Since he was appointed in early December, Brent Pry has slowly added to his staff of assistant coaches. The group is finally complete, and Pry discussed the hires and how they impact recruiting on Thursday.
“I wasn’t going to be hasty,” Pry said. “I wanted to stick to my guns and make sure we hired the right people. … I’m super excited for the guys we were able to get to join. … It was important in this process [to find] coaches that will fit Virginia Tech, identify with Tech.
“It’s the right blend of experience, philosophy. … We’ve got some old hats. We’ve got some young hats. I want to be able to [have a staff] that recruits the right type of guys.”
We’ll dive into both sides of the football and the support staff, analyze some hires, and discuss the kind of recruiting Pry envisions for this group.
Below is a table of Virginia Tech’s current staff with their Division I experience and previous salaries. For all articles related to Pry’s hires, click here.
Recent Assistant Hires
The three most recent hires are all to the offensive staff: Tyler Bowen, Joe Rudolph and Fontel Mines.
Bowen is the offensive coordinator and has experience calling plays at Fordham and Penn State. He comes from the Jacksonville Jaguars, where he was the tight ends coach for one season.
Pry specifically referenced Bowen’s work calling plays in the 2019 Cotton Bowl between the Nittany Lions and Memphis. Penn State won in a shootout, 53-39, and put up 529 yards of total offense, including 396 yards on the ground.
“He was my absolute first choice,” Pry said of Bowen. “It made it a little more challenging that they [Jacksonville] didn’t release him right away. … I had a conversation with their general manager, very respectful. Tyler was allowed to do some tasks, but they asked him to finish out the season.”
Throughout the hiring process, Bowen vetted all offensive additions with Pry. He’s familiar with the offense Pry wants to run and recruits Tech’s footprint very well, particularly Maryland.
Joe Rudolph, Tech’s offensive line coach, is the biggest name on the entire staff. The former Wisconsin offensive line coach and Pitt offensive coordinator reached out to Pry with interest in the position, and Pry said the two “recruited each other from there.”
“What he’s about and how he coaches his offensive line is everything I was looking for,” Pry said of Rudolph.
His recruiting background expands to Minnesota and Wisconsin, but his roots in Ohio and Pennsylvania, especially Pittsburgh, will go a long way in recruiting. Rudolph has also produced talented offensive linemen everywhere he’s been.
The latest addition is Mines, the Hokies’ wide receivers coach. A Richmond native and UVa grad, he comes from Old Dominion. Mines has deep roots in the Commonwealth thanks to coaching at Richmond and James Madison, which was exactly what Pry was looking for.
“All he’s ever recruited was the state of Virginia, and I think it’s a home run hire in many ways,” Pry said of Mines.
Support Staff
In terms of support staff, Dwight Galt IV is the director of strength and conditioning for football. He’s an extremely important hire for the Hokies because he’ll spend more time with the players than anyone.
“He’s a culture driver,” Pry said. “He’s as like-minded as anyone I’ve hired. … He gets me, he knows what my vision is for Virginia Tech football.”
Two other hires were made on Tuesday as well: Brian Crist (senior offensive analyst) and Xavier Adibi (defensive analyst).
Crist is a “trusted friend” of Pry’s and the two were graduate assistants at Virginia Tech together in the 90s. Pry referenced Crist’s relationship to the school and the New River Valley – his father was the longtime head football coach at Blacksburg High School – and his experience in the profession.
“It was a no-brainer for me,” Pry said of Crist. “Then you couple that with his experiences and where he’s been in his career. I think he’s an asset.”
On the other side, Adibi is a guy Pry has respected from afar and just recently had the opportunity to speak with. He talked to legendary defensive coordinator Bud Foster about Adibi, and once he got on the phone with Xavier, “he checked a ton of boxes.”
How Tech uses analysts will be something to keep an eye on. Pry said he still plans on hiring a few more, and he mentioned how they had two offensive coaches in the defensive staff room at Penn State to provide a different perspective.
“Protection guys, quarterback play, reads, route regression,” Pry said, describing the types of things the offensive coaches analyzed for his defense in Happy Valley. “I know how valuable that was. … But Brian’s an asset, whether he’s on offense or defense. He was here last year so he understands the personnel.”
Recruiting
Chris Coleman went into detail about Virginia Tech’s football recruiting footprint (subscription article) on Thursday afternoon, and it’s a topic Pry mentioned multiple times in his press conference.
Below is a graphic from Malcolm Stewart which highlights where the new staff has signed players from in the past.
The recruiting footprint is an important topic, and Pry assembled a staff that can cover it. Bowen in Maryland, Price and Mines in Virginia, Holt in Florida, Rudolph in Ohio and Pennsylvania, and the rest scattered across the Mid-Atlantic.
The first priority is going to be in-state recruiting, however. Pry mentioned that the first week after the dead period will be completely devoted to the Commonwealth.
Director of Player Personnel Mike Villagrana spoke with each assistant on the staff on where they have the best relationships in Virginia. Pry said the regions might fluctuate, but as of now, it’s set in stone, which is how Tech will divide and conquer VA.
As far as the base footprint goes, Pry envisions it being everything in a six-hour radius. Chris Coleman touched on it more in his story, but that includes a handful of states: Pennsylvania, Ohio, Tennessee, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland, and Georgia.
Being at Penn State, Pry has history in Pennsylvania. He mentioned three primary areas to recruit in that state, one of them being Harrisburg, which was his territory with the Nittany Lions.
“We can get to Harrisburg, that was my recruiting area at Penn State,” Pry said. “I think we can recruit some good kids out of Philly. And if you open up Philly, you’re near the kids in New Jersey.”
As far as talent outside of the radius is concerned, Pry wants the staff to stick close to the footprint if possible.
“Unless there’s some type of relationship with the staff and the state of Virginia, there’s no reason to go west of the Mississippi,” Pry said. “We’re not just going to throw darts across the Mississippi.”
No matter where the Hokies are recruiting, there’s a common theme Pry wants to nail down: Creating connections.
“A strong recruiter is a strong recruiter, but relationships help. … We aren’t going to walk in, shake hands, and leave. I want these guys to build real relationships.”
Print
Great article. We can only wonder how Fuente would of done had he had the opportunity to create a new staff on day one. I am excited about our future with Pry.
Really…..we are all in a new marriage & relationship now.
Would of, Should of, Could of. To bring Fuente into conversation is pointless to me.
Fuente had to bring along only one hire; the rest of his hires was Fuentes mistakes. Dont shed tears for Fuente ($8M). He could have kept Coach Shane Beamer, Coach Torrian Grey, Mike Gentry, and many good others when he came on board. Yet He chose not. Fuente had no IQ for the state of Virginia and who and what our fanbase and highschool community really personified. He made his bed, killed all our streaks and records and ruined our program for at least 4 to 6 years. Coach Brent has alot to repair……we are no where close to playing for a National Title…….we were much closer before Fuente.
Fu did some things we hate but he did up the money and got the check book open !!!
Well va poly you can start coloring pictures. It sorta suits your attitude about everything
Sorry, I don’t get it.
Any word on where the former staff have landed? I know that’s old news, but whatever opinions we might have about their work, they’re still people with families to support.
Great article and thanks for it. Agree with Patrickl68.
Thanks very insightful good tag team win cc’s article.
Check the tape, On territories I think it was Not set in stone, may tweak as we go along
Any idea of when the new salaries will be available? Might tell a little more about the priorities in how the coaching staff was assembled.
https://virginiatech.sportswar.com/article/2022/01/14/salary-information-virginia-tech-football-assistant-coaches/
I was encouraged by the words CBP used in the press conference. It’s obvious people have been talking to him about recruiting, player development, and culture based around physical play. I liked what he said about Galt’s part in developing the culture. Well done press conference.
Now he just has to follow through and bring it to fruition.
Is having a greying beard one of CBP’s selection criteria for his coaching staff?
I know we need to do better in Virginia, but I hope we do not over correct and emphasize it to a detriment. I like that they have used the word footprint more than just saying Virginia.
How many times am I going to read the same article about coaches.
Point, But I liked the Recruiting Map. And maybe good to put thoughts in one place?
Don’t know. I just read them once and move on.
I don’t get to TSL nearly as much as I used to so I really appreciated this summary and rundown, some new info I wasn’t aware of. Great article David.
Hey snarky, no one is forcing you to read them. Your wise-ass comments are tiring…
Only you can answer that question? 😀
Well, Pry *did* hold a press conference and talk about the assistants himself for the *first* time …. I learned a lot from his comments. The fact that Rudolph reached out to Pry was eye-opening.
Thought the same thing – was a wow moment reading the article.
Thanks David. Thoughts on the rest of the staff comng?