Everything From Virginia Tech DL Kody Huisman On Tuesday

Virginia Tech defensive lineman Kody Huisman spoke to the media on Tuesday; here is the entirety of what he had to say:

On if Wofford was the best game that the defensive line has played so far this season:

"I'd say yeah. I mean, I was happy watching like us move around. And we're executing pressures right and fitting gaps the way we were supposed to and getting on edges."

On what the mood was like last week and whether it's different:

"I think it's it's an emotional week for anybody when you lose a head coach. But I think, with [interim head coach Philip Montgomery] coming in, he really just picked up right where we left off and we kept working. And now, just got to put your head down and keep working."

On Kemari Copeland:

"I think it's a testament to his character, of how he works in practice. And you never know when that opportunity is going to come. It's all the times of him covering down in practice, running to the ball. That's just a payoff for them. So, it's just a testament to his character."

On what stands out about NC State and skill players:

"The quarterback's, [C.J. Bailey], he's a tall guy, pretty lengthy, and I've seen him turn over the ball a couple times. And I think we should go and take advantage of that as a defense. And skill players wise, they got some good backs and we got to gang tackle them and we do that, we'll be all right."

On what Huisman's impression of Montgomery has been:

"I've met him a little bit here and there, but now, I'm just stepping in. And I didn't know too much about this guy, but I've been really impressed with him this last like week and a half. And he's just stepping in, doing this job, and it's brought me confidence back into this team to just keep, keep pushing. Keep going because it's going to work out in the end.

Q: I mean, when he's named the interim, are you like Google searching him or reading bios or just trying to learn anything about him?

"I just waited and I just wanted to hear what he had to say when he came up and addressed the team. And I wanted to just hear it from him, who he was as a person and it's been a great run so far with him."

Q: What did you sense with the team staying together after Coach Pry was fired and the cohesiveness of this team in in the days that followed?

"I know, at least, just talking in for our D line, like we're going to be here together and we're going to be working together for for Virginia Tech. And I want to play with dudes that want to be here and want to play. And there's plenty of dudes on the team like that and just the work we did this summer. Like we've bonded and we're going to be able to play together and we just got to just keep our head down and keep working."

On if there's a sweet spot for a number of snaps (Huisman has logged 113 snaps):

"I don't think there's any snaps that I can't play. Like just having [defensive line coach J.C. Price] do is a rotation with us. I'm following whatever he's doing. If I'm up, I'm in and playing. But it really doesn't matter. I think any of us on the field have a high motor and we just got to keep practicing that way and show it on game day.

On if Huisman feels that Wofford was his best game:

"I think I've played I played decent. I've been doing my job, but there's still plays out there that I can make and improve from. And there's plenty of those across the board, and I could just work on them in practice and make some more plays."

On what Coach Price's message was in the wake of Pry's firing:

"He was really big on [that] you're going to see who some people are and this group right here has got to lead it. And we got to lead being a dedicated group to what this program is about and bringing it back to what it is. And there's going to be people that are having a tough time with it and you got to rise them up and make people rise up with you."

On what Huisman liked about the response from the team as a whole vs. Wofford:

"I was excited to see that we came together and played some complimentary football and we're going back and forth as a defense and offense and actually play four quarters together as a team. I think we can just keep building off of that into [the] NC State game. David, to you and then we'll go to Zoom. David asked you about JC's message to you guys. Did he mention to you that he has been in this situation before and that he actually served as the interim head coach here for three games?

On whether Price mentioned he had been in the position before:

[Editor's note: Price served as the Hokies' interim head coach at the end of the 2021 season following Justin Fuente's departure.]

"So, he's definitely he mentioned that he's been in situations like this and there's been plenty of [that]. He knows how it goes and that's why he's saying [that] we got to stay together and we got to work together for a common goal and, you know, we're we're all here to play football. So come here, come out, strap up and play football."

On whether Huisman had fun playing on Saturday:

"I had a lot of fun. It was fun to go beat a team of course. But Coach [Montgomery] did have the message that, [to] remember how much fun you had playing when you were a kid, and just go out there and play. And I think that's something we all got to get back to, like you're playing a game of football and you got to just go out there [and] play it like your last. Like you never know when you're going to be done playing football. So, you got to play every snap like it's your last."