Everything From Defensive Coordinator Chris Marve at Virginia Tech Media Day

Alongside head coach Brent Pry, offensive coordinator Tyler Bowen, and special teams coordinator Stu Holt, Chris Marve addressed the Hokie media today. The Virginia Tech Media Day just means we are ever so much closer to the kickoff of the 2024 season, college football is almost here!

Here's everything Coach Marve had to say:

Q: Coach. When you have a little more depth and experience on the defensive line, what does that allow you to do, and how important is rotating guys through at that position?

Chris Marve: Hey Mike, first of all, the defensive line is one of the more challenging positions in all of football, especially when it comes to maturation at the position. When you have bodies that are a little bit older and have experienced force and mass upfront and fought in the trenches for a couple of years, you like to think you can do a few more things defensively. We’re excited about the guys we have. They’ve worked tremendously to be the best versions of themselves, so we’re going to give them everything we can and see what we get done.

Q: With video scouting being where it is today, the year APR had people studying his moves and tendencies. Does he spend time in the offseason trying to change it up, or is it just about getting better at what he does? What’s the approach for a guy who draws that much attention?

Chris Marve: Sure, you know, one thing we harp on as coaches is that it's imperative to be strong where you're strong. If you’re a fast guy, be fast all the time. If you’re strong, know how to manipulate your body to generate force on the football field. Wherever you’re weak, take each day as an opportunity to become better at your weaknesses so you can limit those. We do that as coaches, and we ask our players to do it. For a guy like APR, we know his skill level and talent from last year, and he’s enhanced his strengths while trying to limit some weaknesses this offseason.

Q: Chris, you guys added Sam Brumfield about six or seven months ago, and he’s been on campus. What have you seen from him in that time, and how has he integrated into that Mike linebacker role given all the nuances?

Chris Marve: Yeah Tim, he’s really taken it head-on. You’re talking about someone who’s a student of the game, loves to learn, and has high expectations for himself. He’s nearly a 4.0 GPA student who’s hungry to be the best he can be and has a phenomenal story. We’re excited about him. If you watch the tape without knowing his background, you’d agree he’s a pretty good linebacker. This fall, it’s about putting on tape who he can be within our system.

Q: You guys made a considerable leap in sacks last year, jumping to second in the ACC. What do you attribute that to?

Chris Marve: Yeah, certainly our guys. A second year in the system that attributes to a better comprehension of what we're trying to get done in terms of, you know, being aggressive, playing on edges, and knowing how to cage the rabbit, so to speak, when you're talking about the quarterback. A thing about two years ago, we got to the quarterback a fair amount but struggled to finish. Last year, we got to the quarterback a fair amount; we finished a few more plays, but there was still meat on the bone, so there's still more to go out there and get. We like our guys, we like the packages that we have in place, but there's still a lot more opportunities to go and get after the quarterback.

Q: With the new NCAA rule allowing, you know, guys who were former analysts to now have actual coaching responsibilities, what's it like having guys like Xavier and Gouveia-Winslow now having an opportunity to coach your guys up? More resources for your players?

Chris Marve: Yeah, man, first of all, Coach Abidi and Coach G are phenomenal, phenomenal football minds. You talk about two men who played at this program, two men who were lunch pail carriers. We take a lot of pride in our defense. They were taught firsthand by Coach Bud Foster, who we all know in this room is a phenomenal football mind. So, we're very, very fortunate to have them on our staff. Very fortunate.

Q: Chris, coaches often talk about athletes making a big step from year one to year two. As you go into your second year calling the defense, how much more comfortable are you in that role?

Chris Marve: Yeah, so this has been a position—that's a great question—this has been a position that I've always prepared for, something that I've always wanted to do. So, you know, there weren't a ton of surprises in terms of preparing for what we saw in year one and year two. And in year three, what I'm very proud of and what I'm super thankful for is that we have continuity within our staff. Every position coach is back. Nearly every support staff role on our defense is back, from a graduate assistant to an analyst role, everybody is back. And so, when you talk about a commonality of language, like the nomenclature between the staff, what we're expecting on a particular play, that leads to efficiency of time when you're meeting, when you're watching film, when you're installing a defense, when you're drilling a certain thing. There's consistency, there's time efficiency, and you can get more accomplished. Man, so I'm just thankful that we have a really good staff and we have continuity for the kids.

Q: Coach, similar to the defensive line, Coach Pry talked about the depth you have at linebacker as well. What's the added benefit of keeping a nice healthy rotation there as well as up front?

Chris Marve: Yeah, we got guys who can run, we got guys who can hit, and guys who have seen a tremendous amount of football at this point. You know, we got here a couple of years ago, you're looking at a room of all primarily redshirt freshmen and Dax Hollifield. And so, their guys had to take their lumps early. You get better at playing football by playing football. Whatever you got to go through, and particularly there, because football happens really quickly when you're involved in that box. So, man, we're excited about them. I mean, they've trained at a really, really high level, they've challenged one another, they've held each other accountable. We've challenged them as a staff in order and asked them to take steps to demonstrate vocal leadership, not just physical leadership in terms of doing what they're asked to do but doing it at a high level, speaking up, and holding teammates accountable at the position and at other positions, and really challenging themselves to be the best version of who they can be. Because it's not always going to be what you expected it to be, so you have to respond in a way that allows you to be the best you can be at any case, any point in time. So, I'm excited about them. As you can tell, man, I got a lot of passion for those guys. It's the position that I played, so we take a lot of pride in it. So, man, I'm excited to see what we can do this year.

Q: Well, Chris, you look at the safety room and last year you essentially had two true freshmen in the two-deep: Mo being a true freshman, Jalen Jones being a true freshman to the position. How much have those two grown entering their second year in the system? How much can they complement Jalen Stroman in that backend?

Chris Marve: Sure. You know, I think when I think about Jalen Jones, when I think about Mo specifically, I think if you watch them game one of the season and you watch them in the bowl game versus Tulane, I think you see two different football players. The patience that they play with, the aggression that they play with, understanding leverage, understanding what we're trying to get done on the defensive side, the level of communication pre-snap and post-snap—they look like different football players. And that took time. That's because of Coach Pilo's coaching, his intensity and intent with those young men, but also their passion for the game of football and being willing to learn and being willing and eager students. So, when you look at spring ball, you watch both of them grow as well. And I think this fall, you're going to see young men who are better.

Moderator: Let's go to Zoom for a couple. On Zoom, again, please introduce your name and outlet for Coach Marve. We'll start with Sam, please.

Q: Sam Jesse, Sons of Saturday. Coach Marv, when it comes to starting your preparations for week one, obviously the focus is on the team right now, but it's kind of similar to last year. There are some unknowns about the offense and the quarterback you're going to face. How do you approach that preparation when there is some uncertainty about what the opponent is going to be running on offense?

Chris Marve: Yeah, sure. I think the first thing you do is look at the coaching staff, right, and get an idea of what their personality is, their background, where they've come from, things that they did that led them to success, and things that they may have done that they are interested in but are more wrinkles as opposed to what they major in. I also think that you take a look at the personnel. You watch as much tape as you can, and once you get an idea of what the personnel will be, you just dig and dig and dig until you feel like you have a really good idea of what you're going to face. What I can tell you is that game one every single year in football, it's always something a little bit different because everybody's had a ton of time to prepare and to formulate or fix whatever they thought didn't work a year ago or change and make adaptations to grow and to be better for this year. So, there are going to be some things that I'm sure will be new, things that they hadn't shown on tape. There will be some things that they show on tape that they've been really good at in the past. So, it's our job to make sure we prepare our team and our unit to face whatever we're faced with.

Moderator: Any final questions on Zoom? Okay, Travis, let's finish.

Q: Everybody we've talked to on the team seems to think that Aeneas Peoples has really fit in well with the room since he transferred in here. Do you feel that way too? And if so, why does everybody seem to be in such agreement about that? What has he done since he's gotten here that fits so well?

Chris Marve: Yeah, humble spirit and he's a worker. Two things that I would say about him: humble spirit, he's a worker. Anytime you're new to an environment, people are going to observe you and kind of get a feel for who you are and what you're about. Again, since he's walked in the door, he's had a humble spirit and all he's done is work. He takes a lot of pride in who he is and what he can represent. He takes a lot of pride in being part of that D-line room and playing for Coach Pry. He comes from a phenomenal family and he wants to be the best version of himself. So, you'll find that that is a common thread, right? We talk about these young men training and working and developing to be the best versions of who they can be, and he's a walking example of that.

Moderator: Okay, thank you all. Go Hokies.