Everything From Virginia Tech HC Brent Pry On Wednesday Ahead Of Week 3

Virginia Tech head coach Brent Pry spoke to the media Wednesday afternoon; here's the entirety of what he had to say:

On if feeling better about the offensive linemen at this stage:

"Not really. Right now, we're a patchwork crew out there. We got seven of 10 in the two-deep in treatment, twice a day. But they getting all they can right now out of practice. We've had to change some tempos up to kind of make sure they get to work and the ID stuff, but we'll be all right come Saturday. Right now, it's a work in progress."

Q: How much of of a complicating factor is that, trying to put together a game plan when you're you're still kind of uncertain about that O-line?

"Yeah, you got to have Plan A, Plan B, and even a Plan C, based on who's available and how they're holding up as the game unfolds."

Q: Is that a tough spot to have? That feels like a tough place to mitigate problems, even relative to other spots on the field.

"Yeah, it is. [Offensive line coach Matt Moore]'s a really good coach and he's a good teacher. We've got some guys that have played different positions, which I've always believed in that. So, there's some flexibility. And the thing is, we're working through a lot of different things. We did it yesterday, we did it Sunday. Like it's not like this all of a sudden happens on Wednesday and we got to deal with it. We've had a plan all week, which helps."

Q: How much is [tight ends coach Brent Davis] being the tight ends coach going to help with helping the blocking, especially from that unit?

"Yeah, Brent's, he's impactful in the run game. He and Matt have a good relationship. He's coaching the heck out of tight ends, but he's got input from all his years as a play caller and putting together offensive plans. He's got impact in that room."

On if it's harder for team to replace production at offensive tackle:

"It is. You lose a guy like Xavier [Chaplin, who is now at Auburn] and, you know, it's Johnny [Garrett], very athletic, can play left or right. Tomas [Rimac] can play tackle or guard. Montavious [Cunningham] can play guard or tackle. But Brody [Meadows] being out, a stalwart inside, who's actually played some tackle, too. [Jaden] Muskrat's back practicing. That's encouraging. He's a tackle guy. He's played out there a bunch. So, and then, Aidan Lynch is a guy we're super excited about. He's just young. Right now, he's not sure about things. Having a full week of practice, getting a bunch of good reps has helped him because when you hesitate out there at any position, it usually doesn't go well."

On Takye Heath:

"He didn't look too good today. He tried, he did a few things but I'd say he'll be a game-time decision."

On Keylen "Brodie" Adams and Chanz Wiggins:

"Yeah, they're getting closer. One of them's closer than the other one, to be honest. I think we'll have them both back midseason, maybe a little bit sooner with one of them. But we're still a couple weeks away."

On team looking tired in second half and whether any adjustment:

"Yeah, it wasn't rotation. When we looked at the reps and those kind of things, it wasn't that. We looked at the workload. The big thing this week [is] we can't go back and change, but we can learn from it. But it's to make sure that we got these guys back yesterday. That we had the type of practice where they were back and they felt good and they were sudden and moving around. Wanted them to come out, needed them to come out today and look fast and look quick and they did."

On Tucker Holloway:

"Obviously in the return game, that's an explosive play, one a game maybe two. But we got to get that going. We've really doubled down there. And then at the same time, he's a rotational guy at receiver right now that knows what to do and he's going to continue to get opportunities."

On whether struggles at punt return are due to not maximizing opportunities or the opportunities not being there:

"Yeah, they really haven't been there. They really haven't been there and we still, you know, we have a rush mentality versus certain groups and what they do and but we have to be able to, you know, do a nice job returning it as well."

On ODU tailback Trequan Jones:

"I think he's he's a guy that can go the distance. It's not just the quarterback [Colton Joseph]. Both of them have enough speed. You give them a crease and the way they spread you out, it's hard to have depth to your defense when they hit one and it can get some mileage. We got to be right."

On Ja'Ricous Hairston, who was formerly a walk-on two years ago:

"Yeah, he's done a great job. He's battled through some injuries, but he's very mature. He's very smart. He actually had his best offseason. Became a much better route runner. Looked faster. Had a minor setback here the last couple weeks, but I think he's ready to go."

Q: Tight end was sort of one position you guys did not address in the offseason, the portal. Was that because of his development?

"It was. He made us feel a lot better in the winter, in the spring and he was a nice compliment to Benji. We have hopes and some excitement about Ja'Ricous and what he brings. And then you still have Zeke [Wimbush] as your fourth guy that's talented. He's got route running ability, he's got good hands. Still coming in the box, but it's a pretty good group."

On progression of tailback Terion Stewart:

"Yeah, he had a good week. He hadn't practiced much and last week was day-by-day. So, now to have a full week with him where he knows he feels good and he's repping should only help us."

On whether the Plan A, B and C mentality impacts the offensive schemes of offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery:

"Yeah, I mean, there's different ways you can protect and we'll have to employ maybe a couple of them that already are in the playbook. We just have to make sure that we're practicing the right things, that we do have a second plan and even a third plan, based on who's available and how we're performing in the game."

On Kyle Altuner:

"He actually played really well Saturday. Just played OK against South Carolina. We needed better and he played better last week. He's only going to get better and better. He's smart. He's coachable. He's athletic. He's still a little young. He's going to get bigger and stronger. But he played, he was improved from week one.

Q: Matt Moore brought up before the season, like some of these young offensive linemen, you don't know how they're going to react when they get under the lights. When you got a chance to look at Tommy [Rcard and Aidan [Lynch], how did you view that they got to go up against the starting defensive line for the first time?

"Yeah, they look like redshirt freshmen. What happens is [that] you hesitate because you don't want to be wrong and when you hesitate against good people, they beat you. That's what we can't do. So, they got to get more comfortable. And I think you know that's there's no substitute for experience and so, it's invaluable right now, the work that they are getting. We just got to be able to win games while they do it."

On whether Pry has liked his defensive back rotation:

"Yeah, I think we're going to continue to to give opportunities to some other guys. We got a bunch of depth back there. We got to figure out who's going to play the best for us. But, uh, there's been some even snaps right no at the corner position, I think the combination of [Jordan] Bass and Quentin Reddish has been pretty good. And we got to get Christian Ellis kind of going. He had an injury a while back and it's just taking a little time, but he's a guy that can help us back there in a bigger role. I think Thomas Williams is getting better. Krystian Williams is finally healthy. You saw him, the pass breakup he made and then you saw his range and speed tracking that ball-carrier down. He's smart. He's long. And then Jojo Crim is a young guy that we keep feeling like we need to get him out there even though he's a true freshman."

On Bass and his transition to safety:

"He's eager. That's where he's behind right now. He hasn't had the practice reps that the other guys have had. He didn't play the position at Pitt. So, he's still coming from behind and he's eager. He's anxious, he wants to be right. He's got tremendous playmaking ability. Yesterday, he made plays on defense, he made plays on special teams. He's just got to continue to to learn the playbook and be assignment sound."