Everything from Virginia Tech Head Coach Brent Pry at Media Day

Brent Pry Media Day Press Conference pic.twitter.com/OkEj96mjet
— Kolby Crawford (@kolby_crawford) August 6, 2025

Opening statement:

"[I've] been pleased with the effort and the attitude of our football team throughout this offseason. I've said it a couple of times. We need to build off of that. That's what we're working on right now, to have the type of preseason camp that we need to have. But the competition level is at an all-time high. I think offense, defense, receivers, DBs, running backs, linebackers, defensive coaches. There's a ton of energy at practice. I think some of it is from our new coaches and what they brought to the table, some of these new players and the energy that they bring, but we're always grounded in fundamentals around here. We're never gonna lose sight of that, but we've embraced some structural changes, we're leaning into the new offense, some new things on defense, and I'm excited about we're at. We've had five practices, we've got our first full padded live practice today, so we'll learn a little bit more about this group by this evening. But there's a bunch of opportunities left. We break this thing down into a series of mini-camps and we're only completing mini-camp number two today and there's six of them. So we've got a bunch of work left to do to have a chance to be the team that we can be. Another thing I want to mention is, we've got Fan Day next Friday [, August 15]. I encourage our fans to come out, it's open to the public, to meet some of these new faces. We've got a lot of news guys that will be in our two deep and that will making plays in Lane Stadium and watching us on TV or watching us here at home. I get to know these guys, they're an outstanding group of young men and we're excited to host everybody next Friday and continue to build relationships with the best fanbase in America."

On Terion Stewart:

"Terion has really good balance. He's a strong runner, he can make the inside cuts, he's hard to tackle. So, I think first and foremost, we had to find somebody that can carry the ball like that. He's got some things to work on. But he's a smart guy, an experience guy. I think he's got some traits, some of the things that [former Virginia Tech running back Bhayshul Tuten] had and then obviously, some other guys in the room can compliment that."

On the variance of skills in the running back room:

"Yeah, I feel really good about the depth and the quality in that room. I think it's [running backs coach Elijah Brooks] and [offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery] harnessing that, whether it's [Marcellous] Hawkins right now, has had a great camp. P.J. Prioleau is back healthy and has already shown us some good things. [Braydon] Bennett has had moments, then obviously, Jeremiah Coney has done some good things. I think, Tyler Mason [too]. It's as I mentioned last week to somebody, it's one of the more competitive rooms right now. How's that gonna shake out, who's gonna be our three backs that get touches? I don't know that'll go much deeper than now, but it's gonna be interesting to see. I love the candidates, I love the competition. And to me, finding a way to run the ball efectively, that's what it's about, that's the end goal, whether it's three guys, whether it's one guy, whethere there's two guys, we got to be able to do that."

On if P.J. Prioleau is back faster than expected:

"Yeah, you know, he's always a guy. He's relentless in his rehab. He takes care of himself, he's got incredible determination, so I wasn't surprised that he';s ahead of schedule and he looks good out there."

On William "Pop" Watson and mindset going into a QB2 battle this year:

"Yeah, I think that's a great question. He is in a much better place. He's not worried about the other guy, he's focused on his play, his technique, his mechanics, his improvements, his decision-making, his reads and he's improved. After five practices, I'm not sure that I've seen him play as consistently. He's had moments [before], but he hasn't been able to do it just day after day. I'm seeing a lot of good things out of him right now."

On NIL management:

"Yeah, we're certainly in a better place. We've had tremendous support from the university, from [athletic director Whit Babcock], from [Virginia Tech president Dr. Timothy Sands]. There's a real investment in football here, but I think most of all, you gain experience through experience, right? And going through the negotiations with these guys in the portal, going through negotiations with guys coming out high school, going through negotiations retaining players on your team, you learn more and more about the landscape and how other folks are dong it. So you better educate yourself and put your best practice out there and I think we've done a nice job. Kelly Woolwine and Mitch Gerber and those guys. We're not certainly perfect but we've done a nice job evolving as it's evolved in trying to be at the forefront of things. We're not where we need to be yet, but I think we're moving along pretty good."

On whether the thought of looking for guys who wanted to be at VT in first place has adjusted:

"No, there's been no adjustment there to me. It's an awful important ingredient to who we bring in. We try and figure out first before there's contract talks, [the question of] 'Do you want to be here?' and 'Why?' and then let's see if we can make it work. It's been our approach. We're not overpaying anybody to come here or stay here. I want guys to come here for the right reasons and then have a chance to earn a quality contract as the do it out there in Lane Stadium. So, that formula has been pretty good for us to this point. Most of the transfers we brought in have been productive, have been good teammates, have embraced Hokie Nation and love to be in here, so we're going to continue to work hard in that area."

On how relationships with new coordinators have developed in the summer:

"I'm very pleased with Phil and Sam. And also with [strength and conditioning coach Jarrett Ferguson], those guys have done a tremendous job. It's not easy to come in new. Both of those guys [Montgomery and Siefkes] came in with some fresh ideas, some structure changes, with a staff that was pretty much already in place. And so, you got to coach the coaches before you even dive into the players. They've done a tremendous job of that. With the support from Whit, we've been able to bring some additional assistance on board on each side of the ball to help us move things forward and to help those guys reinforce some new techniques, some new schemes. So I think it's going very well. My relationships with those guys, I would hope they'd say it's really good. It's a little bit different with Phil and he's been a head coach before. And so, the conversations can sometimes go [in] a different direction, but then Sam and I both being defensive guys, he's very accepting of some evaluations and observations that I have. It's been good with those guys and I think Ferg, I've known Ferg a long time, and having him on board as an assistant and diving into some pretty in-depth conversations [in the] postseason. We have a great relationship and I feel like he can come in and make sure his voice is heard from where we're at as a team and what he thinks we might need to do a little bit different."

On Marcellous Hawkins:

"He battled through an injury early spring. And when he finally got healthy, he showed us that he's a hard runner. He's got an explosive step to him. Real eagerness. This offseason, this summer, he leaned up. He was probably carring a little bit too much weight when he came to us. So he's a little faster, he's a little more explosive. He understands the system a little bit better. I think he's, arguably he might be the most well-rounded of the group that can do the most things at a pretty high level. There's some other guys that maybe do certain things better than him, but I know that Coach Brooks and his staff is excited about what he's doing right now."

On Caleb Woodson:

"First of all, I think [linebackers coach] Xavier Adibi has done a tremendous job tutoring Caleb. Caleb has arguably the best motor on the team. And when you run in the ball that way, each and every snap, things are gonna happen. And that's a great example for the rest of our defense. We show clips of Caleb a lot. Things happen around the ball and he's always around the ball because he puts his foot in the ground, he drives and he's around the football. He's tough, he's tenacious, he's grown, it wasn't always easy for him. I think right now, he should be the most comfortable at the position that he's been. And he can play a little bit faster and see things a little bit easier, a little bit sooner. And he's got a good skill set, he's one of our hardest workers, he's changed his body. So, I'm very excited about him."

On Cameron Seldon:

"You see some explosive plays. You see the potential there. He's a good student of the game. He's still learning the position, but he's right in the mix of things, right in the throw of things. He's got tremendous speed and a good build on him; he's just still a work in progress, he's still coming. We look for him to have a good camp and find some consistency in his play before we enter the season."

On the cornerback room:

"Right now, I'd say it's more of a four-way [battle] between Dante [Lovett], T-Will [Thomas Williams], IBM [Isaiah Brown-Murray], who has a ton of experience in the secondary and then Caleb Brown, who also has a ton of experience. Now we got a number of guys that have experience at other places. You know, Krystian Williams has had a pretty good camp. I think Jojo Crim, [Jahmari] DeLoatch at times. It's a good room. There's more depth there. We don't arguably have two guys like Mansoor [Delane] and Dorian [Strong] that could walk in with all that experience and all that talent. But I like the group. I mean, [cornerbacks coach Derek Jones] does to. But it may be where I personally felt like Dorian and Mansoor played too much at times. We leaned on them a little bit too heavy when I looked back. So, I think we'll have a little more depth and a little healthier rotation at the corner position."

On Caleb Brown:

"He's got length, he's got pretty good speed, technician. I look at Jojo Crim and I say, "That's Caleb in another year." Just a long guy that plays hard, runs pretty good, can lean on you, smart, tough. And again, he's got experience at a couple different levels. He's got a heck of a journey. When I look at a bunch of guys on this team, their stories are really, really special for a bunch of them. How they got to Virginia Tech, out of high school whether they weren't recruited, or underrecruited, or they went big-time and it didn't work out. There's just a lot of good stories that we capture, and these guys, they're a motivated group, they've got things to prove as a team. The guys that were here with us in '24. And then a bunch of guys that got things to prove individually, show people kind of what you're all about."

On the safeties:

"I think Christian Ellis, explosive player, he had a soft tissue injury early, but I think we've got him back. Sherrod Covil is coming along as a complete safety. He's been really good in one aspect and just okay in the other. Tyson Flowers, the most well-rounded guy back there. Quentin Reddish, obviously a guy we know a lot about. Could be a big-time playmaker. And then Isaiah Cash, he's playing multiple positions back there, which a couple of those guys are doing to give us quality depth. But right now, I feel like we've got five safeties that can play."

On what Coach Ferguson has added to the program:

"Yeah, I think a couple of areas. We're leaner, but not necessarily lighter. We just look better in our uniforms. Secondly, we're moving around there, whether it's changing direction or straght-line running. We look like a faster group, all in all. Thirdly, we've been able to work harder, to work a little bit longer because of the conditioning, the shaping, because of the type of summer we have. Our load, when you study what we're doing from a sports science standpoint, our loads are much, much heavier than what they were last year at this time. We're able to put another rack of plates at the end of the segment that we couldn't do before to make sure we're getting as many reps as we can without hurting the guys and setting us back physically. So, there's a lot of benefit right now from the summer we had. And then, between our sports science staff, our strength staff, our trainers, nutritionists, our coaches, just every day it's a conversation at the end of the night. Is the plan for tomorrow still the right plan? From the rep count, from the timing count, you look at injuries, you look at where we were that day. Did we get enough work? Did we not get enough work? Did we overwork them. So, we're trying to be very intentional about the time that we're on the field and the reps that we're getting."

On Xavier Adibi and his evolution as the linebackers coach:

"It's been pleasant to watch. I was excited to bring Xavier on board. I didn't know him very well but I had a long conversation with Coach [Bud] Foster about Xavier and some others and he was anxious. He'd been a coordinator at the smaller level and he wanted more responsibility, and to be honest, I wasn't ready to give it to him. And we had some tough conversations. He took them very well, grew, embraced it. I'm very proud of where he's at right now and what he's bringing to the program."

Q: Where did he need to grow?

"It's about when you have a weakness or you have concerns, it's being able to address those, own those, and improve like myself when you do some self-evaluation (of) where you're at. I think being able to go from a coordinator to position coach, let alone an assistant position coach, that's challenging. And you've got you're own ideas and your own things and how you communicate those, how you put those on the table, how you take the feedback, whether it's positive or negative on your suggestions or ideas. A lot of young coaches go through that. I think he's grown more this last year, year and a half than the first couple of years was."

On the offensive line:

"I think, ultimately, they're playing together much better. They're more of a cohesive group. They communicate well. There's not a lot of just breakdowns that cost you, you can't get the play started. I think that we're a pretty good athletic group. Got a little bit more depth than we've had. I mean, [offensive line coach Matt Moore] and [assistant offensive line coach Jens Danielsen], he's asissted. They work very well together, they've been together for a while, it's good to handle. And the guys have embraced it. I think they're enjoying those coaches."

On whether team building this offseason has translated into results:

"We're in a good place that way but we're still, we've doubled down in that area. We haven't gotten away from it. As players, as coaches, as in planning, it's going to continue to be a big part of who we are."

On last year's close losses and implementations for this year:

"There's some intentional things and then there's some things, just decision-making. There's a lot of aspects that we've looked at, the mental and physical toughness of our team who's in decision-making, who has perspective during a game to help make those decisions. I think the way you build practice, whether it's approach at halftime, two-minute, the finish of a game, fourth quarter, we're diving into situational football more than we ever have here. It's intentional and there's some aspect of game situation on offense, defense or special teams in every single practice we do right now. And it'll stay that way moving forward.

On his favorite changes in college football over offseason and preseason that have helped out Virginia Tech:

"Yeah, I don't know. When you bring in new coordinators, [you] have the ability to do football in the summer, it's a real plus. I don't know that we could be where we are as a team if we couldn't spend that time weekly with the players on football, not just lifting, running, conditioning. So that's a really good aspect. I think it's been good for our game."

On situational football relating to overtime games:

"We've taken a deep dive. I think the group that Sam's been around in the NFL; at that level, situational football is, it's about a section that big [NOTE: Pry gestured around one to two inches of length] in their playbook. And so, we've taken a depe dive, we've brought a lot of them into our planning and preparation. It starts with educating the guys in the meeting onw aht the situation of the ay is and then walking through it in our walkthrough phase and then practicing it in the practice period. So again, more guys that are comfortable in situations and I'm not just talking about players, it's coaches as well, that we've been in this situation, we've thought through it, we've talked through it. Some of it requires a conversation that night. Maybe we didn't like how it went in practice or we learn something by dong it in practice. How do we feel about it now? The situations may never come up, but they might. So I feel good about the investment there. It's been helpful for us."