Inside HokieSports 1/20: Big Men On Campus

Hokie Football Welcome New Faces To Campus For Spring Season

January 20, 2026

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Good Morning, Tech Fam. The new era of Virginia Tech football is officially on campus as some new Hokies rolled into Blacksburg over the weekend.

What else are we covering in today’s edition, Hokies?

👟 Straight Cookin’
🏈 Welcome Home
✨ Get Your Shrine On
🦃 And much, much more!

🙌 WELCOME HOME

As the spring semester gets underway, Virginia Tech football welcomed a fresh wave of talent to campus this weekend. Fifteen incoming freshmen from the highly regarded 2026 recruiting class, along with the arriving mid-year transfers, are now in Blacksburg to begin their journey as Hokies under head coach James Franklin.

The weekend arrivals follow a transformative offseason for the program. Franklin’s debut recruiting class earned national recognition, ranking No. 24 nationally and featuring eight four-star prospects — tied for the most in program history.

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🔼 Straight Cookin’. Virginia native and junior transfer Kaitlyn Cook announced her presence in a big way for the Hokies track & field squad at this past weekend’s Hokie Invitational.

Making her Virginia Tech debut, Cook took home a top-five program mark in the triple jump with a personal best of 12.91m (42’ 4.25”) to win the event. She also won the 60m hurdles over the weekend with a personal best of 8.46.

She was one of seven Hokies to win individual titles over the weekend.

🔼 Getting His Shrine On. All he’s looking for is one opportunity.

Virginia Tech QB Kyron Drones continued his quest to earn a shot at the next level, earning an invitation to the upcoming East-West Shrine Bowl in Frisco, Texas.

Drones, who recently competed at the 2026 Altrua Hula Bowl in DeLand, Florida, will suit up as part of the East team in next week’s game at The Star.

The Houston, Texas native started all 12 games for the Hokies this past fall, throwing for 1,919 yards and 17 TDs, while also rushing for 644 yards and nine scores on the ground.

🤔 HOKIE TRIVIA

In his three seasons at Virginia Tech, how many total TDs did Kyron Drones account for with the Hokies?

Got a guess?

Scroll to the bottom and find out!

📆 THE DAYS AHEAD

Wednesday, January 21
🏀 Men’s Basketball at Syracuse @ 9pm l ACC Network l Live Stats

Thursday, January 22
🏀 Women’s Basketball vs. Clemson @ 6pm l Tickets l ACC Network Extra l Live Stats

Friday, January 23
🎾 Men’s Tennis at Wake Forest @ 5pm (ITA Regionals)
🤼 #7 Wrestling vs. #24 Stanford @ 7pm l ACC Network Extra
👟 Track & Field at Red Raider Invite (Lubbock, Tex.)
👟 Track & Field at Hokie Invite

Saturday, January 24
🏊 Swimming & Diving vs. Princeton/Penn State @ 10am (Princeton, N.J.)
🎾 Women’s Tennis vs. App State @ 12pm
🏀 Men’s Basketball at #23 Louisville @ 3:30pm l The CW l Live Stats
🎾 Men’s Tennis vs. Vanderbilt/North Carolina @ TBD (ITA Regionals)
👟 Track & Field at Hokie Invite

Sunday, January 25
🎾 Women’s Tennis vs. ETSU @ 1pm
🏀 Women’s Basketball at Wake Forest @ 2pm l ACC Network Extra l Live Stats

🤝 SPREAD THE WORD

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🎉 TRIVIA ANSWER

Answer: 65 (44 passing, 20 rushing, 1 receiving)

🦃 Have a great one!