Tech Talk Live Notes: Brent Pry And Ali Jennings Talk Old Dominion

Virginia Tech football coach Brent Pry and wide receiver Ali Jennings joined Zach Mackey and Mike Burnop on Tech Talk Live on Thursday night at McClain’s at First and Main to preview Saturday’s road game at Old Dominion (6 p.m. ET, ESPN+). They discussed the Hokies’ 31-14 win over Marshall, too.

Brent Pry

How did the week go?

It was good. I thought the guys [had] good preparation, good mindset, cleaned up what needed to be cleaned up. It’s been a good week.

How do you fix the slow starts?

We’ve got some good things that were discussed. Got some answers to some questions, looked at the film, talked through some things. Sometimes you have to make sure it is what it is and it’s not just what the perception is. We have to do a better job there. Been meeting with Coach [Tyler] Bowen, Kyron [Drones] and the guys and I think we’ve got a good plan for this week. We were better in Week 2 than we were in Week 2. Certainly defensively. We came out pretty fast and made some good plays. We have to do it as a whole team. Kicking, offense, defense, have to do it all.

How different is the vibe around when you’re coming off a win?

Honestly, everybody is just hungry. I think we still haven’t played to our potential. That’s something that as players and coaches you want to do every week. That’s on our minds. And we know we’ve got a good opponent in Old Dominion. We’re 0-2 going over there, I made sure the guys understand that. We’ve had a good week of work. We’re motivated, got a chip on our shoulder and we’ve practiced the way we need to practice.

What are you seeing in Kyron Drones these first couple of games?

I think he’s still settling down. I see a lot of good things in him. He’s made some big plays for us. I think that he knows where he can be better. We met today, he and I sat down and talked a little bit about strengths and weaknesses. He’s a smart guy and he gets it. He had a good offseason, he’s had a good week of preparation. I expect him to go out and play his best football game to this point.

What did you think of the ground game against Marshall?

We got it going. We had a couple good plays early. Really, that second half, that first drive kind of put the stamp on the run game for us on the afternoon.

How does a 12-play drive with 11 runs like that set the tone?

That’s how you’d like to start the game. There’s no reason we can’t. That was my message to the team. If we can start the game that way, we don’t have to come out of the locker room at halftime and wait till then.

Talk about Bhayshul Tuten’s performance on Saturday.

He did a lot of things in that game. He demonstrated speed, the ability to break tackles, and the ability to get some hard yards, which I was impressed with. They weren’t going to let Kyron run the ball. That was part of their plan. When that’s the case, you have to figure out where they’re weakening the defense to be able to do that. I think Coach Bowen and those guys did a nice job making some adjustments and taking what was there.

The defense was just lights out from start to finish.

A bunch of three-and-outs. That was a good feeling. We needed that. With the slow start on the other side of the ball, we needed to be that way. I’d say the defense had the offense’s back in that first half. That was the difference in the game.

Is Kyron being focused on by defenses more and more around the league and country?

It’s a strength of ours, for sure. Now with back-to-back weeks of film, they’ll start thinking, “Well, we better stop 33 too.” So you have to make folks defend everything. The wideouts, the running back, the quarterback, the throw game, the shots. That’s what’s hard to defend, and we still have to do a better job that way as coaches and players making them respect all elements of our offense.

Malachi Thomas played great and is averaging nearly six yards per carry.

He played great. We’re very proud of Malachi, and we’re not surprised, to be honest. He was a nice complement last year in a bunch of ball games. He’s tough, he’s smart, he’s a veteran. It’s a shame some of those got called back. 

How perfectly timed was that Jaylin Lane return?

You look at that first half and we mustered three points offensively, but you get that return and good defensive play and you have the lead at halftime when you haven’t played so great. That return was typical J-Lane, making an outrageous catch in traffic, a lot of guys are going to fair catch that one. He decided he’d take off with it. He made a couple guys miss early and then he put on the jets and it was to the end zone.

How many times have you seen two flags on a punt return and neither one of them was against you?

I was ready to start complaining. I got on one of those refs by his shirt tail already — “Oh, oh, it’s on them? OK, good job, good call, buddy.”

How much is going on during those punts for the returner?

I was a kick return guy. Those punts I left to somebody else. You have to be tough right there. Punt returners, to me, can play defense. Those guys got it. And that’s J-Lane now.

How about those 12 pass breakups?

They challenged us. They felt like maybe they could throw against us. They tried to come back to Mansoor, man, did he come back and have a great game. Not just the interception, but all day long. I think he gave up one pass and it was that really nice play by the wideout. Other than that, he was lights out. But 12 pass breakups, linebackers had a couple, the D-line had a couple, everybody had a hand in that. It’s hard to stay on schedule when you have that many incomplete passes.

Mansoor really showed up. He was targeted eight times and only gave up one pass, like you mentioned.

He’s a veteran. Good corners can bounce back, they’re resilient. He regained his confidence, which was huge for him. He came out and played with a chip on his shoulder from start to finish. As a corner, you better play that way every game now.

He had a heck of an interception on that tip by Mose Phillips.

That was great pass defense there. Good focus by Mansoor, bringing the ball in, staying in bounds, that was a huge play.

Cornerbacks coach Derek Jones was excited too and tackled Mansoor to the ground.

[Laughter] Look, I’m not proud of that and he wasn’t either. He [Derek Jones] was in the training room on Sunday getting treatment, it was bad. He pulled like three muscles, stress fracture, bad. And he calls himself a cheetah.

How about your staff here tonight?

We’ve got a lot of our student interns, who are tremendous help to us, from sports science, nutrition and strength and conditioning. We couldn’t do it without them. It’s awesome that they’re here tonight. Treating them to a little pizza and wings, just to say thank you.

There are a lot of student interns, aren’t there?

Yeah, there’s a lot. We ask a lot, we try and do a lot, we say yes to everything, we want to give great customer service. When you do that, it takes a lot of manpower. We rely on our students quite a bit.

How about the young guys on defense? Dante Lovett and Quentin Reddish played well against Marshall.

I’m proud of both those guys. Of course Dante’s a second-year player and we saw flashes from him last year. He stepped up in some big moments in that game. He made some of those good pass breakups. Quentin, playing 20, 21, 22 snaps defensively, playing on special teams, I thought he did very well for his first extensive play at the college level.

Mose Phillips stepped up in a big way.

That’s another guy. He was disappointed, didn’t play up to his potential in Week 1 and he really bounced back and played well against Marshall.

Who is wearing No. 25 this week at Old Dominion?

I said, ‘Wait a minute now, this ain’t going to mess you up, going from 83 to 25?’ He said, ‘No, coach, I’m good.’ J-Lane, you’re in 25. He deserves it. He’s one of those guys, if he wasn’t returning for us, he’d be starting on a couple of teams in different ways. He’s got a really good skill set, and certainly returning the ball is in there. He was proud and happy to wear 25, like any of the guys are. He had four valuable catches in the Marshall game, too. We have to get him the ball, for sure.

What was your vantage point of Stephen Gosnell’s diving catch?

Oh, I loved that play. Sent it to a bunch of receiver recruits all week long. Different angles. First of all, Kyron launched one now. He sent that one downtown, and Steve, he’s so tough. To me, that’s a tough catch. People think it’s just athleticism, but when you lay out like that, you can catch the ball in the air. When you hit that ground, it’s hanging on to it. The way he laid out for it and hung on to it, I’m not surprised, He’s a tough, tough guy. His rehab, his process, his mindset. He’s really going to help us this year.

His brother, Benji, has made some tough catches as well.

Another great story. A couple brothers doing some big things at Virginia Tech. Benji has really gained confidence and is coming on. He’s 258 pounds, he’s catching the ball well. He’s blocking well. He has to get better each week as we get going on our schedule. Those two have got a great story. They are two of 13 children. They’ve got a great mom and dad, a bunch of support. I asked his mom, I said, ‘Can you have a couple more?’

Could you feel that the guys were more relaxed in the second half?

Absolutely. We looked more like ourself in the second half. We looked like that team that kind of had some momentum down the stretch last year. I don’t know if we played tight in Week 1. I think we worked through it. But the guys had more smiles, they were aggressive, they were straining and finishing. It didn’t go perfect every series, but they had the right mindset and it paid off.

The recruits had to be impressed by the atmosphere and the 1999 team being there.

It was unbelievable. I go on and on about our fanbase all the time. You just don’t see that at very many places. A sellout crowd, a great entrance. You’re celebrating a team that played for a national championship. There was a lot to be excited about on Saturday. It all helps, it means a lot for recruits, it means a lot for our players, it means a lot for our fanbase, all of it.

What was the message when the ‘99 team came by on Friday?

A message of appreciation. Appreciation of what they’d done for Virginia Tech football, the legacy that they’ve left, and then on top of that, the standard and the expectation that they laid. That’s why I came back to Virginia Tech, that’s why these guys came to play at Virginia Tech. It’s because of some of those accomplishments a team like that one was able to achieve. That’s a testament to Coach [Frank] Beamer and his staff and those players, to be able to do that is hard. What a great year, I’m so glad we celebrated it, and we rolled out the maroon and orange carpet for them. I’m sure they appreciated it. The relationship with that team is important to us.

Corey Moore looks like he could still play.

He’s something else. He’s been outstanding, great support from Corey. He came to a couple games last year, he was in Nashville with us. I wake up Sunday morning after that tough loss, first message I get is from Corey. He’s in there with us, he’s seen the improvement, the progress. It was great to see him again Saturday and know how much of an impact he was on that team.

What was the first thing that stood out when you looked at this ODU team?

Well-coached and really good defense kept them in both those losses. It came down to the last series in each one. They could easily be 2-0 against South Carolina and East Carolina. They just had a couple of costly turnovers in both games that cost them. If they protect the ball, they’re probably 2-0. It’s a good team.

What are your thoughts about going down and playing against your good friend Ricky Rahne?

I want to beat his butt on Saturday. The hard part is all year long. When you’re playing somebody, you just kind of play it close to the cuff when you talk and when you visit. I love Rick [Rahne], he’s got great family, he’s a great competitor, he’s very smart. I was so happy for him when he got the job at Old Dominion. When I saw that we were going to play him forever and ever, I hated to see that. Because we want to do this thing, it’d be great to do it together and work hand in hand in the state of Virginia. On high school recruiting, on being better, getting better, and getting Virginia Tech and Old Dominion to a great place.

Can you draw a comparison to why the home team is 5-0 in this series?

Home-field advantage is nice. They’re going to have a good crowd. We’re going to have a bunch of Hokies there, I’m sure of that. They’ll have a good crowd for a night game at their place and it’s a big game for them and a big game for us. Home-field advantage is special. 

Their rush defense has not been great. Is that something that you feel like you can take advantage of?

They have one of those offenses with very wide splits. They’re good at that and their defense is kind of built around that. They’re fast, they fill alleys. They have a three-man front, so it’ll be hard with fits in the run game. But they did a good job in the past. They’re missing their linebacker right now, 42 [Jason Henderson]. He’s a really good player. We don’t know if we’ll see him or not. I think it’s a 50/50 deal. I’ve got a ton of respect for their defensive coordinator, he’s done a nice job in the time he’s been there. I expect that they’ll put up a good fight.

How difficult is it preparing for a different defense each week?

We do a little bit of it in preseason camp, we touch on these different fronts. Obviously, for the scout team and the scout team coaches, it was an important week. We got it up and running. We introduced it Sunday night. The offense spent about 20 minutes working against it. We have to maximize every rep and get the guys comfortable.

How about that quarterback situation?

We’re not sure if we’ll see Grant Wilson or not. It was the very last play of the game, he scrambled and looked like he fell on his wrist kind of odd. He came up holding it, so we don’t know. We’ve looked at him. The backup on the depth chart was in street clothes. So now we’re looking at the third string, a redshirt freshman out of California. Athlete. We went back and watched his high school film and studied him up that way. We’ll see. It’s another game where we’re not sure who the trigger man will be.

ODU’s had five interceptions. What does that secondary do so well?

They’re fast. They mix up coverages. A lot of times they drop eight, rush three. They challenge you in coverage.

Seems like they have a good running back in the Aaron Young kid.

I saw Aaron, he was a Pennsylvania guy that we kinda recruited a little bit at Penn State. Coached against him when he was at Rutgers and now to see him down there with Rick. Of course, they’ve got Bryce Duke. He’s getting plenty of reps over there as well, so we know those backs pretty good.

What’s tomorrow look like for the team?

Fast Friday tomorrow. Today was no sweat Thursday, big mental day, walk pace, lots of reps. Nothing physical. Tomorrow we get amped back up, we want our guys up to about 85% speed. The sports science crew helps with that. We get some meetings in, we get our fast Friday, which is situational. Special teams, offense, defense, everything from backed up punt to pooch kicks to hands team. All of those type of things. We cover those on Friday. Meetings, quick practice, get on the bus, get on the plane, get to Old Dominion. We will go by the stadium tomorrow evening. We’ve gotten in a habit of that when we’re able to do it. Get back to the hotel and have our personal share — tomorrow it’s APR — then we have dinner together.

Tell us about Ali Jennings going back to Old Dominion.

You’re going to have to ask him coming up next. I’ll tell ya what, I’m super proud and excited of him. He’s playing the best football that I’ve seen him play since I’ve been his coach. He’s a great teammate, a great talent, maximizing all of his abilities right now. For him to go back home and have a chance to play, I know he’s excited, we’re excited. That’s what happens with the transfer portal. He made that play against us in 2022, next year he’s playing for us. It’s really important for us that Ali has the type of season he’s able to have.

It’ll be fun for some of the other local guys to get back home too.

Very cool. Very important area for Virginia Tech for a lot of years. We have a billboard up over there. It’s cool. For Ali to go back and play, he’s got a ton of respect from his coaches and those guys. For Da’Quan Felton and APR [Antwaun Powell-Ryland], we have them on the billboard up over there in the 7-5. There’s a lot to play for, a big game in a lot of ways.

Will any of the guys get out recruiting on Friday night?

We had some guys leave about halfway through practice today. Coach Jones, [Fonte] Mines, some others are now in that area, they’ll catch some games and catch us late night tomorrow night.

Ali Jennings

How are you feeling?

I’m excited to be back out there after missing a lot of last season. I didn’t want the fans to feel like I let them down, so that was a big reason why I decided to come back and show everyone and live up to what I said I was going to do last season. I’m excited to get to go back home, back to my old stomping grounds. It’s kinda funny because guys keep saying that their king is returning.

How much of your injury was mental?

I feel like 90% of it was mental. I broke my fibula so it was just a long wait for it to heal up and make sure I was in the right headspace. I had a huge supporting cast behind me with my teammates, my coaches, my family and all the fans that supported me. They helped me get through it. It was a tough time for me, missing what I was looking forward to last season. Hoping to be able to go to the next level. But I get another chance to play football for this great university and I’m excited for it.

How much different is it not being the only big guy in the receiver room?

I feel like when you’re a dawg you kind of just rise to the challenge. I don’t try to sit in the shadows. I was joking with Coach Pry the other day after I made a play in practice saying, ‘That’s what happens when you give 0 the ball,’ and he just smirked at it. I’m just always ready to make a play. It is a little different when the ball may not come your way half the game, but we have plenty of guys who can make plays and I trust my teammates when the ball is coming their way. I just know it’s better for me because I can stay healthy because I’m not being forced the ball and I don’t have to do everything in my power to make every play when I’m not the only one out there. Having that good group of guys around me is so much better for me and the team. I’ve been in games where I would get bracketed because I was the only one getting the ball, but they can’t do that with this group. It’s easy to run an offense where you can spread the ball out.

How is your relationship with that receiver room?

We’re super close. We always joke and are super competitive. When a guy makes a play, we give him all of the pats on the back like the rest of the guys do because we’re competitors, we want the ball. With our position, it’s a little selfish, but we support each other every time. We work together with blocking to extend plays. We’re all super close. When me, Quan, and J-Lane came in, we would all hang out together, I’d cook and we’d hang out and watch movies or the Super bowl, stuff like that. We would switch out who’s house we would go to and have little game tournaments and get to know each other better. I feel like that’s helped our chemistry a lot. Kyron was involved also.

How is it going against those great corners in practice?

We have a great DB core. Even the safeties. Going against guys like Mose, they come in ready to go as soon as they step on campus. Jaylen Jones knows what it takes to get open for a receiver so that actually helps him transition over to safety. Going against Dorian [Strong] and Mansoor, it’s hard to get open against those guys and that helps us out when we go against DBs who don’t know our plays and tendencies. It makes it easier because of the level of competition. Dorian is probably the best corner I’ve played against, which absolutely makes me better. Hopefully I do the same for him and Mansoor, and even the younger guys like Dante [Lovett], Braylon [Johnson], T-Will [Thomas Williams]. Those guys are coming along. When they get their chance just like Dante had, they’ll make big stops. It’s a game of cat and mouse going back and forth with those guys.

What was going through your mind as you entered the portal?

I promised Coach Rahne I wouldn’t go to another G5 school because I didn’t want to sell myself short. I knew my talents and my capabilities are good enough to put myself on the biggest stage. When I entered the portal, I decided to come to Virginia Tech because this felt like the best fit for me. I still feel like that’s true to this day.

How excited are some of those other Norfolk guys to get out there closer to home?

They’re super excited. Quan plays with a chip on his shoulder every day. Being a guy who was under recruited and then finally getting his shine. He’s training hard, taking care of his body. It’s going to show up this weekend. Look out for some of our celebrations this weekend. Him and APR are trying to get as many extra tickets as possible to play in front of their family. I think this is his first time since high school playing back in his hometown. He wants the whole city out there.

Did you start feeling guys play looser in the second half and gaining confidence?

Definitely, first half is always a tit for tat game. Figuring out what guys are giving you, how defenses are going to play you. You start playing a little uptight and then once we figured out when they were doing, we loosened up and opened up the playbook a little bit. We still haven’t met our offensive standard that we strive to meet each week in practice. It definitely was a lot better in the second half.

The defense played lights out against Marshall, didn’t it?

Definitely. They were holding us down till we figured it out. Then we started playing complementary football with them. And I thanked them. They did a good job of working us all summer. It was no surprise that they were going to do that. Coach [Chris] Marve is really hard on them. I can’t wait to see what they do this weekend, hopefully they pitch a shutout.

What’s your favorite time to play?

I like the night games. Being under the spotlight. That’s me personally. It is kind of tough sitting around waiting all day. Anxiety builds up just waiting to get out there. I like the night games though.

You’re the old guy in the room. How’s the on-field banter with you?

I want to clear this up. I am not the oldest guy in the room, Quan is the oldest guy. Even though I probably have the most years, I’m kind of young for my experience. I’m confident in myself, when guys are out there, we’re chatting back and forth. I just let them know that they can’t hold my jock strap. I know the work that I put in and I know that nobody outworked us this year and I tell them that.

Your family travels well. How difficult is it to get those tickets?

It’s tough. A lot of guys from the beach area. It’s our closest road game, everybody is trying to get tickets. It’s been crazy. Everybody is hitting up different group chats, calling guys. It’s first come, first serve. And I have about 20 tickets so far, I still need more if any of my teammates are listening. I know my family is coming deep, I know APR’s and Quan’s family’s are too. Our families alone might turn this into a home game.

What do you want to see out of the offense this weekend?

I really want to see it all come together. We started off slow the last two games. We picked it up and fell short the first game and picked up a huge win the second game. Put it all together, start fast and dominate through four quarters. We have a super talented group on offense and it’s hard to stop us when it comes together.

What would you like to do after football?

This NIL thing has opened a whole new world for me. I’ve done some modeling, gotten into fashion, entrepreneurship. I’m thinking about starting a restaurant, turn it into something we have downtown. A restaurant/after hours place. That would be fun to do something in Blacksburg.