Everything From Virginia Tech HC Brent Pry on Tuesday Ahead of Week 2 Clash with Vanderbilt

Virginia Tech head coach Brent Pry spoke to the media earlier today at his weekly press conference; here's the entirety of what he had to say:

Opening statement:

"I'd like to start just once again thanking our fans for the trip to Atlanta. Talked to the players about it, how fortunate we are to have such a great group. The walk into the venue was outstanding for our guys, for our team. Obviously looking forward to having a home crowd, being back at Lane Stadium, Maroon effect the best environment in all of college football. It's going to be an exciting Saturday night like we all know. Great opponent coming in, in Vanderbilt. Ton of respect for [Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea] and what they've accomplished, the momentum they have, the players they have. Coaching staff's doing a great job. They did a nice job in their opener against Charleston Southern. Got to play a lot of guys and we'll have our hands full. Short week, six days to get ready. We had to adjust our schedule, obviously. And got a big week. We've got to double down on discipline and some accountability, on execution and finishing catches and making some better decisions in some areas. But I was proud of our effort, our mentality, our compete level. Gave ourselves a chance, just made too many mistakes against a good team. So, looking to correct all that, which we certainly can this week and we started that last night with a heavy correction period and out in the indoors. So, we've got to take care of our bodies. We've got a combination recovery day/Tuesday practice today to get these guys back ready to go."

On what needs to be cut out due to the short week:

"So, we went back, we've had a couple of models on a short week, but we went back to the Miami week last year after the Rutgers game and kind of how we approached that. You lose that off day, which isn't just for your players. You can do some recovery, take some things off of practice Tuesday and Wednesday, but for your coaches, that's a full day of preparation. So, everybody's kind of doubled down there. But it's a balance of giving enough reps where we can get a feel for their offense, their defense, their kicking game, get a little bit of compete against each other to make sure we don't lose that. But most of our attention will be with our look squads getting ready for their particular schemes."

Q: Is there a certain challenge for this coaching staff and and getting this team to put last week's game behind? It was one that you had prepared so long for in the season, have the result you don't want, and then get ready in six days.

"Yeah, I think a lot of times that's the case. You do spend more time on Week 1 and we got into Vanderbilt a little bit in preseason camp. Just some uniqueness with their offense. But that's why I like that we practice the day after the game. We go out, we make corrections. We introduced Vanderbilt at the end of practice last night and spent 15 minutes working on those guys. Kind of move on, close one chapter, open the next, and get ready for these guys. The guys are excited to be at home, to play at Lane Stadium. They're excited to play Vanderbilt again. They're excited to play a second SEC opponent. Diego Pavia, obviously one of the best quarterbacks in the country, in my opinion. We saw it firsthand. He took down [then-No. 1] Alabama last year. Had a great year. He looks even better to me right now. He's a dual threat guy again this week, that can can beat you with his legs, beat you with his arms. He's got a nice arsenal of receivers that got good speed, particularly the [Junior Sherrill] kid, we know. [Running back Sedrick Alexander] looked fantastic in week one. [Tight end Eli Stowers] is one of the better [tight ends] in the country. They got all their linebackers back. They got both corners back. I think 96 [Khordae Sydnor], one of their best D-linemen. And then [No. 5 Yilanan Ouattara] didn't play in the opener. He's a 6'7" guy. Imposing presence. We got our hands full. It's a very talented football team."

On offensive line health:

"Yeah, we'll see. [Brody Meadows and Jaden Muskrat] both are right now, they're possibilities for us. This is a big day and kind of getting those guys back going and and then we got to continue to get that other bunch ready. [Offensive line coach Matt Moore] and and his assistants keep developing those guys. It's a good group. They're just a little green right now. So, we got to keep working on our depth at that position for sure. We did get a lot of snaps out of that first group. And we came out of it in pretty good shape. A few nicks and bruises, but nothing that would keep those guys from having a good week."

On Michael Short:

"Yeah, I think the combination of those two guys [Short and Jaden Keller] will be good for us moving forward. I like both of them, [both] did some good things. Certainly, some things we got to correct, but it's a good tandem there. I think the same thing at mike, when you look at [Caleb Woodson and Antwone Santiago], who plays some rush snaps for us, as well. Kaleb Spencer's done a nice job in some situations. I think you'll see more of him as the season progresses, but it's a good group. They got to keep coming."

On looking back at the punt return touchdown from Gamecocks DB Vicari Swain:

"Yeah, I think first of all, we coach these guys to stack once they beat those coverage players, those corners out there, once they beat them, to stack them, to be in position, to take your shot and make that returner go east-west. We didn't do that. We did it all the other snaps in the game. On that particular snap, we didn't stack them very well. We didn't take our shots. And then on the other side, they vised both gunners, doubled them up, excuse me. we didn't do a good job getting off of them. And we had some other guys inside not do a great job. Even at the second level with the shield, the contained element and things. There was a couple of breakdowns on the play. And honestly, they'd done a pretty good job all night until that snap."

On Kyron Drones' play in Week 1:

"Obviously, same thing with the rest of the team. Fresh slate game at home, got to push it past you. Yeah, I think it's always about embracing where we need to be better. What didn't we do well enough? And Kyron, he's always hardest on himself, but there are some throws he'd like to have back. I think a couple down the stretch there to [tight end Benji Gosnell]. He could have put that one in a better place for [running back Marcellous Hawkins], even though I think that's a catchable ball. For me, I'm old school. You get two hands on it, you ought to catch it. I think Benji had two hands on one of those. But they can be better throws in important deals. But he threw five or six away, to whether the protection wasn't good enough or we didn't get open or just they had a good defense. He made a good decision rather than taking a sack. He got the ball thrown out of bounds. And then we had a couple of drops that we can't have, honestly by pretty sure-handed guys. But he's got to sit in there and when he sits in there and steps up and, good footwork and that's when he's at his best. I look for him to bounce back and play a really good ball game for us."

Q: Back to Kyron, took a lot of deep shots especially one-on-ones. Is that something within [offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery's] offense that you like to see, especially get some explosive plays going?

"Yeah, I think when you got guys that can go up and make those catches, because none of them were easy really. But contested catches, to me, are a real positive trait in the wideouts and we've got a couple that that can do that and Kyron's got a strong arm. He can get the ball down the field. I've always wanted that that to be part of who we are and it's pulling the trigger and calling it because if it's not complete, it was a first-and-10 shot, you're now behind the change at second-and-10. But man, those chunk plays sure were nice the other night."

On settling the running back rotation (there were four running backs listed on Week 2's depth chart):

"I think obviously, Hawkins is going to be part of the equation. PJ [Prioleau]'s part of the equation. [Jeremiah] Coney got a few tough yards the other night. Hopefully, Terion [Stewart]'s back this week. So, we're still working in progress there. We're still a little bit by-committee, even though Hawkins got a ton of reps out there, a ton of snaps. That's a good conversation for us this week that started yesterday about that that rep distribution in that room. So, it's still a work-in-progress, I'd say."

Aug 31, 2025; Atlanta, Ga., Virginia Tech running back Marcellous Hawkins (27) runs against South Carolina in the second half. | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Q: Are you encouraged by Stewart's progress for this week?

"I was encouraged yesterday, like everything that the medical staff wanted him to do yesterday, he did, which was a real positive. Now he's got to take another step today."

On offensive gameplans and how Montgomery adjusted:

"Yeah, I thought there was a few things that could help our offense be a little more diverse. I'm not going to get into specifics, but we had some conversations yesterday and today about some things we can add to the offensive plan that I think [will] help us. When you look at what they were able to do up front defensively, big and strong and those guys were as billed. [Dylan Stewart] was a problem, not just in the throw game, but in the run game. I think there was more pressure just a hair sooner than what it felt like in a game when I watched that film. There was more pressure that was felt that affected plays. So, we've got some elements that we've talked about that we all think can complement what we're doing."

On if there's a better idea on how to attack Vanderbilt's offense:

"Yeah, for sure. I mean, I think most folks have a better understanding of who they're going to be, what this quarterback's all about, how good he really is. I mean, this guy [Diego Pavia] to me, if [South Carolina starting quarterback LaNorris Sellers] is a Heisman candidate, which I think he is, [Pavia]'s got to be in the conversation. He's a dynamic player. They couldn't do what they do offensively without this guy. So, he's pretty special. But I think, you look at what they do and they're innovative as coaches and their offense allows for creativity and different things. I'm sure we'll see something that they didn't have to or need to show against Charleston Southern. They were up 28-0 at halftime. There's a bunch they left on the call sheet."

On starting Isaiah Brown-Murray and Caleb Brown at cornerback and whether that helped:

"Yeah, we felt pretty good about the rep rotation, what we were doing there. You know, I think [Thomas Williams] probably needs a few more plays and, you know, Christian [Ellis]' a guy, they're all playing both sides right now, which is good. And I agree [about placing Sherrod Covil and Isaiah Cash at nickel]. I think Covil and Cash did some good things at the nickel position. IBM is going to continue to train there. And against certain style offenses or certain slots, you can see IBM at nickel. And I like [Krystian] Williams. This is a guy that's been beat up. you know, injuries. It's been a heck of a road to recovery for him. So, I'm so happy and excited for him that he was out there playing with us. He's going to help us on special teams. He's going to help us on defense."

Q: Is last year an extra motivator for this group? Do you have to bring that up?

"I'm sure it's in the consciousness of most of these guys. Yeah, we talked briefly about it in the locker room. But I don't have to say that to these guys. They know. And really, it's about us. This is the game. We got to go win the game. We got to do enough things right to go win the game as coaches and players. And there's not a better opportunity than this one. It's at home. It's against an SEC opponent that we're familiar with. It's at night. We have a great crowd. TV, so these guys will be plenty motivated."

On how playing South Carolina helped for in-game evaluation:

"Yeah, it was definitely a good test for us. I think I've always kind of been back and forth on it over the years. You could play a lesser opponent and not learn as much about your team. Or you could go out and have a pretty big test in week one and and figure a few more things, just with the win opportunity not being as great. So, we learned a lot about our team and we could be pretty specific and poignant about the areas we need to improve on to make sure that we're a better team in Week 2 than we were in Week 1."

On Kyle Altuner:

"Yeah, I thought he did pretty well for a red shirt freshman that hadn't played a snap. He got beat a couple of times. He's still got to [work on] some technique things. He's got to keep getting stronger, getting bigger. But man, he's an athlete. He's a competitor. He's smart. Honestly, the the chop block on Coney, Altuner is not really supposed to mess with that guy. So, it was a combination of both of those guys. So, there were some subtle things that hurt us a little bit that he can clean up and he will. He's very coachable, as I said. He's smart. So, I think it's a good game for him to build on, much like the rest of our team, to be quite honest."

On Elhadj Fall:

"Yeah, he's a guy we've been excited about. We were honestly very excited to get him. We weren't sure we would and he played down at Georgia Southern for a friend of mine, so we kind of knew what we were getting, but he's nearly 300 pounds. He's got some suddenness to him. He's explosive. He's very smart. I wish he'd just play with a little bit more motor, a little bit more edge. But that snap where he got the sack [and] fumble, he kind of struck that kid and and got rid of him pretty quick. I wouldn't say there was anything especially savvy about it. You know, it wasn't some dynamic rush move. I mean, he just kind of got after the guy and and got rid of him and got his hips clean. But I think he'll get better and better as he goes. But again, he's a guy that's played a good number of snaps. He's overcome a couple of injuries prior to being here, but this is this is a guy we're excited about. I thought the combination of him and James [Jennette] at that spot worked well for us."