Virginia Tech Hopes To Use Wofford Game To Continue To Build Depth

All throughout the summer, Virginia Tech head coach Brent Pry spoke about his team’s need to build more depth. Heading into their final tune-up game against Wofford, a poor FCS program, Pry wants to see the Hokies continue to develop.

According to Pro Football Focus, 24 players saw at least one defensive snap against Boston College. 18 graded out at or above 64.0, including eight above 70.0., led by TyJuan Garbutt’s 92.6.

The upcoming game against the Terriers is an opportunity to get young guys reps in live action.

“I think the more guys that you can have in your rotation the better, the healthier,” Pry told reporters on Tuesday. “Guys that are more invested every day of the week because they know they’re going to see the field. But those guys have to earn the right to play. We have to trust them to put them out there. … You create depth and build depth throughout the week, but also by game experience. And we have to be able to do that.

“I think the other thing is… the goal is to be 1-0 this week. And I don’t know how the game plays out. Is it a four-quarter game? I don’t know.”

Pry said the staff sits down together each Saturday morning and discusses the rotation of players at each position. With an 11 a.m. kickoff this week, that meeting will be Friday, but each assistant coach details what they ideally want for a rotation.

If the game swings one way, guys that were hopeful to play might not see the field. If it swings the other way, some younger players down the depth chart might have more opportunities. The most important thing, after all, is winning the game.

“I think we want to play more players,” Pry said. “And you earn the right to play. Your position coach, the coordinator, the head coach need to trust you. Trust what we’re going to get when we put you out there. And so you try to give it in small doses, right?

“Sometimes you have to force feed a guy, but you try to do it in small doses where guys have a chance in a limited role to earn trust, to gain experience. Then what was six reps turns into 10. And then another week later it turns into 15. And then all of a sudden you have a guy that’s in the healthy rotation. So if they merit playing right now, we’re playing them.”

Offensive Evaluation

Virginia Tech’s offense continues to chug along and improve, and it played a clean game against Boston College. However, Tech struggled to move the ball at times, as evidenced by the third down conversion rate: 5-of-17 (29.4%).

Grant Wells took care of the ball, which is an improvement, but the Hokies went three-and-out three times and punted seven times. And while they put up 284 yards of total offense (144 rushing, 140 passing), 108 yards (38%) came on two big plays – a 65-yard run from Keshawn King and a 43-yard catch by Kaleb Smith. 

“I thought it was better this week,” Pry said of the offensive production. “Obviously, inconsistencies in week one. I think we cleaned that up and it allowed us to see a little bit more of where we’re at offensively. When you have the miscues in week one, it’s kind of hard to evaluate because we did some good things.

“Obviously, we have to be able to score points and move the ball and there was a couple of setbacks again. Too many third-and-longs that make it difficult, and we got to help ourselves there and be better on first down.”

Up front, the same five guys have played almost every snap on Tech’s offensive line. Silas Dzansi, Jesse Hanson, Kaden Moore and Parker Clements have all played 151 snaps, while Johnny Jordan is at 150. Backup lineman Bob Schick played three, and backup center Jack Hollifield played one.

The starting five graded out well so far against the pass – all but Clements has a blocking grade of 67.0 or better, while Hanson is at 86.4 – but grades have slipped against the run. Of the five, only Dzansi has a run blocking grade above 60.0 at 61.2. That’s surprising considering they were in between 66.0 and 75.0 last year.

“I think they’ve played pretty well,” Pry said of the Virginia Tech offensive line. “I think through two games under their belt, there hasn’t been a ton of execution errors. There’s been some penalty things that we need to clean up. Another one crept up on Saturday. But I think we’re pretty pleased right now, but just like with the rest of the team, there’s a ton of improvement left on the table.

“We’ve got to keep working in the right direction, but those guys are playing well together. We’ve got to continue to build depth at that spot.”

C.J. McCray Continues To Emerge

A 6-3, 237-pound redshirt sophomore from Charlotte, N.C., C.J. McCray originally transferred to Virginia Tech as a linebacker from Marshall. But he made the transition to defensive end, and J.C. Price and Pry have raved about him.

Against the Eagles on Saturday, McCray was everywhere. He was part of the Tech defense that sacked Phil Jurkovec five times and hurried him five times. McCray finished with four tackles, including one for a loss, and a sack. He graded out well on PFF, too – 75.8. 

At the start of the fourth quarter in Saturday’s game, he got knocked down and run over on a third-and-12, but he got back up and chased Jurkovec down before making the tackle 14 yards downfield.

Pry said this play was one of five that they showed in Sunday’s team meeting because of how McCray never gave up on the play. Fellow defensive end TyJuan Garbutt, who had a tremendous game against Boston College and was named the ACC Defensive Lineman of the Week, said McCray is a player who will “go give up his body” to make a play.

“He actually got cut and was on the ground and got off the ground and made an incredible effort play down the field,” Pry said of McCray’s play. “He can run, he’s got some elite qualities to me. But the biggest area he’s improved in is he’s learned the system, he’s learned the package, and I’m excited about him. We need him to come along and compliment TyJuan and those other guys. When I talk about winning one-on-one battles, he’s a guy I think that can really help us in that area.”