On Thursday night, Virginia Tech football head coach Brent Pry joined Zach Mackey and Mike Burnop on Tech Talk Live at McClain’s at First & Main. They discussed the recent game against Pitt, player statuses and the upcoming game against Miami.
This season, Tech Talk Live will air on Thursdays at 7 p.m. ET across the Virginia Tech Sports Network.
Brent Pry
How has the week been for you and the team?
It’s been good. The guys bounced back well on Sunday. We have our practice set up where it’s corrections, we’re kind of living in that world still with Pitt. About halfway through, we blow a big horn and make a big announcement, heck with the last group. Let’s move on to the next one, and we start introducing the guys to the next opponent.
The guys played better, but not well enough to beat a team on the road:
I think we’re just one of those teams right now. We have to play pretty good football on offense, pretty good football on defense, pretty good football on special teams. If we do that, we’re going to have a great chance to win the game in the end. We just stubbed our toe a little bit, our special teams operation just wasn’t what it’s been and that was a factor in the game and then obviously, we didn’t defend the run well enough.
What was your takeaway on the offensive side of the football?
I thought we did some good things, I think Malachi [Thomas] being back and having him and Keshawn [King] as a one-two punch, both those guys make good plays in the game. We need that physical runner that can get north, south and break tackles. Malachi brought that, and then you offset him with a guy like Keshawn. Grant played well, played confident. I really liked the look in the offensive unit’s eyes, really the first game where I thought, “Man, they were determined and ready to go.” I just felt good about what they were doing against a pretty good defense.
Malachi was good in both the run and pass game:
Malachi is good all around. He’s one of those guys who can catch the ball. He’s smart. He can protect, he can do a lot of things.
How about Israel Abanikanda’s performance?
Thanks for bringing that up. Let’s just not even go there. Stay clear. He’s a good back, we watched the film, that one left me a restless night or two, but he’s a good back and he’s fast. We have to have more speed in the perimeter. When those runs break, you have to get them on the ground so they don’t go the distance. You get those guys tackled and you line up and play again. We weren’t able to do that.
Another piece is, it’s not just that they out-physicaled us or they were manhandling. It was that we had some breakdowns here and there on some things with guys not trusting the framework. When you do that defensively, it’s a problem. I don’t want to take anything away from the kid because he had a nice ball game. I think he’s an NFL back. We have to obviously be better than that, and we can be.
There were a lot of similar plays ran where Abanikanda wasn’t touched:
We went through it on Sunday, we looked at the film, and we’re a single gap defense, we’re going to play on edges and get on their side. When somebody’s not in the right gap, it’s a problem, right? When you want TFLs and sacks and those kinds of things, we had 11 TFLs in the game. With a back like that, if it does split, you have to be in position and have the speed to get it on the ground.
What do you think about getting 11 tackles for loss and then Abanikanda making all those runs. Is there a happy medium?
Different things spring up each week. At some point, you hope to put a cap on it where those things are minimized. The big things that are costing you games, you have to get those squared away. I showed you guys personally on defense, we went through about 12 clips of us not doing what we need to do in the structure.
If you did look where it can work out, what would have happened on the play? Then we went through 12 plays of us doing exactly what is required. That first series of the game, it couldn’t have been any better. I mean, they couldn’t move it an inch, so it’s there. There are positive signs everywhere, all over our film.
What did you think of Malachi [Thomas] coming in?
What a nice run. He got everybody off the bench. You go back and look at that film, it was one of those where everybody jumped up; the defense, the offense, everybody was fired up. Now we need that. I think Keshawn is a heck of a back, heck of an offensive playmaker. To have a one-two punch with those two guys, I mean, Malachi is a big strong back. To be honest, I think he truly is back to 100%. Close to it. The confidence that he gained in that game, and then to follow it with a good solid week of practice, I’m excited to see what he does on Saturday.
Did the penalties drive you nuts?
That’s the thing you can’t do. That’s what good teams don’t do. That goes back to us as a staff, that’s the operation, that’s all of it. The clock management and recognizing things. We were trying to go unbalance that, to overload the front, to kick the field goal. We practice that all the time, that inside a certain yard line we’re going to go tackle over and we didn’t do it.
Suddenly, Peter [Moore] has to try and get the guys over, which is four or five more seconds. Those are the details. That’s what we talked about with the team, us understanding that that detail in the end really mattered. We know as a unit that it’s tackled over inside a particular yard line, and if we do that, Peter doesn’t have to take the time to get those guys over. The kick gets off.
On the second quarter at Pitt:
I thought we did some good things for sure. I thought we did some good things. There’s improvement all over the place. There was a two-minute situation and the offense did a nice job with the ball. We still went down in that second quarter, [Will] Ross kicked the field goal. Keshawn had a big run, so a lot of good things going on right there to put us in a good position. You take the lead and you’re in pretty good shape. It was a battle. You block a punt. It’s where we wanted it to be right. You want to have a chance to win the game in the fourth quarter, and we did.
There was good and bad on special teams, including a blocked PAT:
That was crazy. As good as Will has kicked, that one was low. You walk in that stadium, I don’t know how many folks have been in there. The wind kind of blows funny. It’s a crosswind. It’s a little bit intimidating for kickers, and they did a nice job in pregame. We always ask them how they’re feeling and this and that, but that kick just came low off the foot. When you do that, and you get somebody to extend… I mean, those guys didn’t even jump, they just extended and were able to block the kick.
Did Pitt have its regular defense on the field for the punt it blocked?
It was punt safe. I’m not surprised, they rushed those ends hard to force the kick and they did that, and we just weren’t good enough at the left shield. We were kind of soft on it instead of really sticking our face in there. The guy who was able to get a handle on it, big and long guy with some length. Credit to them, we didn’t do good enough at that left shield spot.
What about the blocked punt that Tech returned for a touchdown?
That was good stuff. I mean, you have to go hard. When the opportunity presents itself, you have to be in position, and P.J. [Prioleau] does that. He goes hard with everything he does. Nyke [Johnson] fell on it and Nyke is the same kind of guy. They both have great motors. That’s what has earned them an opportunity on special teams. They both took advantage of it on Saturday. The guy kind of dropped the ball and picked it right up. That’s all we needed right there to get the block.
How about Alan Tisdale coming back?
I don’t know who’s smiling bigger than me, Alan or Dax [Hollifield]. I think Dax was in tears when I announced it in the team meeting Sunday that we’d get Tisdale back. He’s a veteran, he’s battled tested. He’s played a lot of games. We’re still working through some things that Will position, with [Jaden] Keller who’s improved, and Keli [Lawson] who’s improved, but keeps getting banged up a little bit. [Jayden] McDonald, he’s done it. He’s getting better, had some big plays in the game. That’s a critical position in our defense. Alan right now gives us the best chance play after play of being in the right place and doing the right thing. He’s obviously going to get some good time on Saturday.
How much was Alan engaged through the process of waiting for eligibility?
My hat’s off to him because he was in a difficult position. He was ineligible. We were waiting on word. He just battled and battled. He went to the scout team, worked his butt off, gave him the best look he could, never complained, just worked and worked. Alan embraced his role, which is what we talked about with our football team. It was a great lesson for everybody. You go out there, you just do the best you can do to help the football team and keep working to get better. That’s exactly what he did. Now he’s got a tremendous opportunity to go out there the back half of the season, have a good year, and really help our football team.
How about Dae’Quan Wright?
He’s a good, talented freshman. His role, each week we look at expanding some. Right now, he’s been kind of a third down guy or specialty play, but he’s talented. He’s smart, he’s only going to get better and better. We’re excited about what he’s bringing to the table right now. The conversation this week was about where can we find some more plays for him.
Kaleb Smith had a nice game but an injury in the fourth quarter. You like how he’s coming along this week?
He looks good. Brett [Griesemer] and the docs, they’ve done a good job with him. We’ve been careful but he’s a tough guy. He’s proven that all year. It would surprise me if he doesn’t play, but that’ll be something we take up to game time to make sure he’s ready and confident.
How are you feeling about Stephen Gosnell?
He’s definitely making progress. I think anytime you have head injuries, those concussion deals, we’re going to err on the side of safety. He got banged around pretty good on that play and we’ll make sure he’s in a good place before we pull the trigger.
The crowd is sold out this weekend. Are you excited to be back at Lane Stadium?
I can’t wait. Man, we got the best fans in the country. I appreciate y’all coming out tonight. We’ll be there Saturday. It’s sold out, maroon effect. Our student section, I know those guys will be there early crankin’. Four-quarter game against a traditional rival and really looking forward to Lane Stadium and environment in there.
After this upcoming 40th game in the series, we won’t see Miami every year:
You won’t see them every year, but we’ll see them. To be honest, I haven’t looked too far down the road. I understand that piece of it. For the ACC to best set up, to give us the best opportunity to have our representation in those playoffs when they expand to get two teams and not just one, but two. That’s what the goal is.
Will there be recruits at the game?
We’ll have a ton of recruits. In fact, Alexis Alvarez and Jalyn [Ballein] are in the back there. I want to give them a shout out. Alexis is in creative media and helps in recruiting and Jalen heads a bunch of our recruiting efforts. We’re on the lookout tonight, there might be a new Hokie jumping on board, so they’re keeping me in the loop on that. We’ll see. I won’t jinx it.
Anyways, we have a bunch. Coach Mines, our wide receiver coach, we have 18 wide receivers that we’ve offered coming to the game Saturday. There’s a bunch and it’s all hands on deck. We have to get back from Roanoke and get around these guys. They’re coming for that awesome environment in Lane Stadium and to see our football team win a game.
Were you a fan when they moved signing day up?
There are always guys that are ready to go. As recruiters, you want to get that thing signed, sealed, and delivered as soon as you can, and you’d have these guys ready to go at the end of the semester, but they’d have to wait till February. Now you can get those guys inked, you can put them on the shelf, you know they’re done. Then put your attention on those last couple of slots.
Are you going to hit recruiting hard during the bye week?
I can’t even look at that schedule. I haven’t told my wife yet. I won’t be around very much. We have to hit it and get it. I tell you, when we came off that West Virginia game, we were out there in those schools at 8 a.m. on the other side of the state, and those coaches appreciated it so much.
It was a great talking point. It was evidence that we’re going to recruit and work in the state of Virginia to get the best players to stay home. You’re out there at eight o’clock, you’re hitting the schools, and you’re going to two games at night, you’re going to games on Saturday, and it’s impactful. The coaches appreciated it, and we’re going to keep doing it.
How challenging is it with 18 receivers coming? What happens if too many of them accept offers?
Right now, it’s about being aggressive. We have to recruit the heck out all of them. We’re still trying to get the narrative and the message to these recruits and their families about the opportunity that they have at Virginia Tech, and what that looks like and how awesome it is, and what a special place. We’re trying to recruit them all. In the end, that’s a good problem to have. You have a couple in the boat. You have two more that want to come and you can only take one, it’s a good problem to have. I’ll take that every time.
When do you look at the transfer portal?
We have a member of the recruiting staff that’s responsible for everybody that’s in the portal right now. He’s evaluated them, we have a running list. Potential portal candidates, guys at Group of Five schools that are having really good years, they may jump and be interested in going to Power Five. That’s something that’s really important to us. Come December 4, that portal window opens. It’s about our roster and our guys, and it’s about the guys out there that could fill that need for us.
It’s challenging with the redshirt rule, isn’t it?
On our depth chart, we keep track how many games those freshmen have played. Are they at one, are they at two, are they at three? We want to maximize those four games everywhere we can. If a guy can get out there and play, improve and get better, then let’s get him his four games.
Is it difficult to keep track of the COVID year?
It takes a lot of data and bookkeeping. Between the training staff, the compliance staff and operations, we have to have running list for everything. A kid may say, “Coach, I got my COVID year.” Well, let’s make sure you do, we have to run it up the flagpole. There’s less and less of that as we get further away from COVID. We’re still dealing with some of it.
On writing down his thoughts during the game:
That’s something I’ve been doing for years. On the front of my sheet is my game plan, defensive game plan, where I’ll take notes on it. Nowadays, as a head coach, when it folds over, I’ve got offensive notes, defensive notes, special teams, and just game management. I want to keep up with the flow of things in all three phases so that the messaging is what it needs to be at breaks, at halftime, at the end of the game, the flow of things and events that occurred. I’ve always done a good job of keeping up, I think that’s important.
When the defense comes off the field, the first thing that happens is the grad assistant is in my phone and he’s telling me exactly what happened that series. “It was first-and-10, they ran a split zone play out of this formation and we were in a corner blitz. Then it was second-and-five, it was on the left hash and it was 12 personnel and they lined up in three-by-one and you played quarters coverage. We go through it all and that way you get a good idea each series of what you’ve called what they’ve done. It just keeps you in the rhythm of the game and gives you a good idea of where things are.
Has it been easier to navigate managing all parts of the game now that you are halfway through the season?
I don’t know if easier is the right word, there’s more things that I feel comfortable with. We’re still at that point where things pop up that you’re not expecting, and you kind of grow through it and learn and make sure you got things covered. We are learning a lot of lessons right now as players and coaches. That’s where the foundations laid. We have to embrace those things. We have to get the most out of those lessons. Everybody has to make sure we’re digesting those and that they’re going to be part of us moving forward.
How did you feel having quarterbacks coach Brad Glenn up in the box?
Brad went upstairs and that’s where he’s been for years. He felt really good about it, felt better about his impact on the game, being able to see things, and offer advice to Tyler [Bowen] and be good for Grant [Wells]. It was a good decision.
Do you and Miami coach Mario Cristobal have any background?
Not a whole lot. When I was at Georgia Southern, I was the d-coordinator. He reached out, we had some common friends, he was looking for a coordinator [at FIU], and we had a conversation and kind of gained my respect through the conversation. Nothing really materialized from it, but I have a lot of respect for Mario and certainly got to know him a little bit at the ACC meetings and whatnot. Good success places he’s been, kind of like what we have going on here at Tech. He’s kind of going back home.
Miami found itself a heck of a quarterback last year:
Yeah, threw for almost 500 yards [last week], that’s a good day for any quarterback, right? They’re throwing it a bunch, 50-plus times, he has a strong arm. He makes all the throws, he’s tough. I’m sure Josh Gattis is excited about him and what he can do for his offense.
What have you seen out of the teams that have been able to get to Tyler Van Dyke?
I think you have to pressure him. He’s still relatively young as a quarterback, and when you can bring different looks and different coverage patterns, get people in his face, you always want to test a good quarterback and see how they respond in that environment with people coming at him. We have to do a good job of getting on the edges and have a good blitz package and let’s make sure that we test him that way.
Seems like Miami uses a committee of running backs:
I’m going to tell you, those guys are good backs. There’s two or three guys that you notice on film and they try and establish the run. I go back to the Texas A&M game, they ran the ball well against those guys. It was 4.8, 4.9 yards a carry against a good, stout defense. They can obviously run the ball when they want to. I think they got behind against Middle Tennessee right from the get-go and had to throw the ball to catch up. Against North Carolina, that just ended up being what they were having success with.
Miami tight end Will Mallory has 1,200 yards on the season:
That tight end is a good player. That’s Mallory. He’s from a football family. He’s a guy that is their top receiver as a tight end, which you don’t usually see. With this backfield, they get those guys out a lot in the routes, as well as the receiving corps. They have a good group. These guys are as good route runners as we’re going to see. When you have a tight end that’s a matchup problem like Mallory is, that affects your game plan. We have to be good against him.
How much of a game changer can Miami punter Lou Hedley be?
We talked about him and our guys know him. He’s been around for a little while. He’s a big Australian guy with a strong leg. He’s certainly a factor in the game, and we have to have a good plan to hold guys up, be sound, and make a nice return. We have to get some improvement.
Will Jadan Blue continue to return punts?
We worked him and DJ Harvey [this week]. DJ is back healthy, he was banged up a little bit. DJ is back in there and had a good week. You may see both guys.
Who is wearing number 25?
P.J. Prioleau. He blocked that punt. He’s just one of those motor guys. He does everything so hard and passionate. He’s a walk-on in the program that’s earned a ton of respect. He goes hard on the scout team, if we want him to play wide out, if we want him play running back, doesn’t matter. It earned him an opportunity to work into special teams. He did such a nice job, we built some things around him. Lo and behold, having that motor and good stuff, he makes play for us.
How have the freshmen done?
These guys, our freshmen classes, it’s a good group. Everybody that was a freshman in college knows what that’s like. When you try to juggle football, school, and your social life, and now you have this transfer portal out there. I’m taking them all out to eat next Tuesday. We’re not sure where we’re going yet. We might bring them here. We have to take care of those guys and build those relationships.
It’s a good group. It’s hard to get caught up in the season. You’re dealing with your guys that are playing and traveling, but you have this whole group of guys that maybe don’t travel, are going to scout team, and they were all stars in high school. Now they’re not even seeing the field. You have to keep working with those guys, keep developing them. We start our developmental scrimmages Sunday. After the Miami game, on Sundays, we will finish every practice with a 20-play scrimmage so anybody that didn’t play in the game Saturday will scrimmage on Sunday nights.
An update on the Lunch Pail:
Right now, that thing is sitting on the shelf. We kind of pulled it back. After a couple of deals there, we didn’t feel like it needed to be out there. That’s what we hope is a motivating factor for our defensive players. Let’s go get that pail man and be what it’s about.
Are you excited for basketball season?
I love it. I’m so excited for both teams. Mike [Young], Kenny [Brooks], they do a tremendous job. They’ve built their programs the right way. They’re seeing the fruits of their labor right now. Expectations are high and they’re going to have people gunning for them.
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