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Virginia Tech makes transfer portal splash in adding Kyron Drones, Ali Jennings

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BLACKSBURG, Va. — They visited Virginia Tech at the same time last weekend, one looking for a Power 5 school where he could prove himself in order to get to the next level, the other looking for a chance to finally run the show after two years mostly as a spectator.

It was during that visit that Old Dominion receiver transfer Ali Jennings III and Baylor quarterback transfer Kyron Drones got to know each other and the Hokies, both hosted by safety Jalen Stroman and gave a vision for how they could help jumpstart what’s been a stagnant offense.

“We were talking all weekend about what we could do,” Drones said. “And then he was just like basing it off me: If I committed, he was coming here.”

By Sunday, both were in the fold — quietly. The public reveal came Monday, with Jennings tweeting his decision to come to Virginia Tech at 5 pm ET and Drones doing the same an hour later.

Like last year’s tandem commitments from quarterbacks Grant Wells and Jason Brown, it was choreographed timing, aimed at building a little recruiting momentum for the Hokies, who added five commitments (two transfers and three high schoolers) in two days.

Virginia Tech’s hoping their impact will be much larger, however. Jennings comes to Tech after catching 116 passes for 2,025 yards and 14 touchdowns the past two seasons at Old Dominion. Drones served as a backup at Baylor this season but was a four-star dual-threat prospect coming out of high school who ranks as one of the most-touted quarterback recruits the Hokies have landed in some time.

Together, they’re the first step in revamping a Hokies offense that couldn’t get out of its own way this fall in Brent Pry’s first season, ranking 120th in total yards.

“There’s no better place to be than being home, trying to rebuild the Virginia Tech program like it once was,” Jennings said.

Jennings’ phone buzzed so frequently after he went into the transfer portal earlier this month that the receiver thought about getting a second one, just so he could get a break from the endless calls and messages.

Of course, one call cut right through the noise immediately, from Hokies receivers coach Fontel Mines, a fellow Richmonder and mentor who’d been instrumental in getting him to Old Dominion from his original college choice, West Virginia, a couple of years ago.

Their roots run deep. In fact, when Jennings was around 5 or 6, he attended a football camp in Richmond hosted by Mines, who was then a tight end for the Chicago Bears. His mom still has a picture from the event.

Another reunion felt right.

“He was the reason I went to ODU,” Jennings said. “And I feel like he can help me take my game to the next level, especially with him being a guy who’s made it to the next level.”

It just so happens that what the 6-foot-2, 196-pound Jennings is seeking — a role as a No. 1 receiver at a Power 5 school — was exactly what the Hokies had to offer, with this year’s top option, Kaleb Smith, entering the transfer portal after a 674-yard, three-touchdown season. Tech’s leading returning wide receiver is Da’Wain Lofton (22 catches, 254 yards), and no receiver has been in the program longer than two years, leaving a leadership void that needs to be filled.

“Definitely, I want to prove myself at a Power 5 level,” said Jennings, who thinks he’s strong with his body position and at attacking the ball in the air and, like all receivers, can use more refinement on his routes and releases.

“Seeing what’s considered the best of the best every week and showing that I can do that at a high level as well. Because I want to play at the next level, and when you do things like that, you’re going to see somebody who’s a guy every week. So I want to make sure that I’m giving the scouts what they want to see.”


Ali Jennings averaged 106.6 yards in nine games in 2022. (James Guillory / USA Today)

He’ll join an offense he has familiarity with. Jennings said there are similarities between what former Penn State offensive coordinator Ricky Rahne does as the head coach at ODU and what Virginia Tech offensive coordinator Tyler Bowen, who was once Rahne’s tight ends coach with the Nittany Lions, does with the Hokies.

“And he’s added in more of a pro-style aspect in it with play calling and tags and stuff like that, different formations and things, just to help prepare guys for that next level,” Jennings said.

With one year of eligibility remaining, Jennings can’t help but notice who’s on the calendar for Tech’s season opener next year on Sept. 2: Old Dominion, which visits Blacksburg. Jennings had five catches for 122 yards in the Monarchs’ 20-17 season-opening win against the Hokies this year.

“It’s definitely going to be weird for me because of the relationship I have with my former teammates,” Jennings said. “But it’ll definitely be fun and it’ll be a competition. They have some guys at Old Dominion that can play at the next level as well, so I can’t wait to see those guys again and it’s going to be some fun.”

When Drones was a recruit coming out of Shadow Creek High in Pearland, Texas, a Houston suburb, one of his primary goals was to play close to home to make it easy for his family to come see him. Baylor fit the ball, a drive of just over three hours to Waco.

This time around?

“It didn’t matter to me,” Drones said. “I just wanted to go play, and that’s any school, whether it was far, close, it didn’t matter. I just had to make that sacrifice to go far and just go out there and play.”

To wit, Drones’ other three finalists were an eclectic trio with little in common geographically: Houston, Indiana and Northwestern. But it was Virginia Tech that was on him from the get-go — insert your #TX2VT jokes here — with Bowen making a trip to Texas to visit with Drones on the first day coaches were allowed to do so with transfers.

“He was really cool,” Drones said. “Really a people person, real relatable. He was mainly getting to know me, and that’s what I loved the most. He wasn’t just talking about football. He wanted to know about me as a person, how I could learn, how would we be cool with each other.”

More than anything else, the 6-foot-2, 223-pound Drones was looking for an opportunity. He signed with Baylor in 2021 but redshirted his first year. This fall, he served as a backup to Blake Shapen, getting limited action but throwing for 219 yards and a touchdown and adding two more scores on the ground.

Most of that action came in injury relief of Shapen during a 43-40 loss at West Virginia, when Drones led two scoring drives, going 7-for-14 for 95 yards and a touchdown and running for 24 yards (though with a pick deep in Mountaineers territory in the fourth quarter).

“I felt like I showed everybody I was ready, and that led to my decision to enter the portal,” Drones said. “I was ready and there’s only so much you can learn from two years watching other people’s mistakes. It’s about time for me to learn from myself.”

At Virginia Tech, he has a chance to push for that opportunity early. Wells is the returning starter, although he’s coming off a year in which he had career lows in completion percentage (59), yards per attempt (6.5) and quarterback rating (117.5), throwing for as many interceptions (nine) as touchdowns.

Best-case scenario for Drones, he wins the job, elevates the offense and gives the Hokies a starter with three years of eligibility remaining who they can build around as the younger classes of quarterbacks get up to speed. Short of that, if Wells maintains his hold on the starting job, Drones gives Tech a Plan B it chose not to go to last year with Jason Brown, a bigger-bodied quarterback who’s about 15 pounds heavier than Wells — with more dynamic running ability your boot.

On Wells’ 81 non-sack rushes this year, he averaged 5.26 yards per carry, which ranked 71st among quarterbacks, per TruMedia stats. Although based on an extremely small sample size and in a better offense, Drones averaged 6.1 yards per carry this past season.

“I feel like the competition is there and I’ve just got to go out there and do what I do,” said Drones, who like Jennings arrives in January. “I just like the way Coach Bowen said he’s going to make sure I use all my skills in the offense. My running ability. My throwing ability. Must be able to read the defense. Everything.”

Landing Drones could be a signal that Pry and his staff are starting to flex their recruiting muscles a little, too. He’s a transfer, but Drones was a four-star prospect in the 2021 class and the No. 263 player nationally in the 247Sports Composite. That out-ranked the two most-touted high school prospects in the Justin Fuente era (Quincy Patterson was 275th; Hendon Hooker was 337th, to show you the volatility of such rankings), although Jerod Evans brought his own acclaim from the junior college ranks .

Tech apparently put on a good show for Drones during his recent official visit.

“I just liked the people,” he said. “Like how I was their No. 1 priority from the start. And they expressed that, they showed that. And just how much love they were showing, that’s all I needed.”

(Top photo of Kyron Drones: Jerome Miron / USA Today)

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