Everything From Head Coach Brent Pry After Virginia Tech's Win Over Marshall

Brent Pry addressed the media after the win against Marshall.

Brent Pry post-game press conference vs Marshall /

1. Was there an emphasis at halftime to get back to running the ball after you ran it well in the first half but didn't stick with it?

"To be honest, we had some moments in the first half. And for various reasons, we couldn't run it consistently enough, but I thought the offensive staff again did a nice job at halftime. And you know, the players had great determination from the onset. I thought it felt different. I thought there was some good energy and a good mentality. We just didn't, we couldn't. We weren’t good on 3rd down in—the first half. But I thought about the ability to run the ball and make that statement to start the second. We went three and out on defense, right? It's 10 seven. They got a chance to do something the defense snuffed them and then we have that type of drive and finish it with a touchdown that set the tone for the half. "

2. You had those first-half struggles, what do you chalk that up to for second straight week? 

"Yeah, I thought we were sluggish just with the execution, you know the guys were moving around and doing things, but we weren't finishing in the execution piece and one time it was a wide-out then to be the o line it be. You know, we just couldn't get it going. You know, like I said, there were some moments we had a nice drive to start the game and kick the field goal. You know, thank goodness the defense was playing really well and really kept that game where it was. But I thought, like Kyron, settled down and really kind of looked more like himself in the second half. Not that he played poorly in the first half, but he just didn't look like we needed him to look.I was proud of the way he responded."

3. The Jaylin Lane punt return for a touchdown. How big of a lift is that? How nice is it to have him be the second straight guy essentially stepping up just to do that? 

"That's awesome. Well, you know what a big play when we needed it right, I mean, we're struggling on offense in that half and to get that return and then there’s a Face mask on top of it helps out to defense, but you know he’s dangerous as a returner and he's proven that. You know, last year and this year and there were some guys that did a nice job getting in the way and affording penalties. And he broke a few tackles and outran everybody. But we needed that, it was a nice impactful play from our special teams unit."

4. With the fact that and to the frustration of many Hokies fans, this is now two games in a row, you guys have really struggled in the first half. What other conversations look like with the team and with Tyler Bowen about how important it is to get off to a hot start and not have three games in a row, where we're struggling? 

"Yeah, you know, fortunately, we got to film to look at and evaluate and make the corrections. Yeah, I think we did some good things. We just you know, I would say the biggest thorn in our side was third down. You know we got to take a look at that. I think we were one of eight or one of nine. And you know we have got to be better. We got to convert a couple and that keeps the drive alive. Keeps them off the field, and flips the field for us. So I think we're much closer this week than we were last. But you know, I think there's a lot to build on in the second half of complete offense that we can lean into and grow from."

5. Mansoor was picked on a lot against Vanderbilt. He was challenged a lot tonight but had a lot better results. What did you see from him that was a lot different than what we saw last week?

"Yeah, he had a great mindset as well. He was determined to bounce back you know, he's a resilient guy. I think he embodied kind of the way the team was today. Just by your mindset and he was excited. He played with great technique, he played with great confidence. You gotta do that at that position. I think he got a little razzled last week when they hit one on him and you know, I think it's a testament to coach Jones and Mansoor and Dorian was in his ear all week, the way he bounced back, he played like the player that he is. "

6. Earlier this week, you talked about when you guys are in tight games, you need a bigger momentum swing. Did you think your team answered the bell in those moments coming out in the second half when you needed that?

"Yeah, I really did, I thought the deep ball to Gosnell I mean that was a big answer, I think we had some you know, and they had the big run. They ran a trap play and sprung it on us and we didn't get it on the ground, but we came back and answered that was big. I think that we talked about that all week as a team starting in the locker room. And you know, in Nashville you got to respond. You know, that's part of it. As a play-caller and as a player, I thought we did a nice job today. That was the difference in the game. "

7. Bhayshul had 22 carries, the second most in his Tech career. What did you like about just the mentality he ran with today and what impressed you most about the way you guys were able to attack downfield in the second half? 

"Yeah, I'll tell you what he ran hard and he outran some folks, he broke tackles. We got him in his stride right there, you know, we got his A-game today and we took him off kickoff return. It seemed to gas him more than maybe we'd like for it to, and then we said let's get him going at tailback, let's get him running. And I thought the O line, really played pretty well, particularly in the second half, but you know we've got to get him going. We know that and that was a mindset coming out of the half. We got to feed this guy and be patient enough to do it."

8. Coach Steven Gosnell now last week with 72 yards, 54 today with the 49 yard catch as you mentioned earlier, how important is it to get him going in the offense and what have you seen out of him improving week by week and especially taking that incredible catch? 

"Yeah. First of all, this is a kid who tore his ACL in the bowl game. And was actually talking about hanging it up. And being done with ball. And we had a good long meeting and he wanted to be part of this and believed in it. And then he doubled down after his surgery. Remarkable recovery. From a nutrition standpoint, he was on top of that. And supplements and just, you know, really anxious to get back and ready and to have him fully cleared going into camp was great for us. He's a tough kid. You know, the guys. He's one of the favorites. The way he works and he's kind of no-nonsense. He gave his team his personal share last night to the team and it was just almost as good as a deep ball he caught. I mean, really just meaningful and heartfelt. He's got a great story. And you know what he and Benji are doing right now, I think that's a special deal, but that ball, I mean that he launched Kyron, launched that thing, and then Steve laid out for it was strong enough and tough enough to you know to make the catch. When he hit that ground, sometimes you see those things pop out and he did a nice job hanging on to it."

9. Coach, you mentioned earlier this week you wanted to see the offensive line improve in the passing game after some free rushes got through last week in the first half when you guys were throwing the ball, there were still some times where there were free guys coming off the edge. What would you like to see improved in that regard? is that a scheme thing or what do you think? 

"I think it's a little bit of everything right now. There's a couple of things from a protection standpoint, there's a couple of times we just got beat. There's a couple of times we hung on to the ball, where we just didn't get open. So it wasn't just any one thing. I thought the guys played better up front today. I really did. I thought they stepped it up in the second half, but we still have to be better. Like I said, Marshall had a couple of edge guys that we knew were going to be a problem. 15 is a pass-rush guy that could, you know, make things happen initially. So we had our hands full right there. But I thought once Kyron settled down and went through his reads and progressions, we were much better. Got the ball out of his hand more timely. And when we can run the ball, it keeps guys off balance. "

10. Get 12 pass breakups by the team today. Seems like a lot of those one-on-one situations. These guys were coming through with those. How do you feel about the pass defense, especially some of the younger guys like Lovett seemed to get a lot of snaps today? 

"That was excellent to see. They challenged us. I thought we were in good position, good coverage. You know, I think we just had the one defensive holding down in the red zone. I thought we played pretty clean. We were able to get those pass breakups without drawing the flag, which is challenging sometimes you know, I thought there was pretty good pressure. You know, I thought there was pretty good pressure. They did seem to want to get rid of it in a hurry. They weren't holding the ball very long, but I thought the guys responded and played well in coverage, not just story, but like we said, Mansoor, and Dante Lovett. But Jaylen Jones, remember we had a three-man rotation at safety tonight. And with Stroman out, Quentin Reddish. A true freshman had to step up and play a bunch of snaps. Moe's played a much better game than he did last week, and I thought Jaylen Jones really was playing well right now."

11. Speaking of that massive catch from Gosnell, like immediately after you guys ran kind of bit of a hurry-up and seemingly kind of ran like sort of a trick play where you had Kyron hurry up to the line and then run like a QB sneak right up the middle I wonder how long has that been in the playbook? And how long have you waited to kind of break that out?

" It's got to be the right time in the game, you know the right situation. And when you've got a big old guy like Kyron, it's a good play. "