Virginia tech quarterback quincy patterson to transfer

Chris Hirons

November 30, 2020

BLACKSBURG, Va. — On Monday, Virginia Tech head coach Justin Fuente confirmed that backup quarterback Quincy Patterson has entered the transfer portal.

“First and foremost, I want to thank everybody at Virginia Tech for standing by me and my team. I want to thank coach Fuente and coach Cornelson for giving me an unbelievable opportunity to do what I love at a high level,” Patterson wrote in a Tweet. “I would also like to thank all the other coaches and staff members who were a part of my growth at Virginia Tech. Lastly, I would like to thank all Hokies fans for simply being you and always having my back.”

“Through thought, prayer and countless discussions with my parents and other important people in my life, I felt it was in my best interest to enter my name into the transfer portal. Despite the weird timing, my decision wasn’t made hastily. I will always be a Hokie and love my brothers and coaches to death and wish them luck the rest of this season. God’s timing is perfect.”

Fuente also announced that wide receivers Darryle Simmons (R-So.) and Ejijah Bowick (Fr.) are transferring as well.

The redshirt sophomore was a highly touted four-star recruit in Virginia Tech’s 2018 class. A recruiting class that originally included 27 signees has since seen seven players transfer. Two players were dismissed for disciplinary reasons, while Cole Beck and Walker Culver retired due to lingering injuries.

Patterson, a native of Chicago, Illinois, competed at the Elite-11 camp that featured the 11 best high school quarterbacks in the nation.

Since arriving at Virginia Tech, Patterson played in 13 games, mainly coming in to relieve an injured starter or to gain experience in garbage time. He threw for 359 career passing yards (42.3%) with four touchdowns and one interception. He also added 333 rushing yards (4.5 yards per carry) and three touchdowns.

“I’d just like to thank Quincy for his time here,” Fuente said as he confirmed the rumors that had been swirling for a week-or-so. “He had a vital role on our football team.”

To Fuente’s point, there’s no question that Patterson played a vital role in Tech’s success over the last couple of seasons. Against North Carolina last season, Patterson saved the day — twice. With four minutes remaining, Patterson took a designed quarterback run for a 53 yard house call to tie the game at 31. Then in the sixth overtime, Patterson took another designed run and converted a two-point conversion to give the Hokies a 43-41 win over UNC.

After replacing an injured Hendon Hooker at halftime against the Tar Heels, Patterson earned his first career start against Notre Dame in South Bend and nearly led the Hokies to an upset, narrowly losing 21-20.

Over the past two seasons, Patterson entered spring camp competing for the starting job, but fell short both times and was relegated to the No. 3 quarterback.

Last year, he sat behind both Ryan Willis and Hooker, and most recently, it was Hooker and Braxton Burmiester who were listed ahead of him.

With the quarterback room dealing with health scares and various injuries throughout this season, Patterson has bounced around between the backup and third-string role.

First, it was Hooker’s unspecified health issue in the first two weeks of the year. Against NC State, though, Patterson came off the bench to relieve Burmiester, who was dealing with a cramp in his throwing hand.

Patterson threw six passes, completing four of them and scoring two touchdowns through the air. He added 46 rushing yards and a score with his legs in the same game.

It appeared that Patterson solidified more designed packages that Fuente would roll with after his impressive performance against NC State, where he added 75 passing yards.

“Quincy still has a huge role on this football team,” Fuente said in September. “He’s got to continue to get better. I talked to him the other day and just told him I’m still as encouraged as I’ve ever been about him and his development. He will still absolutely have a role, not just because of COVID but because of his skillset as we move forward through this season.”

As September turned into October, Hooker eventually took the job from an ineffective Burmeister. October then turned into November and Patterson still hadn’t seen the field since he played against NC State.

For the first time in nearly two months, Patterson took a snap on Nov. 14 against Miami, while Burmiester sat out because of a few broken toes that limited his mobility.

In Patterson’s new role, he was used in short yardage situations. In his only play of the game, he picked up a first down on a nine-yard rush.

The next week against Pitt, Fuente used him for a drive after Hooker dealt with a left arm injury that is no longer bothering him. Against Pitt, Patterson threw four passes, completing three of them for 18 yards. He added another 11 yards with his legs on four rushes.

“We’re continuing to work Quincy and we wanted to get him in there on some short-yardage stuff and that might be something that we continue to do,” Fuente said after VT’s 25-24 loss to Miami.

With Burmiester still limited, Virginia Tech’s quarterback depth chart just became a lot thinner. If Burmiester is unable to go and Hooker’s arm injury nags him during the Clemson game, the Hokies would have to turn to redshirt freshman Knox Kadum, who has yet to make a collegiate appearance.