Everything From Virginia Tech Cornerback Isaiah Brown-Murray After August 6's Fall Camp Practice

Virginia Tech cornerback Isaiah Brown-Murray spoke to the media after practice on Thursday, Aug. 6, just under a month out from the Hokies' season opener against VMI on Sept. 5. Here's the entirety

On how the spring and summer has gone for Brown-Murray:

"I feel like it's been going good. Just been attacking every day and trying to build on, just trying to start days and build on everything I've done in the past. And each day, I'm just trying to find a way to get better. And I think all the guys are bought in just getting better each and every day."

On what stands out to Brown-Murray about fellow corner Jaquez White:

"He's a dog, man. That's my guy right there. We recruited him for a reason, and he is as advertised. He's one of the best corners in the country, and he's going to show everybody that this season."

On White's resolve after his injury in Virginia Tech's spring game:

"He attacked his recovery very well, and he's back. Same as usual Jaquez White, and he's gonna show y'all this season why he's one of the best coins in the country."

On the building of a culture and a brotherhood and how that has paid off:

"The culture and standard is everything to us, and we're constantly going to try to build it each and every day. If you don't have a culture or a standard, you're not going to be able to win football games, and we're just trying to build that. That's not a spring thing or a summer thing. That's a whole-year thing. Just try to build a culture and a standard, and once guys buy in, it's going to happen."

On the motivation from last year's 3-9 season:

"You try not to think about it because it's a completely new staff, complete new team. But we have a chip on our shoulder with Coach [Brent Pry] getting fired and us going 3-9, and we got Coach Pry back as our DC. We all have a chip on our shoulder, and you can feel that with how we practice and how we compete with each other, that we all just want to come out here and show everybody that Virginia Tech is back."

On how OTAs has helped the defense gel ogether;

All the OTAs, the summer running, and spring ball, and now we're in fall camp that each and every rep, we're getting more and more and more closer, and the chemistry is getting stronger and stronger every day. I feel like by the season, we're going to be so gelled."

On what has stood out about the freshman DBs:

"[Zaevion Cleveland, Amauri Polydor, Tyrell Grant], they've been they've been working all summer. They really attacked it, and I try to take guys under my wing — guys that want to work. And they want to be great. And they came out here and they showed them that they they can play big time football. And hopefully, y'all can see them guys this fall."

On Polydor having "freshman moments" and how Brown-Murray mentors him during his low points:

"You just gotta tell him he's a freshman. Like you're gonna mess up, and I tell him every day. I show him clips of me messing up. We show clips of the best corners in league messing up. Like it's gonna happen. You're gonna mess up your freshman. It's your first time doing this. Build on it. Don't have us correct the same thing again. Like if you loaf and we correct it, don't loaf again. It's little things like that that he's working through, and then, but he makes great plays, though. All the picks, like the ball, just finds it."

On Polydor's best play:

"Probably in the spring, it was a he was in cover three, and it was an over route from the backside. He hopped on it."

On the difference from last year and how that's a challenge:

Pry and Franklin, they had similar philosophy because they was together forever. So, but Franklin's on it. Like I love Coach Franklin. I love the energy he's brung, and I love how Pry stepped into the DC. He's a great DC, and you can feel the energy around here that everybody has a chip on their shoulder, and we want to win. We want to reinstate Virginia Tech."

Q: Is the air different?

"Yeah, it's different."

S: Tell me why.

Of course, it's different — because we have a chip on our shoulder. We want to win. We're going to reinstate Virginia Tech, and we're really going to find a way to win games, and there's no other option."

On what's stood out about Pry as a defensive coordinator:

"You can tell he's got his swagger back now. Like you can tell he loves coaching defense. You can tell he loves that. Like that's his passion right there. He loves coaching. Like you can tell as a head coach, he wasn't able to coach as much because he had to do all the other things. But now he's back on the field coaching, and you could tell he's got his swagger back."

Q: Spring practice is one thing, but does the vibe feel different when you get to August camp?

"Of course, spring is one thing. Spring is seeing what you have on your team, what you need, who needs to improve, is that. But fall camp is go time. It's crunch time to get ready for the season. This is where you build the chemistry. This is where you build who's going to play. This is where the competition's at the highest. Is where you. This is where you find out who really wants to win."

On the returners from the safeties unit:

"Those guys just buyed in. Tyson Flowers, [Quentin Reddish]. Those are Virginia Tech guys. Bass, they love Virginia Tech, and Coach [James] Franklin gave them the opportunity to come back, so they came back. Those guys are going to be great, and the competition in that room is high."

On the weight-room differences:

"You can tell Coach Chuck [Losey] has done this a long time, and he has a system that works, and he's down to every detail and every position that he has. He's down to a T. They're very detail-oriented in there, and my body and how faster I got and how stronger I got, I can tell that their their program really works. And he's one of the best strength conditioning staffs in the country."

On what that's like for Brown-Murray as a player:

"For this being my last year, they really they really hone in by position, and I really like that. They have a different coach for each position. I really like that because there's so many coaches in there, and they really hone in on it. I'm not doing the same thing as the O-linemen are doing. I'm not doing the same thing the D-linemen are doing. Me as a skill position, I'm doing what a skill position should be doing."

Q: When you line up in the secondary, you look in front of you. Can you tell how much bigger this team is? I mean, when you're trying to work your way around, just tell me about the the size difference from year to this year to last to this year.

"I can tell a lot of guys got very bigger and stronger. I'm a small guy, so everybody looked big to me out there. But I really kind of don't pay attention to that. But I can just look at guys like a lot of guys chiseled up, their body body fat went down, and the guys that needed to gain weight gained a lot of weight."

On the wide receivers and who sticks out to Brown-Murray:

"I've been on the slot a lot. I've been on the outside a little bit. I've been doing both a lot, but Que'Sean Brown and Tyseer [Denmark]; they've been giving me a lot of good work. When I slide to the outside, of course, you have AG and the new addition Marlion [Jackson], he's been a great addition. Then you have a young guy like Luke Stuewe that's been making plays each and every day. AJ Brand switching over to receiver; he's been making a lot of plays too."

On playing in Pry's defenses when he was head coach vs. being the defensive coordinator and what has changed:

"Coach Pry is attack, attack, attack, and we're going to attack guys. We're gonna make sure we're gonna dictate offense. We're not gonna let them dictate us, and this is not a passive defense. And we're very aggressive, and we're gonna play that way.

Q: Have you been more so than last year?

"Oh, it was a little different because we had Coach [Sam] Siefkes, and his defense was a little different."

Q: How have you noticed with Coach Perry and Coach Hall getting you the reps at corner and at nickel, and having the plan for you on a daily basis?

"You can tell they're very intentional with it, and they want to use my skill set, and they want to maximize it. That I can't play inside and outside. They just don't want to just close me in a box on one, and they're trying to figure out which one I'm best at and then we're gonna rock out with that."

Q: Does it matter whether you play nickel or corner?

"Wherever they feel is best for this defense where I'm gonna play."

On Tyseer Denmark:

"He's very good at top of the road and he has very good strong hands."

On Jaquez White:

"He's one of the top corners of the country, and that's the reason why we went to go get him because he's one of the best. And he comes out here and proves and shows that why he's one of the best corns in the country. And hopefully on Saturday, all the fans and everybody in the country is going to put on notice."

On Luke Stuewe, who was a true freshman last season:

"You can tell he's gaining confidence each each and every day, and you can tell that he's a very quiet guy, but keep his head on. He's working every play. He's gonna give you 110% each and every play, and you know when you line up, either he's blocking or he's running around, it's gonna be the same."

On where Brown-Murray wanted to step up as a leader and where he has stepped up:

"I feel like I've been working on my leadership since I've been a freshman, and this year, I was really given the opportunity, and the guys really bought in. They really stepped up, and they really gave me that role of being a leader this year. And I work on it each and every day. I'm not perfect, and I just got to make sure I come in here and and give 110%. I can't slack off because other guys looking at me now."

On Brown-Murray's biggest on-the-field improvement:

"I feel like my the leadership quality of being more vocal that now I am on the inside, and then, just my overall awareness of offenses. I am a very high IQ guy, but you can. But we have Coach [Brian Crist] in our room now, quarterback coach. I try to get with him much as possible. Just having an offensive guy on defense inside. That's been an offensive guy his whole career. He telling me each and everything that offenses going to do has really been helping me."

On Crist and if he gives them instantaneous feedback:

"Yeah, like on the field. Like, if a like if it's an RPO, and the back is to me and it's not a non-running quarterback, I don't have to play to run as much because the back is to me and it's a non-running quarterback, so I can play the RPO stuff like that."

Q: So he's helping you with recognition?

"Yeah, because he knows offense so well because he's been an offensive coordinator, quarterback coach for so long. So, he sees things from a different perspective that other defensive coaches might not see because they've never been on coaching from that side of the ball. And he just picks up about things even like quarterback drops, and so when I drop in my zone coverage, I can pick up just like I can pick up with the back dude just off the draw."

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