Everything From Brent Pry’s Press Conference Ahead of Matchup Against Boston College

What did Pry have to say?

Oct 5, 2024; Stanford, California, USA; Virginia Tech Hokies head coach Brent Pry is interviewed after defeating the Stanford Cardinal at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-Imagn Images / Stan Szeto-Imagn Images

Coach Brent Pry: Good to see everybody; it's been a little bit. I'm excited to be back in Lane Stadium. It's been nearly a month, I believe. Thursday night, a sold-out crowd, ESPN national television, Orange Effect—there's a lot to be excited about. Great opponent in BC, highly regarded head coach, a lot to be excited about for Thursday.

You know, ESPN Thursday Night Football and Virginia Tech go hand in hand. Back when I was a young coach, watching the Hokies on Thursday night was one of my favorite things to do. Our guys are excited, our coaches are excited. I'm appreciative of our fan base; we've sold out every home game this season, which I don't think has been done in quite some time. Everybody's fired up. It's been a good week of practice. Again, a little bit of a different week as far as scheduling and things like that, but our 37th appearance on ESPN Thursday Night Football speaks volumes. This series is tied three to three on Thursday night against Boston College, so it's a rubber match. We want to get on top of this thing. I'll take some questions.

Question: I know open weeks are usually a time where you guys can do some self-study on stuff. Are there any areas that you kind of wanted to drill down on during the extra time?

Coach Brent Pry: Yeah, there are. As you dive into the film and the data, you know, nowadays with your analytics crew, which we have an army of guys working on this stuff every week, you're getting feedback on a weekly basis about things where you have some tendencies, where you haven't been efficient. A couple of extra days to kind of dive into it helps, and you have the time in practice to isolate those areas. I'm not going to get into particularly what they were, but to isolate those areas and spend a little extra time on them, it is valuable.

Question: Boston College from last year—I think their rushing defense has jumped up quite a bit. What have you seen in their improvement there, and how much more of a challenge is that, trying to run the ball against them this year?

Coach Brent Pry: Yeah, they've been very physical defensively. I think their front seven, they've got good linebacker play right now. They have a stout D-line, a very active edge rusher—To be honest, throw game—he's been exceptional. He makes plays in the run game, makes guys miss, minus yardage plays. They've got a safety, number 20, who runs around and is an extra hat in the run game. I think they're sound, physical, and they tackle well. It will be challenging. As much as we respected Stanford's run defense, this group is as good or better.

Question: Brent, you faced a lot of the same faces on offense for Boston College last year. Different scheme—does it help that you kind of know the tendencies of the players even though the scheme is different?

Coach Brent Pry: Yeah, the familiarity with these guys, particularly with the quarterback and some of these guys—the running back, number five—a bunch of these O-linemen are back from last year. That certainly helps. But Coach O'Brien, he's an offensive guy who's always done a nice job wherever he's been schematically with what they do. And they do a lot. These guys motion and shift as much as we do. There's a ton of pre-snap stuff, and they've got a variety of play selections going on in the run game in particular. So, we got our hands full. It was good to have an extra couple of days for these guys.

Question: Have you and Bill O'Brien ever crossed paths, whether it be on the football field or recruiting?

Coach Brent Pry: I've run into him recruiting, but certainly a ton of respect for him. We followed Coach O'Brien at Penn State, and so we have a lot of common acquaintances that speak volumes about him and the work that he did in his two years in State College. Ton of respect—he's had a ton of success. He's doing a nice job with this Boston College team. I think they look much improved.

Question: Kaleb Spencer's coming in here later. We asked you about him after the Stanford game. What have you liked out of what he's been able to bring at the star position and really having someone who can come along and really give a lot of rest for Keonta and bring production at that position?

Coach Brent Pry: Yeah, Kaleb is one of those defensive players that just throws his body around. He hunts the ball, he's got good instincts, he's still developing technically for the position, but he plays hard. He hustles, he's got a nose for it, he plays physical. I got a lot of respect for the way he's playing. He's got to continue to play in the framework and make fewer mistakes, but he's proven that he's coachable, makes improvements, and is getting better each week.

Question: We've seen him blitz quite a bit and he's gotten to the quarterback and affected plays. Is that an aspect of the game that you really liked out of him, especially being able to be disruptive coming off the edge?

Coach Brent Pry: Absolutely. When you blitz a guy, you want him to make something happen back there. I think he's hard to block at times. As I mentioned, he's quick and can be a problem for backs in protection. But, you know, we've got to be able to get the quarterback on the ground a little bit better. Not just him, but when we do get home. Again, he's a guy that is really coming into his own. I think the back half of this season, as he's gained more comfort at the position and understanding of our structure, we'll continue to see improvement from him.

Question: Coach, after the bye last year, it was a bit of a turning point for the season. How did you guys approach it this year, and do you feel like you guys improved after the bye? Because it's like splitting a season in half almost, and you can turn the page.

Coach Brent Pry: Yeah, I think any bye week, you want to maximize what you can get from it. We certainly pulled our schedule out from last year—what did we do immediately following the previous game, and how did we structure practices, meetings, and when was the off time? A lot of planning and preparation goes into it. You want to get the extra work, but you also want to get guys recovered and feeling better, rested up a little bit. It's a day-to-day discussion, each and every morning in the staff meeting—what does this need to look like, where are we at. The guys have handled it well, the coaches have handled it well. Hopefully, the plan is one that gives us the opportunity to play our best, particularly against a good team.

Question: Coach, with the team currently at three and three, what's kind of been your message to the players throughout the week for this game, but also in terms of the long game, in terms of seeing bowl game eligibility, in terms of being able to succeed the rest of the season?

Coach Brent Pry: Yeah, we don't talk about anything beyond this game. So we're telling them what we need to do to be 1-0 and beat Boston College. We did talk a lot about the tradition and the rivalry with BC. It's been a lot of good games. They have fielded some really good teams. My first game as a Virginia Tech Hokie in 1995 was against Boston College here at home. We showed some clips, you know, Pearson, Goo, Xavier, all these guys we got on staff have made plays. JC Price against this group, so we pulled up some of that old film just to make sure they understand this is a big game, particularly Thursday night here at home.

Question: Aeneas has had three straight games with TFL and two straight games with a sack. What kind of impact, looking back at these last two, three games, have you really seen from him just getting to the quarterback and getting in the backfield?

Coach Brent Pry: Yeah, I think what you said, I think he's made some impact plays. He's played pretty well all year, but you know those signature plays that really impact a series and can stop a drive, that's been the noticeable difference to me the last couple weeks. He practices really hard, he practices well. Again, here's a guy that, first year playing in our system and our structure, and I think he's excited about the back half of the season that he can have. I think he's feeling more and more comfortable.

Question: A lot of talk after the Stanford game was about Kaleb, but Keonta had a pick too. I mean, both of those guys at that ST position making plays. What have you liked about Keonta and just how he's been consistent this year?

Coach Brent Pry: First of all, credit to Shawn Quinn, our STAR coach, working with both those guys. Keon was a guy that moved down from safety and of course Caleb, you know, was a safety at Miami, a little bit of time as an overhang guy, but Shawn haK done a good job with those guys. We've got a young guy there, Kaleb Williams, that's really coming along as well. When we decide to use his four games, I think folks will notice him on teams and at the star position. But Keonta made a decision to come back on the basis that he was going to be better, that he had some things he needed to clean up from a technical standpoint and he wanted to be more physical. He felt like as the year wound down last year he was playing better, and so he wanted to kind of build on that and come out this fall and reach his potential. And I think he's on his way to doing that.

Question: I'm not sure how much they move around their big pass rusher. Looks like Xavier Chaplin might have a lot of one-on-one responsibilities with him. How prepared do you think Xavier is for that challenge and what have you seen from him this year?

Coach Brent Pry: Yeah, I've been pleased with Xavier. He's a smart guy, he practices hard every day, he's talented. You know, he missed the ball game earlier in the year and bounced back pretty well from that. I thought he's, you know, to me he's one of those guys. I like what he brings in the run game and I like what he brings in the throw game. It'll be a good matchup. You know, six for them is certainly talented. He's made plays against good tackles, not just this year but in the previous year, so he's a proven guy that I would think will play to the next level. So it's a good test for Xavier or Parker, whoever he is.

Question: With Castellanos as their quarterback, have you noticed them using him differently this year? Looks like his past completions are way up, maybe not running quite as bit as he did last year.

Coach Brent Pry: Yeah, I think there's some more efficient throws in the plan for him. There's more quick game, a lot of crossers and mesh, and you know, kind of good clean quick reads. Feels like sometimes it's, hey, you know, if this first read's not there then go ahead and do something with the football. But he's got a good supporting cast. They're utilizing their tight ends well. Those guys have made some plays at critical times. They're getting backs out of the backfield more. You know, those are efficient throws generally to those guys. He's a veteran quarterback, this guy's experienced now. I think he's making pretty good decisions. He's had some tipped balls and things like that that have ended up in interceptions, but I think he's playing better ball right now.

Question: One of the nation's leaders in sacks, but the defense as a whole is top in the ACC in scoring defense. What else stands out to you about what they do defensively to restrict offenses from being as productive as they could be?

Coach Brent Pry: Yeah, they have a good plan. Passing situations, they run a variety of coverages, some bracket and some two high to mix in with their, they're really based out of a three-deep that they play very well. Kind of an NFL coverage that you see a lot on Sundays. But, you know, they're just a solid group. I think again, I think they tackle well. They don't do a whole lot, but what they do, they do well. And I think it starts with their front. You know, it's not just the edge guy, they've got an inside guy that's disruptive too, 96, that's been a problem. So I think it's a combination of being pretty good at all three levels. You know, they obviously trust the framework and pretty sound group.

Question: With the unfortunate news of PJ going down, has Coney or Tyler Mason showed flash to sort of be that third back and help guys like Tuten and Thomas?

Coach Brent Pry: Yeah, Coney's, you know, he's been around here now. He's carried the ball to finish some games and things, but he's also done things in practice. He's a good, tough north-south runner. I think the guys respect him and trust him. He'll move into that three spot for the time being.

Question: Specifically with the safeties, Mose Phillips and Quinten, two young guys back there, how have you liked them playing? Sort of glimpses of the future you're in that room, and how they shown?

Question: Yeah, I've been proud of both those guys. Certainly, they haven't played perfect, but, um, you know, they are getting better each week. They're tackling well for the most part, they're covering pretty well for the most part, they communicate well together. I think Mose's took a big step in that area from year one to year two. As a true freshman, you know, you look back at what Moe's did for us last year in just about 400 snaps, and Q's got a chance to, you know, probably play a little bit more than that. Q's a guy that's playing both spots, field and boundary, which is challenging as a freshman. To me, it's a testament to, you know, just the mental ability to learn it and then apply it.

Question: You were mentioned about previous Thursday night games with Boston College. Has Xavier Adibi had a chance to address the team about the '07 Matt Ryan game in the rain?

Coach Brent Pry: They've talked about it in the staff room. I don't know if he's talked about it with the players, but I've heard him mention it a couple of times this week.

Question: Is that going to be a motivational technique, I guess, especially in the linebacker room?

Coach Brent Pry: Yeah, you know, we've, again, we've talked about this series and the tradition and the games with BC. We went through and talked about each of the Thursday night games and kind of just told a quick narrative about each one and how they went down. You know, we're writing our story now, and we have to go do the things we have to do to win this thing.

Question: Andy asked you about the tackles. In terms of the offensive line as a whole, Tyler Bow said last week they're getting hat on hat better, they're protecting better. Have you seen the line get better throughout the week, especially with Bob coming in at left guard, and how close is Layth to coming back?

Coach Brent Pry: Yeah, again, I think the O-line has improved. I think Coach Davis and Coach Crook have done a nice job. I think we probably weren't just a consistent group early, and now I've seen some improvement each week against some pretty good folks. I'm excited about the direction they're going. They need to take another step against this crowd. But Layth is on his way back. He was out there in full pads yesterday, still non-contact, but he looked good and had a smile on his face and working hard, so he's on his way.

Question: Coach, [Jaricious] Hairston has had some increasing minutes as each game goes on. What have you liked about his game and how he bolsters that tight end group?

Coach Brent Pry: Yeah, we need him to come along. He's got good size, a good skill set. There's a lot of moving parts at tight end. You look at the run game, the throw game, but he's got a great attitude and works really hard. I thought there were a couple of plays he looked like a freshman out there against those guys, but he's the type of young man who's going to learn from it. Coach Holt does a great job with that group. I think we've seen the play from Benji and Harrison, and now it's time for J Ric to step up. In the back half of the season, let's get him some more snaps. He's helping us out on teams now, working on our punt team, so there's more and more responsibility coming his way.

Question: Coach, you mentioned selling out every home game, the first time since 2012. What does that mean to you? I mean, obviously, you talk so much about this fan base and how great they are, but to sell out every single home game this year for the first time in over a decade, what does that mean to you?

Coach Brent Pry: Yeah, it's a testament to our fan base. I think they believe in what we're doing. They're excited about the product we're putting on the field. Obviously, everybody wants to win every one of them, but I think they see the needle moving in the right direction. They appreciate transparency. They're hungry to have a winning team back in that stadium and to do big things. We need them, and we're super appreciative as coaches and players of what they bring to our home turf each and every time we get an opportunity to play in there. It's outstanding. From The Hokie Walk to the entrance to in-game, our student section, it's all of it. If I'm coming out and I'm a high school prospect, that's one of the things. There's a lot of facilities and this and that, and now NIL is certainly part of it, but one of the things you always wanted to do as a player was compete in front of a great crowd, a passionate crowd, and we certainly have that here at Virginia Tech.