype going into last year about we could be this team, this team, and we just took a lot of things for granted and just being where our feet are would probably [have] eliminated a lot of the failures that we had." The final question for Drones was about his "why", what gets him out of bed and pushes him to be the best he can be.

Here's how he responded.

"I'm really self motivated but I would say my family, the the sacrifices they took to get me to where I'm at now, just to bring me these opportunities to even get a D1 scholarship to be able to play college football," Drones said.

"They did so much for me.

And then, my self motivation of just wanting to be the best player I can be.

Just being the person I can be and just going out there and being the best me I know." More Virginia Tech Football News:.

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