Let’s look at the Specialists squad for the Hokies. There are going to be critical times in many games where these players are going to have to come up big. It’s never really routine. Special Teams is more than just the three classes of player positions known as Specialists, but they really are the key players to a set of critical factors on every team’s roster.
We all know the history of “Beamer Ball” and the change to much of the landscape of many college football programs with the increased focus
on the importance of Special Teams by Virginia Tech’s Frank Beamer. We’ll talk about that in a minute. The core need remains, however. Regardless of the quality of the Special Teams players there must be a starting quality place kicker, punter, and long snapper (another irony to come).
| Number | Name | Position | Class | Height | Weight | Hometown | High School | Previous School |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 38 | Kyle Lowe | Kicker | Graduate Student | 6-3 | 199 lbs | Midlothian VA | Cosby | |
| 17 | John Love | Kicker | Redshirt Junior | 5-11 | 180 lbs | Spartanburg SC | Spartanburg | |
| 92 | Aiden Daugherty | Kicker | Redshirt Freshman | 5-11 | 187 lbs | Winston-Salem NC | Oak Grove | |
| 95 | Nick Veltsistas | Punter | Redshirt Senior | 6-2 | 202 lbs | Fairfax VA. | Robinson Secondary School | |
| 93 | Cole Byrd | Punter | Freshman | 6-2 | 195 lbs | Bassett VA | Bassett | |
| 96 | Christian Epling | Long Snapper | Redshirt Junior | 6-2 | 219 lbs | Dacula GA | Mill Creek | |
| 46 | Drew Doyle | Long Snapper | Redshirt Freshman | 6-1 | 242 lbs | Collinsville IL | Collinsville | Iowa State |
It’s Another “Toefy” Watch at Kicker
The Hokies have been blessed by quite a few really good kickers who have made it onto various professional rosters for extended periods. Face it most kickers wander from team to team, but Shane Graham and Joey Slye have made names for themselves. Graham is now teaching technique and coaching. Joey is in his 7th year of experience in the NFL It might have been 6 or 7 teams, but he’s made a career of it and recently booted a 63-yard field goal for the Tennessee Titans in the 2025 preseason. John Parker Romo is looking like he’s stuck with the New England Patriots and is now working on his 2nd season.
But that’s the pros, and we might have another possible pro kicker in John Love. Love recently was put on the 2025 Lou Groza Trophy watch list.
He’s a Redshirt Junior with a big leg, but more importantly Love has been one of the better field goal kickers in the ACC and even, as the watch list nomination shows, across the Power programs. Love’s accuracy and consistency is going to be critical on a team that might finally break the curse of coming up short in close games. Getting John Love a reasonable shot at a critical three-pointer is going to make a difference for the 2025 Hokies. Love has been selected as a team captain for the season as a topper for his work.
Kyle Lowe is backing up Love at kicker, but the graduate student has one big talent that is a fading need with the probability of new rules coming for kickoffs. Lowe’s leg is in the Joey Slye category of power, so his specialty has been kickoffs. His tendency to bury a ball deep into and often past the end zone removes the threat of a return and forces the opposing team to push the ball 75 yards down the field. At some point the kickoff specialist might be changing if college football changes the format for the kick, but for now, the ability to put the ball away is at a premium, and Lowe is a master at it.
The Hokies have a new kicker in the pipeline since Lowe will be graduating after this season, and Aiden Daugherty has been working out as a true Freshman. Love will need backup in 2026, and the Hokies will certainly need place kickers beyond next season, but for this season, Daugherty will be learning the trade.
No Moore, Like No Oscar
At the Punter position, long time team captain and veteran punter Peter Moore graduated from the program and Virginia Tech and finally made way for redshirt Senior Nick Veltsistas to get a shot at the critical job of putting the opposing team in a disadvantageous position. Veltsistas has a strong leg, and we can expect him to kick well, but it’s been a really long wait for him.
Given the Hokies’ tendencies to arrested drive attempts over the past several seasons, the punting position has become a critical factor in keeping games within reach as Moore was adept at pinning the opposition inside their 20, or even near their goal line. He was right up there with Hokie great Oscar Bradburn, and now Veltsistas has a chance to demonstrate his experience level, even if it’s only for one season.
The Hokies only have a single backup punter behind Nick V, and freshman Cole Byrd better be ready because he could be “the guy” very soon.
The Most Important Position Nobody Considers
We’ve often noted this side fact of modern football. The Long Snapper is often forgotten in the mix of players on the field, and even in recruiting, but what happens between the snap call and the holder for a place kick, or punter for the field flip, does not happen well without the Long Snapper. It’s an art and a science and it has to be a perfect snap every single time.
Tech’s returning Long Snapper, redshirt Junior Christian Epling, has been solid for the Hokies. The secret sauce of the relationship between the Punter (in the current system the Punter is also the place holder for field goals) and the Long Snapper, and Place Kicker means points, in both ones and threes. Both types of scores can mean the difference between winning or losing a game.
Backing Epling up is Iowa State transfer Drew Doyle, a redshirt Freshman who made the trip from one Ag school to another and looks to take over the position from Epling at some point. We’ll see if that ends up being a roster battle, but the Specialists Room is usually very cooperative and that contest is unlikely to be an issue.
Football Games and Programs are Loaded with Ironies
The Hokies are about to open with what might be the most depressing irony of the last few seasons, and one that impacts the Special Teams and Specialists the most. Shane Beamer’s South Carolina Gamecocks are rapidly grabbing the title of the “Beamer Ball” team of the middle 21st century. Beamer was one of Tech’s long snappers for his playing career and he was an assistant coach on the team for a time.
The reality and often frustrating sadness of the situation will remain, especially if… (We’ll cover that in a bit.)
