Tech Talk Live Notes: Brent Pry Breaks Down No. 7 Miami

Ahead of Friday night’s clash at Hard Rock Stadium against No. 7 Miami, Virginia Tech football head coach Brent Pry joined Zach Mackey and Mike Burnop on Tech Talk Live on Thursday night. The Hokies are 2-2 after their 26-23 loss to Rutgers last Saturday.

Brent Pry

How are you?

We’re doing good. The great thing about coming off a tough loss is getting back to work and concentrating on the next opponent and the next opportunity.

How was practice this week?

It’s been good, and with a short week, we had to get moving. Sunday was like a Monday, Monday was Tuesday and so on. It’s happened kind of fast and furious, we had to make a couple of modifications to make sure we’re a fresh team when we kick off, but it’s been a good week.

Is this Miami team the best team you’ve played in your time here?

Yeah, this is certainly one of the top two or three, if not the best. I think the quarterback [Cam Ward] is playing outstanding right now. He looks like he’s throwing pass skel[eton] out there in these ball games, and the guys they have that can make plays after the catch, really impressive. Big, athletic line, very twitchy on defense, hard to block, fast and explosive. It’s a really good football team.

What did it tell you about your team the way it fought back vs. Rutgers?

It’s the first thing I told them in the locker room. There are all these things that we’re going to talk about, but the first thing is I’m so proud of their resiliency. They never quit, which we don’t expect, but to battle back after the way that game had gone and to tie it up, really proud of that. I would say that’s something a lot of teams struggle to be able to do.

It’s hard to overcome a slow start and early deficit, isn’t it?

Yeah, you hate to start that way. J-Lane [Jaylin Lane] has been so surehanded, you don’t expect that. He’s been so good back there, and even after the fumble and the short field, we get them to third-and-7. We’ve got a chance to get the stop, force the field goal and that’s all you can ask of the defense right there, and we let them off the hook on third-and-7, which you can’t do.

Where have you seen Kyron Drones improve and where would you like him to continue to grow?

I want him to cut it loose. I told him, ‘I’ve got your back, man. No hesitation, set your feet, go be you and let it loose.’ That’s when he’s at his best, and that’s the Kyron that we saw a bunch last year and that we’ve seen at times this year. He wants to be right, he wants to make great choices, great decisions, doesn’t want to hurt the team. He’s very selfless, he’s very hard on himself, but he’s kind of settling down and I think this was a really good week for him. We’ve had some great conversations, he’s had some great practices. He’s got a ton of support from his teammates and his coaches, and we all know he’s certainly talented enough to go play very, very well.

Do you think he’s putting too much pressure on himself?

A lot of guys deal with it, but especially at quarterback, and especially with the hype in the preseason surrounding Kyron. As much as you talk about and you message about avoiding that affecting you, it’s hard. These guys are 18- to 22-year-olds, and to think they’re not listening or not hearing it, it’s not affecting them, that’s not really reality. Again, he’s got great family, he’s got great support here within our program and I think he’s going to bounce back from this and he’s going to have the type of season that we all want him to have.

What were your thoughts on the two-point conversions you guys converted vs. Rutgers?

Good play-calls by T-Bow [Tyler Bowen] on both of them and great execution. Kind of cool that one went to Steve and one went to Benji Gosnell, the two-point specialist, but we work on that every Tuesday. We have a couple of pops against one another, two-point plays, to make sure the guys are well aware of what the spacing looks like and how it feels, and at the same time that we’ve got the calls defensively and offensively in our playbook that we feel good about.

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Bhayshul Tuten is playing at such a high level, and Miami’s defense has been good against the run so far. What’s going to be the key on Friday?

We’ve got to be able to be patient and give him the touches to give him a chance. It may be a 1-yard gain and then a 3-yard gain and then a 12-yard gain. We’ve got to keep giving it to him. He’s not 100 percent, but certainly playing well and he’s getting better each week. He just has a way of making something out of nothing, even if the defense has it played well or somebody gets beat. And then I like what we’ve done with some of our run scheme. We’ve created some pretty good seams for him at times, particularly in the alleys, and he’s got the speed to take advantage of it. He’s got to be a factor in this game for us to win it.

Ayden Greene had his first reception of the season against Rutgers. Where can he fit in in the wide receiver room?

It was great. I thought the way he played on Saturday, and that catch obviously highlighted it, that’s the guy we saw all spring. I think he’s back healthy, he’s hitting his stride and he’s going to get more opportunities, he’s going to be out there more. He’s a guy that practices very hard, prepares like a pro and has a really good skill set.

What a great opportunity this is to play a top-10 team on the road.

Yeah, you couldn’t ask for better. I mean, this is a great group, there’s great tradition with Tech and Miami, I have a ton of respect for Coach [Mario] Cristobal and his staff there, I know a bunch of those guys. For us to take our team on the road and facing some adversity, we have this opportunity. For us, it’s about going out and playing to our capabilities. We’ve got to do that. All three phases, consistently enough throughout four quarters. And it just so happens that we’ve got an opportunity on national TV against a top-10 team, so obviously our guys should, and will, be very excited to play this ballgame.

As you’ve watched Miami QB Cam Ward on film, what does he do well back there?

He’s got a great release, he’s got a strong arm and he’s experienced. He makes great decisions, he does a lot at the line of scrimmage. This guy was a two-year starter at the FCS level and then moved on to Washington State, was a starter there, so he’s very experienced and can do a lot. I think the one quality that may go unlooked, to a degree, is that he runs very well. He’ll get out of the pocket and you’ll chase him around and he’s moving with good speed, but he’s also looking down the field to make plays, and he’s done that quite a bit through these four games.

He has some weapons around him.

Yeah, it’s a well-balanced offense. They lean into their passing game a little bit more, but they keep you off-balance. He’s got multiple weapons. The tight end, a stable of receivers, he’s got three running backs that have had success. When you average 600 yards per game, you’re doing more than just one thing right.

Miami has a big offensive line. What’s it going to take to get into those fellas up front?

They’re athletic, not only just big. Three of them have great size, but all five are athletic and we’ve got our hands full. I think that’ll be one of the keys to the game. Our D-line has played pretty well, they’ve got to go play their best game for us to have an opportunity to win this sucker.

Is winning the turnover battle the biggest key of all keys, though?

Yeah, you lose it 3-1 last week and you say if it’s 2-1, you probably win the game, even if you broke even. We just can’t do it. You talk about it, you work it, you drill it. We have to be more intent on the ball and more protective of it.

What have you told your offensive line heading into this one against a good defensive line?

We’ve got to bow up and get big and strain and move our feet. We’ve got our hands full. They’ve been able to get out front on people where folks have had to throw the football and then they pin their ears back. We’ve got to try to stay on schedule and keep them honest up front and make them play the run, and then we’ve got to block and get in the way of these guys enough to give Kyron time to work his magic and get some plays going.

Where you start your drives really makes a big difference in the game, too.

Yeah, it sure does. That was a combination of them earning first downs against our defense and flipping the field, even when they didn’t score, and us having too many three-and-outs or five-and-outs. Just not moving the sticks enough to change it and pin them back where we want them.

What do you see in Miami’s defensive backs? Do you think that’s an area you can take advantage of?

I certainly hope so. They’re fast and they’re athletic. They’re young at one of the corner spots, but it’s a talented group. They’ve recruited at a high level from the transfer portal and at the high school level.

Can you give us an injury update on your linebackers?

Starting with Keli Lawson, he’s questionable still. He’s doing everything he can, treating it like crazy, but he’ll be a game-time decision. Ali Jennings will be a game-time decision, questionable as well. Layth Ghannam will not make the trip. Xavier Chaplin is in a good place, Bhayshul’s in a pretty good place, Steve Gosnell. George Balance, a reserve backer, I think is feeling a little better this week. We’ve got a couple of new guys traveling to fill some spots on teams, but we’ll be down a couple.

How much do you lean into the Virginia Tech-Miami rivalry?

We talk about for us as a team 1-0, but we showed footage and have a couple stories from the team about what this game means around here. Some of the special moments that have occurred for Virginia Tech against Miami, whether it’s J.C. Price or Pierson Prioleau or myself or Xavier [Adibi], any of these guys. They remember this game and it’s always a big one so these guys understand that.

What kind of response did you get from the recruits that were in town last weekend?

Most recruits stay positive and they get it because their teams aren’t playing perfect. Some of those guys have had tough losses with their own team. Usually there’s a level of understanding. I think they see some of the things that we do really well, they see some successes, they see the excitement, they see the fan base, they see the opportunity they can have here with us. Right now, it’s still trending pretty positive with that group.

It was cool to see guys like Tyrod Taylor and Bruce Arians patrolling the sidelines before the game.

Absolutely. That’s great for recruiting, that’s great for our guys, seeing Kam Chancellor. Just all of them, obviously Tyrod and Coach Arians. It’s pretty cool and that’s one of the special things about Virginia Tech, so I love when those guys are back, I love that our recruits and our players get to see them, be around them. It’s very influential and inspiring for our guys.

Are you prepared for all kinds of weather down there on Friday night?

We have to be right now. I said to Stewart Carter, ‘Make sure I’ve got three pairs of shoes in my locker, please.’ We’ve got the cleats going and a change of clothes for halftime for our players and we’ve got to be ready for it. I don’t want that to be a reason… I watch some of these teams play these guys and they’re sliding around, so we’ve got to make sure we’ve got the right shoes on for the surface and we’ve got to be able to stay dry and be at our best.

There are a ton of logistics that go into these next couple of weeks, aren’t there.

There is. There was a lot of planning in the offseason and a lot of hard work by a lot of folks to make these two trips happen. We run a pretty efficient operation, we’ve got great support from Whit [Babcock] and the crew of how we do things and how we travel, and this is going to be a challenge in two weeks from that standpoint, from the support crew, equipment crew and everybody that’s involved that way. You’ve got a pretty decent flight this weekend and then you’ve got one that doubles that up next weekend.

Caleb Woodson is playing really well, he was wearing that No. 25 jersey against Rutgers. What’s your evaluation of how he’s playing and who’s wearing 25 this week?

Yeah, he’s exciting to me. He’s still a young guy, to a degree, but he plays very physical, he had a great offseason, he changed his body, he’s big and strong, he’s fast, and as I said, he likes contact, he plays physical. He’s still learning some things, he’s still making some mistakes, he’s only going to get better. It’s super important to him. But he did some really good things defensively, he plays on special teams, he’s a selfless guy.

Keonta Jenkins is going to wear 25 this week. He does a great job, he starts on two special teams for us, also starts on defense. He’s one of just a couple of guys that can say that, so excited about him, what he brings to us on teams and what he brings to us at that star position.

Miami has an All-ACC kicker and a few athletic returners.

They’re dangerous. When you have those kind of play-makers as returners, and then you’ve got that kind of speed in the rest of your coverage units, and as you mentioned, they’ve got a kicker who does a really nice job. I think that’s a phase that could be the difference in the game. We need to win special teams, and that could really help us.

We’ve seen Collin Schlee on the field quite a bit. Is that something we’ll continue to see?

Yeah, I think so. We all like what he does when he’s out there. He competes, he can run, he can throw it, he gives an element of disguise for our offense and what we’re going to do. Is there a double pass, is there a flea flicker of some sort? And I think having him out there, any time you have two quarterbacks, it makes the defense kind of on edge. I like watching Collin play, I like watching him compete. He does a great job in practice for us and I love when he gets the opportunity.

What will be your final message for your team going into a game like this?

The opportunity is here. I don’t know what more these guys could ask for. We’ve got a tremendous opportunity coming down here and playing a great team in Miami, to flip the script on things. And you do that by executing and playing our butts off and playing our best game. If we go do that, we’ll take the outcome.

Are you a Friday night college football guy, and will this help your guys get out and recruit a little bit over the weekend?

I’m happy to be playing on national TV, I’m happy to be playing in this traditional game, but Friday night football to me is about high school ball. I love when you’re reading all of those scores and checking in with your recruits and talking to them after the game. But the game’s changing and I know it’ll be soon where we’ll have college games on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday night. But it’s great exposure for our program and the guys are excited about it. But I’m an old-school guy, Friday nights are meant for high school ball.