Tech Talk Live Notes: Brent Pry And Josh Fuga Chat Purdue

On Thursday night, Virginia Tech football head coach Brent Pry and defensive tackle Josh Fuga joined Zach Mackey and Mike Burnop on Tech Talk Live at McClain’s at First & Main to preview Saturday’s game vs. Purdue (noon ET, ESPN2).

Brent Pry

How are you doing, Coach?

We’re ready, trying to work on Purdue and get ready to beat those guys. Listen, I get it, talking about Old Dominion and being 1-0, it’s exciting for everybody. Super fired up for our players, our fans, the sellout crowd was unbelievable. Just everybody’s support pouring into that thing. I know how gratifying it is for so many people. But we woke up Sunday morning and we’re on to Purdue and put that other one in the rearview mirror. We’ve got to be better this week. But it was an awesome environment. Lane Stadium definitely was what it’s built to be and we are thankful for our crowd and happy for our players, but it’s been a big week about getting better.

What was it like for you staying at the Virginia Tech Inn? Not having to go back and forth from Roanoke. You had around 80 recruits here for ODU.

It was awesome. I appreciate the administration, Dr. [Tim] Sands, Whit [Babcock] that got that done for us to be able to change venues. Hotel Roanoke was awesome. Great service, great food, beautiful location. Just the way we need to recruit, the level we need to recruit at with the staff we have, going back and forth was tough and challenging. Quality of life for the assistants, being able to stay at home on Friday nights with their families, it was a lot going into it and I certainly feel like it was worth it. The players got lost a little bit, but they’ll figure it out this weekend.

You guys recruited in a big way on Friday night. How was the helicopter ride?

A little shaky. Let me tell you, when Steve Johnson said to the pilot, he said, ‘Don, you see that excavator?’ Don said, ‘Yeah. He said, ‘Do you see that power line next to it?’ Oh my gosh, y’all didn’t vet this a little bit, do your research a little more before we were landing right here?! And then Don says back to Steve, he goes, ‘Make sure my tail end clears that powerline.’ I said, ‘Coach Quinn, hold on, man.’ It was awesome. I appreciate Steve, it was a beautiful chopper and trying to recruit at a high level takes everybody. Everybody’s got to pour into this thing. When you want to make a young man feel like a priority, that’s certainly a good way to do it.

When you have a crowd like you had last Saturday vs. ODU and will again this weekend, what kind of response do you get from the recruits that are here?

When you talk about a place being one of the best environments in all of college football, we back it up. A lot of people try to talk about it, but you come to a game at Lane Stadium, Worsham Field and you’re gonna see it firsthand. It’s legit, it’s real, it’s genuine, the entrance is the best and the atmosphere is unbelievable. And I’ve been in the SEC, I’ve been in the Big Ten, I’ve been in ACC now, and I’m just telling you, it’s one of the best in the country.

I saw you run out of that tunnel on Saturday night and you had a big smile on your face. What was going through your head?

Finally, we get to go play. It’s been a long time since the win over Liberty. Four phases of preparation and offseason training, but also I’m always reminded how blessed and fortunate I am to be the head coach of Virginia Tech. And what a special place it is. It smacks me in the face all the time and everybody that’s part of Hokie Nation gets it, they know it. Just fortunate as heck to run out there and feel better about our team and better about our roster. We got so much work to do, don’t get me wrong, but we’re in such a better place culturally, schematically, skill set. We’re just in a better place.

You were shaking hands with everybody during the Hokie Walk, I didn’t think you were going to make it inside.

Man, it was awesome. Let me tell you, it’s gonna take everybody to do this. And to have everybody pouring into it and showing up, another sellout this weekend, noon kick, so they’ll start tailgating at 5 a.m. I guess. We do an atmosphere tour for our recruits now. We put them on the Hokie golf carts and we take him through Center Street and we take them through the parking lot. It’s awesome having everybody out there. If there’s 67,000 in the stadium, there’s another 40-50 out there that don’t come in, that can’t come in. I tell the guys all the time, ‘If we get this thing rockin and rollin, they’re gonna have to put additional [seats] in that stadium.’

How about this weekend being so big with the Hall of Fame class? Got one of our guys here tonight, Bruce Arians, the Super Bowl champion.

I’m just flattered that of all the places and all the people that want to see him and his pride that he’s out here with us tonight, so thank you, Coach. Thank you.

How about this being the orange effect? Are we gonna see some orange in the uniform?

Yeah, we let it go tonight. We do some theatrics after Thursday’s practice, somebody’s got something that the guys are anticipating about the opponent and winning the game and tonight, our equipment manager, Stewart Carter, came up and he pulls out this Big Ten flag and he’s like, ‘Man, I tell you, I’ve been in the Big Ten for eight years. It’s a physical league. I really liked that league.’ And then all of a sudden the fight song comes on and he points and I like that right there. And it’s his assistant equipment manager in all orange with the white helmet and the guys were so excited. All orange, orange effect is gonna be great.

𝐕𝐨𝐥. 𝟐 Purdue

⚪️🟠🟠⚪️#ThisIsHome | @CarilionClinic pic.twitter.com/NcXkFCrcJh

— Virginia Tech Football (@HokiesFB) September 7, 2023

I saw on social media you let the fans kind of choose too, Coach. You asked people to vote.

Yeah, we let them think they choose. No, seriously, it’s a good vote and it fell the way it needed to this weekend.

You talked about building on the strengths, improving the weaknesses. Just kind of expand on that a little bit.

From Week 1 to Week 2, you find out so much about your team in Week 1. We did a lot of good things, six sacks, takeaways and ended up throwing the ball really well, we protected well. There’s just things we have to do better, so you want to build on your strengths and continue to do those things well, but at the same time, you’ve got some weaknesses that we have to improve on to be able to be a better team, the team that’s going to be required to beat this bunch.

I know one of the big emphases you talked about during the offseason was being able to create turnovers. Was it pleasing that you guys were +3 in turnovers vs. ODU?

Yeah, absolutely. To be honest, all three of those were game changers. We had a little trouble defending the run Saturday. And those turnovers kind of negated any momentum they had and like I said, Coach [Chris] Marve and his staff, we studied the top three teams in the country in takeaways. Went and visited two of them, came back with their ideas, which is a lot of this thing, stealing ideas from the people that are doing it the best. We implemented it in winter, we did it in the spring, we did it in the summer, we did it in camp. Once you invest in it, it should get some payback and I think that happened Saturday for us.

On the flip side, Grant Wells protected the football, threw the ball extremely well even though you guys didn’t run the ball very well.

It’s like we talked about, having a supporting cast. The run game wasn’t what we wanted, but we did try and run the football and we did commit to running the football. We had to make them defend a box as well and we did that which allowed us to kind of loosen them up, throw the ball down the field. What I saw out of Grant was what I saw this camp, just really better decisions, quicker decisions. And then he’s always been pretty accurate with the ball when he has a chance to kind of see what he needs to see. Grant, to me, it’s just like our football team, it’s a great game for him to build on. It’s a great game for him to improve on and to continue to work to be the quarterback that he can be.

Kyron Drones will continue to play each and every week?

Yeah, he’s gonna play. I think it’s what’s right for our football team. I want people to have to defend Kyron. We’ve got to see where we can get with him and running our offense and putting the ball on the perimeter and I want to see what people can do with that. So we’re gonna keep pushing that envelope and have that be part of what we do.

It was nice to see some explosive plays on offense against ODU.

You work so hard, you can move the sticks and go 10 yards at a time, 11 yards, 12 yards, run here, run there, but man, when you can take a shot and connect, makes it a little bit easier. We didn’t have much of that last year. I think I saw today where we had three over 30 in that ball game. We didn’t have a lot of that last year so it was good to see and we’ve worked on it and we’ve committed to it.

Your receivers that you got out of the transfer portal in Ali Jennings, Jaylin Lane, Da’Quan Felton had 203 yards and three touchdowns in that game. It’s such a different landscape of college football where they can come in and immediately make plays.

Absolutely. Most times you’re gonna go to the portal for a need for somebody that can come in and impact your team. I’m not sure you want to otherwise, it’s hard to go do that. And for me, we want to invest in the high schools in the state of Virginia, the high schools in our footprint. We want to go sign 20-25 high school players every year. And the less you have to do in the portal, the more you can do at the high school level. So you go to the transfer portal for your needs, for the right guys that are going to come in and be productive and right now for the most part. We’re batting a pretty good average in doing that.

How about field position in that game? You guys started on the plus side of the field for most of the ODU game.

The drive start battle wasn’t even close, and that’s the return game, that’s the cover game, that’s the takeaways, all of those things. Flipping the field. I mean, it was a big factor in us winning that football game.

There were questions about the offensive line coming into the game. How did you evaluate their play?

Honestly, they played well, but also the tight ends and running backs. If you go back and watch that film, our running backs were very physical in protection, they were spot on where they needed to be, they gave their body stuff to protect. And I also think Grant [Wells] made good decisions in a timely fashion.

Speaking of tight ends, Nick Gallo is out for the season. What a tough injury and tough loss.

That’s a guy that sat in my office and made a decision to come back. He wanted to be part of this, he wanted to be a captain, he believed in what we were doing and how we were doing it. My heart aches for him. He’s an outstanding young man. He’s going to be very successful, whether it’s in football or after football. This guy’s got it all going on for him. He wants to be part of this still. He could have finished out and rode off into the sunset after this injury, but he wants to be invested in his team, he’s going to continue to be a captain. He’s getting ready to rejoin us after surgery. And he’ll be an important piece to what we do this fall.

That tight end room thing gets a little young without Nick Gallo. Is that one of the more difficult positions for a young group?

A lot of times I equate those guys to linebackers. It’s the pass game, it’s the run game, it kind of all goes through them. Sometimes they’re the unsung heroes, but man, they’re really important to what an offense does. I like the three guys we have, I even like the young guys, Zeke Wimbush, but they’re young. We gotta bring them along. They gotta be ready to go, the opportunity’s now. All three are talented enough to have good years for us and help us win football games.

It was good to see Benji Gosnell come out there after the ACL injury. He had a nice catch and nice run.

Yeah, he’s played 55 snaps between special teams and offense. He’s a very well-rounded tight end. He does everything at a pretty good level. He’s young, but he’s smart, he’s a worker. I was very proud of what he did. First game of college football, 55 snaps with a winning grade. I’m not sure what more we could’ve asked of him.

Kind of a cool little tidbit with Benji and Steven Gosnell both catching a pass in the same game. Not too often that happens for brothers.

That was awesome. Happy for those guys. It’s an awesome family. I think they have 12 children. We’re checking into all of them, see if they have eligibility left. But very cool. They did it in a scrimmage this preseason and we kind of celebrated that and to go do it in a game and in Lane Stadium, Worsham Field was awesome.

You talked about the O-line a little bit, but really no penalties, no sacks. They pass protected very well.

They played well. I thought they were very steady. We had problems last year, we just got beat too quick, too fast before play to get started. And I thought we did a better job of giving the play a chance. Like I said, I think the protection was pretty good. It’s gonna have to be better this weekend, but I thought it was pretty good.

What did you see out of special teams on Saturday night vs. ODU?

I was pleased with the teams. I thought coach [Stu] Holt did a great job preparing the group. We had some nice returns, we had really good coverage, kicked a couple field goals and our PAT field goal protection was good. Like you said, we got a hand on the field goal of theirs. I just think you don’t want any penalties, you want to make sure you protect the football, you want some hidden yardage out of it and we did all three of those things in that game on special teams.

There were a couple of tough targeting calls in that game. Can you explain those?

First of all, let me say I want to protect the game. And I think those missile style shots, we need to get rid of. But there’s a couple in that game that I don’t think that’s what the intent of the rule is. We tell our guys see what you hit, and [Jalen] Stroman’s, he didn’t do that. He had one of those last year and I said, we’ve got to learn from our mistakes, if you use the crown of your helmet, they’re gonna get you. Now, when there’s not a lot of force or impact behind it, you’re just trying to fit up on a tackle and your heads down. I don’t think that’s what they really mean by the rule. And they got Pheldarius [Payne] for that. We turned it in. We said we’ve really got to understand this better, nobody was in danger, it wasn’t intentional, it wasn’t malicious. It’s one of those where you wish it was called fair.

There were a lot of stoppages in play. What kind of problems does that cause for you moving forward?

We’re already thin at safety. We’ve got Mansoor [Delane] running through there, we’ve got [Derrick] Canteen running through that spot. And when you lose Stroman in the first half, there was a lot. Jaylen Jones had to step up, Nasir [Peoples] had to step up. Mose Phillips, true freshman, played 26 snaps, that’s what it’s about. You’ve got to prepare everybody. We tell them all the time, you’ve got to prepare like your starter. If you’re the third-team guy, you’re one play away from being in the two-deep. If you’re a backup, you’re one play away from being the guy, so you better prepare like a starter.

One of the other new rules is that on first downs, the clock continues to run this year in college football. Did you sense or feel much of a change because of that at all in the game on Saturday?

Yeah, I think offensively, we felt it did go a little faster. And I think our analytics guys looked at it and I think we lost one possession a half is what we felt like, but it just keeps the OC, the play-caller on his toes. You’ve got to be ready to go. We felt it. Was it a factor in the game? I couldn’t say that.

How about hydration? That’s one thing that you guys have to work on hard. I think Josh Fuga cramped up a couple times in the game. What’s the importance of hydration?

We’ve been preaching it all week. We don’t want to have to IV anybody. I think it’s your diet, it’s your hydration, it’s your rest. We talk about it, that’s the mature approach that’s necessary. You talk to the NFL guys, they’re gonna take care of that, that’s part of it. They’re invested in their game, their preparation, holistically and we’ve got to do a better job there so that guys don’t have to come out for plays. So that’s been a big emphasis this week.

You talked about that with the media. There were a couple of snaps that were slow getting back to Grant. Was there some cramping there too?

Yeah, Kaden [Moore] was cramping up a little bit. It was just affecting him getting into a stance that he used to, that was normal for him. It just affected the snaps a little bit.

There were a couple of times where Old Dominion wanted to run faster and get up to the line in a hurry. They didn’t always snap it, but they were set and ready real quick.

The tempo was a big piece of the game. I think that got us out of our run fits a little bit, which was disappointing. We’ve got fit to run more consistently and the tempo and it being the first game and just there were some things maybe that had a factor in it, but they did a nice job. They’re an improved team. I told Ricky [Rahne] that after the game, ‘You guys are better and there’s some things you’re doing that are gonna give people some problems.’ I wish we could have tested their quarterback more by throwing the ball. They’ve got to figure out if they can throw it well enough. But we didn’t control the quarterback well enough, we didn’t fit those plays very well. And then there was a couple right up the pipe that mike and will have to do a better job with.

What did you see last week out of Purdue against Fresno State?

They’re a good team. It’s a good film, to be honest. That thing could have gone either way. I think Purdue’s kicking themselves a little bit, there’s plays they’d like to have back. They have a talented team. When I look at the film, they’re probably more talented than Fresno. But Fresno did a nice job. Purdue’s defense is stout, very good structure, very sound. They got some play-makers on offense, they got play-makers in the kicking game. We’re gonna have our hands full.

Tell us about their quarterback, Hudson Card (6-3, 210). Looks like he’s got pretty good numbers.

He’s a transfer from Texas. We actually scouted him a little bit ourselves. He’s very athletic. Good feet, good speed and a strong arm. He was a highly recruited high school prospect. I think they felt very fortunate to get him and we will have our hands full with him.

One of his favorite targets in game one was Deion Burks, who had four receptions for 152 yards and two touchdowns in the opener. How do you slow down a guy like that?

It was a simple little slant. Should have been an eight- or ten-yard play and he broke two tackles, then hit the gas and he was gone. So he’s a dangerous guy. We certainly have to know where he is all the time. And they’ve got a couple of guys like that that are quick and shifty and got good speed. Young man that returned the kick for a touchdown, he’s played receiver, he’s played running back, he lines up at both. We’ve got to prepare for him to be out there split out and empty or in the backfield. He’s also an electric guy. That offense, I’ve seen for years in the Big Ten and Coach [Jeff] Brohm had done a great job and there’s playmakers there on that roster.

Something you don’t see all the time, Purdue has an odd front defense. What kind of trouble does that cause?

They’ve got three 300-plus pounders lineup at two, four eyes and a zero. I mean, these guys are monsters. And then they got to overhang players, defensive-end type guys that crash the edges. They’re stout and they’re big up front. It’s not a front that you’re working against all the time. We’re a 4-3-4 down group so what those guys defended all camp isn’t what they’re seeing on Saturday, so the scout team had to do a great job this week. We took Lamar Law, a young man from Virginia Beach, he’s about 330 and we put him at zero to work against our offense this week. We try our best to simulate it the best we can.

What about the second level? Those linebackers are a little bit bigger than expected.

That’s just the nature of what they want to do and who they want to be. Good size, good physicality through the middle. They’re gonna force you to do some things on the perimeter.

How about their special teams? Anything stand out other than the kick returner?

Well, they’ve got a good punt returner, this [TJ] Sheffield kid, number eight, I’m familiar with him. We recruited him a little bit at our last place and he’s a talented guy who can do things, he had a 29-yard return in the game. We talked about the kick returner, number three [Tyrone Tracy Jr], explosive guy, good speed, and then they’ve got guys returning — their field goal specialist and punter. So they’re in pretty good shape on teams.

One of their defensive backs, Marquis Wilson, was a player for you at Penn State and then transferred to Purdue.

Marquis is quick, he’s fast, and has good ball skills. He starts at their field corner spot. Their nose tackle we recruited to Penn State, he hit the portal. He’s about 335, strong, smart guy. He’s from Indiana, he went back home and he started at their zero, so I’m familiar with a couple of their guys.

Who has the honor of wearing the No. 25 jersey this week?

White Lightning, Cole Beck. The fastest guy in college football, so he says. Let me tell you, he’s fast. He’s a specialist for us. He spends all his time working on covering kicks, returning kicks, he’s on punt return, he’s on punt. He’s a utility guy. And with that kind of speed and maturity, he’s an older guy. We look for him to really impact our teams this fall.

#𝟐𝟓 this week: Cole Beck 👏#ThisIsHome pic.twitter.com/vGHzJ4j00L

— Virginia Tech Football (@HokiesFB) September 8, 2023

How about the lunch pail?

Dorian Strong’s got it now. Big interception last week. He’s had a great camp. It was good to see him go make that play and he’s really put together a nice offseason. Coming off that injury last year, we certainly missed him, and he’s just got himself back. I think he’s playing his best football. He’s a true cover corner but he’s got the size to play in the boundary if he needs to. I’m excited about the year he can have.

How nice is it to have the first two games at home to kind of set that tempo instead of going on the road?

It’s certainly good. We’ve got a great environment, great venue, but to be able to walk out of your own locker room and be on your field, it’s nice. We’re thankful for it. I know we’re gonna have to go and play good football on the road as well, ut to start out with two home games, it’s pretty good.

How about Derrick Canteen? He just showed how versatile he is, he’s such a leader, he’s a mature guy. Had a forced fumble vs. ODU.

Yeah, he’s a utility knife. He could do it all, safety, nickel, corner. He’s a worker. He doesn’t say a whole lot if you’ve met him. He’s an awesome kid. Super nice, sweet kid, but on the field, he’s tough, he’s consistent, he constantly pushes himself, he’s always doing extra in the meeting room, in the weight room. Sometimes we got to kick him out of there.

Purdue’s head coach, Ryan Walters, was the defensive coordinator at Illinois when you were at Penn State. You guys had that nine-overtime shootout in 2021.

Felt like 20. I don’t remember that game, I blocked it from my mind. We went 10-10 at the end of regulation and went into overtime and five straight non-conversions and two-point plays. And both sides just had a good defensive battle. I’ve got a ton of respect for Coach [Walters]. He does a great job. I was happy to see him get the opportunity at Purdue, so some familiarity. 

A lot of freshmen got a lot of playing time against Old Dominion.

Yeah, they sure did. It was good to see. When you can play a bunch of freshmen and come out with a win, that’s a real positive.

How do you guys determine who’s going to play in how many games? 

We keep track of it every week. This year, you can play four in the regular season and play in all of them in the postseason, which was a good rule. We worked hard to get that passed. Sometimes it may be that you need to play a guy for three or four early in the season but you know you’re going to have somebody else available for three or four later in the season that could do some of the same things. There’s a lot of discussion around how we got to make good decisions.

You guys were 8-of-16 on third down offensively vs. ODU but 8-of-15 defensively.

Part of that was they stayed on schedule too much because they could run the ball. So the third downs were the third-and-four, third-and-five, third-and-six. Offenses lick their chops when they get medium and short so we’ve got to do better at getting them off schedule.

Do you have a lot of recruits coming on campus this weekend?

Yeah, it’s a good group. Sometimes that noon kick is tough because they have to get up early and they play Friday night, but we’ve got a good group coming. Jalyn Ballein and Mike Villagrana and that crew do a tremendous job hosting that group. We can go do our thing and coach and play and they can host those recruits and do a nice job with it.

How cool was it to have a guy like Ali Jennings have such a big game playing against his old team? His family was here, he just seemed like he was having a great time.

Yeah, he’s all in and I’m very happy for him. He’s worked hard. He’s the guy that started at West Virginia, he ends up at Old Dominion. He tells me in the tunnel it’s a dream come true to be coming out of that tunnel Saturday night. Everybody wants to be mad about the transfer portal but there’s a lot of good that comes out of it. For him to have another opportunity to kind of get it right, be where he wants to be and have a dream come true, I don’t know why he wouldn’t want that.

Josh Fuga

What was it like for you last week with an unbelievable crowd, coming through the tunnel and hearing all that?

Oh, man, it was crazy. I’m not gonna lie. It reminded me of 2021 when we played UNC. That crowd was crazy, but nothing can compare to Virginia Tech and the crowd and for it to be another sellout game, back-to-back, Week 2, you couldn’t ask for anything more.

Was it nice to get that first game under your belt?

Definitely, it’s always the goal to go 1-0. For the team that we played last week and for us to go 1-0 and come out with a W, man, it feels good.

I’ll give you a chance to defend yourself and talk about the cramps, Coach Pry kind of put you under the bus. What happened?

For the people that don’t know, I went down twice. The first time, that was a gameplan thing, nothing was really wrong. But the second time coming out of halftime, I made a tackle on the quarterback when he was scrambling. As soon as my leg hit his helmet, both of my legs started cramping and I’m like, ‘Dude, I gotta get out of here. I can’t do it.’ So I go onto the sidelines like, ‘Where’s Carly [Harris], our nutritionist? I need some mustard, I need some pickle juice, something.’ I couldn’t find her. So I’m like oh, man. They brought me into the halftime lock room and they said we need to do an IV. I’m like, ‘What is an IV? I’ve never had it.’ I don’t know what it is, like what do you put in my body? Never had an IV until Saturday night. It was a cool experience to get under my belt to be like okay, ‘Now I really have to take care of my body and my hydration.’

Four tackles in that contest last week. How about Purdue, what have you guys seen out of a Purdue team?

It’s a good team to go against coming off a win. They have their own thing, their own style, and all we have to do is just match their energy that they’re going to come into Lane Stadium with and we have to do our best to go 1-0.

ODU had a little bit of success last week running against you guys, they kind of spread the field out and left the middle a little bit open.

We’re always challenged, Coach Pry and Coach [J.C.] Price and all the defensive coaches always challenge us to stop the run, and that’s something that we hold ourselves to a high standard, high regard. And for us to not really meet that standard, we took it very heavily and this whole week, that’s something that we harped on and sharpen our eyes. I told the scout O-line, ‘Just because you’re scout O-line doesn’t mean that you’re not helping us. Give us a good look, go hard every play’ and I think we did a good job of doing that this whole week. We feel good about the gameplan going into this week.

Coach transformed this roster, went into the transfer portal. You got guys coming from everywhere. How do you manage and keep everyone together and make sure that everyone’s one team?

Personally, I look at it like this. Once you put maroon and orange on, you put a Virginia Tech on, whether it’s your first year, last year, whatever it is, you’re representing a program that is hard-nose football, blue collar type of guys. I do my best to try to hold people up to the standard that we say we are, and that comes with the five fundamentals that Coach Pry and the whole staff brings on, which is accountability, competition, communication, details and mentality. If we say we’re going to be about those five things, you have to be willing to live it and hold yourself accountable to those five fundamentals.