Virginia Tech received a commitment from Oklahoma State quarterback Garret Rangel on Wednesday. He has two years of eligibility remaining
The 6-foot-2, 205-pound signal-caller spent three seasons with the Cowboys and appeared in 13 contests. He played in four games before redshirting in 2022, and he saw limited action the following two years. In all, he was 93-of-180 (51.7%) for 1,075 yards, eight touchdowns and seven interceptions. He also rushed for 107 yards on 41 carries. PFF credits him with 363 career snaps, 229 of which came in 2022.
As a true freshman, Rangel was thrown into the fire at the end of the season when Spencer Sanders suffered an injury. He was 27-of-40 for 304 yards and two touchdowns at Kansas and 14-of-31 for 229 yards and two scores in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl vs. Wisconsin.
After seeing time in Oklahoma State’s 2023 opener vs. Central Arkansas, where he completed 10 of his 15 attempts for 118 yards and a touchdown, he only threw 17 passes the rest of the season as he sat behind veteran Alan Bowman.
He battled for playing time in 2024, too, but had one of his more promising games in October at BYU — his first start in more than a year. He was 6-for-9 for 51 yards and a touchdown and had a 54-yard run at the end of the first half — one of his five carries for 77 yards — before breaking his collarbone on the play.
Rangel bounced back from injury this spring and started in the Cowboys’ spring game in April, connecting on five of his six throws for 58 yards. Head coach Mike Gundy shook up his coaching staff in the offseason, though, and Rangel ultimately decided to pursue opportunities elsewhere — one of two quarterbacks to depart.
In transferring to Virginia Tech, the Frisco, Texas, native reconnects with Hokies offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery, who recruited him out of high school as the head coach at Tulsa.
Per the 247Sports composite rankings, Rangel was a four-star recruit out of Lone Star High School, the No. 26 quarterback in the 2022 class and the No. 60 player in Texas. Houston, Northwestern, Utah and Vanderbilt were other Power 4 programs interested the first time around.
Over his high school career, he amassed 9,333 passing yards and 101 touchdowns, completing 594 of his 862 attempts. As a senior, he was 127-of-187 for 2,049 yards and 24 scores. He was also a three-sport athlete who played basketball and competed in track & field.
Rangel is the 29th transfer portal commitment of the offseason for Tech but the first at quarterback. He’s the 10th pickup since spring practice ended.
He gives the Hokies five scholarship quarterbacks for the 2025 season, a group headlined by incumbent Kyron Drones. Pop Watson is also back, while true freshmen A.J. Brand and Kelden Ryan round out the unit. With Rangel having two years of eligibility left, it’s likely he competes with Watson for the backup job this fall and then the starting job next year once Drones leaves.
For more information on Virginia Tech’s comings and goings in the portal, click here for Tech Sideline’s roster management page.
