Everything From Brent Pry's Press Conference Ahead of Matchup With Marshall
1. On Jalen Stroman's injury status and return date...
" I foresee him missing a couple of weeks at least."
2. On the safety rotation with Stroman missing...
"So obviously it's increased reps for Jaylen Jones, for Mose, and for Quentin Reddish, you know that's. You know his snap counts going to jump way up and he'll play both the field and the boundary. And then we've continued to train Mansoor there, because of situations like this. So he he got snaps in camp. He was in some meetings, he's been involved there, we'll increase that. And then we've also got a situation with Braylon Johnson, Devin Alves where we're giving those guys some opportunities possibly, even Kaleb Spencer. To play a little bit in that boundary, so. We've got to find that fourth guy right now. You know it gets into an injury situation, you know, Mansoor, the next guy right now. But to be the fourth guy going into the game. Mansoor will obviously be the starting corner, so somebody else has to step up."
3. On evaluation of the offensive line game in the first week...
"Yeah, I think in the run game we need to be more physical. They were shooting gaps and doing some things that we hadn't expected, and it slowed us down. I think we got to come off the ball, be more aggressive, be more physical. At moments we looked pretty good in the run game, we were hat on hat, we were moving people. And then in the throw game, I think we got beat a little bit too often you know they had a little bit too much success rushing the quarterback."
4. Pry on O-Line communication issues and Ghannam's first start...
"There was a few. Communication issues. Not many, and I thought Layth (Ghannam) for the most part in his first start did a pretty good job."
5. On the linebacker core's performance, and their movement to find their place in the team...
"Yeah, we thought Keli played harder, faster what we need made some plays in the game by any means didn't play perfect or even great, but made some plays that that opened our eyes and he's done that throughout camp. That's been a close battle with him and JK (Jaden Keller). The other piece is, you know, just a little more onus on JK at mike to be a good compliment to Sam. And then the last piece is, Caleb Woodson has done a nice job. He did it, he did some good things in the game and deserves more snaps."
6. On the Hokies slow start...
"We certainly dug ourselves in a hole and nobody wants to do that. I think you know the methodical drive that Vanderbilt had to start the game. It's deflating for your defense. And then to turn around in your first possession on offense, it's an interception. You get into third and eight got chance for a big sudden change. And [they] make a nice throw and catch and they score and you're down 10 nothing. I think the momentum went their way pretty quick. We got on our heels a little bit and it took too long, to recover. We still, we made some nice adjustments last year and how we started practice and we did that this camp. Most practices we started with a competitive period to get the guys going. I think when you start slow you have to have a momentum swing. You know, I talked about it with the staff. We need to be aggressive as play callers in those situations and we need to go make plays and just swing it back to get out of that thing quicker than we did."
7. On Jaylen Jones' development...
"I think Jaylen played with more confidence. And I think he played the way he practiced all camp. You know, can't say that for everybody. I think he did a nice job of bringing everything to all the improvements he made. He brought that into game one. It should be a confidence builder for him as well. Obviously we're going to rely on him even more now with. With Jalen [Stroman] situation.
8. On Nick Gallo injury update...
"He's questionable, unlikely."
9. Pry on the helmet communication throughout the game
"Yeah, so I asked Kyron [Drones}, you know, and Collin[Schlee] and it was just sometimes it was about hearing it, you know, it wasn't loud enough in the headset and you'll see them, you know. And I saw it a lot watching some games, [and players were] covering the ear holes to be able to hear it well enough. So, you know, we talked about making sure our volume is what it needs to be. And [that] we're speaking into the mic and it's nice and loud and clear. So that there doesn't have to be a repeat of it, but for the most part it was pretty good."
10. On the Marshall rotating QB situation...
"Yeah, I think we broke down both quarterbacks. We looked into, you know, their film. They both played a couple of games at their prior institution. We looked at those. We looked at what they did in this game against Stony Brook. It was a little bit different with each guy, but there was a lot of similarities as well. So I think you got to study them independently and that's what we've done. They're both pretty talented guys."
11. On the defensive line performance...
"Yeah, I thought that unit played well, to be quite honest, they weren't enough of a factor in the game. You know, it was more of a perimeter issue defensively, but I thought they played well and the rotation was good. It was healthy I thought Kemari came in and has really been penciled in as the fifth defensive tackle right now and made some good plays and earned more playing time. But I thought all those guys looked pretty well."
12. On Kelvin Gilliam's instant impact...
"I thought he did a nice job. Another guy that had a good camp that carried it into the first game. I think there's five guys there right now that you got a healthy rotation and all of them JC's [Price] doing a good job. All of them could play those or three technique. Can't say that we've always been able to do that here or at other places. It's challenging initially, but it helps you down the stretch and you know we're fortunate to be in that place now."
13. On the memories that the Pry's have of Huntington, Wv.
"We are. Yeah. It means a ton. You know, I spent a couple of years there, married student housing and folks got married at 18 and had me, and that's kind of where it all. So you know Marshall is very near and dear to my father. Just his experience going there Why he chose Marshall being on that, you know the young Thundering Herd. You know taking him to that game last year. he walked around campus and walked around town and it was emotional for him. So it means a ton, you know, and I think. About. Frank, Loria and. You know just what he means to this. Place. I mean just. There's so much that when you dive into it... We got to go be one to know and win this game, but man, there's a. Lot of layers that are emotional about Marshall about, for myself and for my family, for this team, for this school. You know, so got a lot of respect for Marshall."
14. On the 1999 team that will be honored this weekend
"Just watching it on TV, obviously stayed close and was very proud. You know, I remember in the. Fourth quarter and the coverage adjustment and all the things that you think about as a coach. You know in Florida State kind of either took the lead. Or got back in it right there at the end. But I know it's a big piece of the tradition around here and we certainly speak of it. On the recruiting trails and with our team. So I'm anxious, I'm excited that we're celebrating that group. They deserve it as coaches and players."
15. On the Horizontal passing game early on against Vanderbilt
"We wanted to work the perimeter, we saw that as a strength and opportunity to get those guys the ball out on the perimeter to open up the inside run game, you know, make sure they're defending the whole field. And we weren't successful enough. Perimeter blocking execution wasn't good enough. And at the same time, you know, we always want to threaten to field vertically as well. And there were some place called and we got soft coverage and Kyron checked the ball down. Which you should have. That prevented maybe you know, a big play down the field, but we know we have to do that. You know that that's got to be one of our strengths. Just throwing the ball, pushing the ball down the field. And we saw that in the second-half. And I think as coaches and as the head coach, I got to make sure that happens early in the game [and] we're consistent with it."
16. On a possible last play penalty...
"They felt like it was clean. When you looked at it on film. Their defender was going for the ball. And the collision occurred and there were some other plays we turned in, but that one was hard to justify. I mean, I was worried about Quan [Felton] in the moment. You know, I didn't see it precisely enough to know. It was just a heck of a hit. Heck of a collision. I'm glad he's ok, glad he bounced up, because often enough you see it go the other way there.
17. On tempering headspace...
"Yeah, we've certainly talked about that the last couple of days as a reminder for the team, I think you never know for sure. But we talked about it. You can't ever feel like you're better than you are. You hear me say all the time, humble and hungry. They seemed in a good headspace in that locker room. I think the way the game started kind of deflated things. I think there was respect for Vanderbilt. I know as a coaching staff we did and we certainly preached that with our team. You know, it's my job as a head coach to make sure that we come out guns blazing and playing really tough and really hard. And I don't think we did that. It wasn't long into the game where I felt like we lost that. It took too long to get it back.
18. On getting Takye Heath involved...
"Yeah, I liken him to a young "J" [Jaylin] Lane. You know, he's got ability to catch the short ball and make something happen with it. You can hand him the ball or pitch him the ball. He's got a really good skill set and he demonstrated that in camp, [where] he was playing his best football. [He] had a minor injury that set him back for a couple days, but you know, like with a lot of these new players, you give them just a small opportunity and see what they do with it and and then it can grow from there. And I think Takye is a guy that showed us in big moments in a game he can make a play, so I look for him to be part of what we do offensively, moving forward.
19. On what Pry liked against Vanderbilt...
Yeah first of all, I love the resiliency. It's not easy for a team to battle. Back.
You know it's 17 to three and to come out and find a way. Not just to come back and tie the game and take the lead, obviously we got to finished better. But we were able to do that. I'm proud of that. I think Kyron, you. It's kind of lost in the loss, but [for] Kyron it was his career-best completions, career- best passing yardage in a half. Really. he did some good things and he wouldn't be happy with his performance. And there was some bright spots, you know, across the roster, from a personnel standpoint. Some things that occurred that get us excited about some guys that we will be able to count on. And I think just growth and development, you know, throughout the experience I mean. We understand the expectations and, we're certainly disappointed. What we can do is invest and get better and learn from it and have a heck of a week. And go be a better team this Saturday. We have to be. So, I think you know. I haven't lost confidence on our team. I'm excited about our football team. Certainly not what we expected and not what I expected, not what they expected. They're as disappointed as anybody. So I do expect a great week of practice and improved performance on Saturday.
20. On Will Johnson's injury status...
"Will's gonna be out for a little while. [He's] a tough guy starter on four special teams. Ultimate team guy. Pretty tough injury, tough guy. I knew when I saw him kind of in agony out there. It wasn't something minor because otherwise he would have bounced up, limped off. If he had to. So he's going to be out of commission for a little bit. We hope to get him back at some point down the stretch."
21. On Benji Gosnell's growth...
"First of all. I loved, you know, he could have hung his head. He dropped that first one, which would have been a touchdown. man he bounced back and I made some big plays for us. He showed his toughness. You know, yards after the catch and but also he did a much better job in the run game. against a pretty good, you know, couple of defensive ends that had some size and were bending down in there. And you know, bench was making good contact and and good leverage. And so I think it's a great game for him to build on. I was I was happy for him and excited to see him continue. To grow and develop."
CONNOR MARDIAN