Everything From Virginia Tech Interim HC Philip Montgomery After Wednesday's Practice

Virginia Tech interim head coach Philip Montgomery talked to the media following Wednesday's practice; here's the entirety of what he had to say:

On how practice was today:

"Good. Very spirited. Got a lot of good work in. We hit all the loads that we wanted to hit and exceeded those. So, guys were really flying around. They're attacking the field. Very pleased with that part of it. We got to continue to work that way. But, in fact, two really good days."

Q: Is there any different feeling if being the start of ACC play clean slate perspective or or anything like that?

"Well, we've talked about that this week [that] we finally get into to conference play. We're excited about that. Obviously, not only do you get into conference play, but you got to go on the road to do it. So, it's going to be a great test for us. Obviously, NC State is a very talented team, but our guys are working extremely hard right now. Like the plans that we have installed. Now we just got to go out and execute."

On if Montgomery is doing anything different to prepare the Hokies for their first true road game of the year:

"Yeah, I mean, we've been cranking up the music, making it loud, making it hard to communicate, doing the things that you got to do when you know you're going to go play in front of a hostile environment. So, when you think about game one, even though it was a neutral sight, it was still a really loud environment. So, we played in that already. I think we'll be fine, but obviously, this week we're cranking up the volume to get ready."

On whether any particular position group stood out to Montgomery in practice:

"Really as you looked at it, I thought all of those guys practiced extremely hard. We had several guys or several groups in there that were exceeded 100% or more of what we wanted to get from a load standpoint. So, to pick out one particular group would be tough to do. But I thought both sides of the ball worked extremely well."

On whether there's any encouraging news on the offensive line:

"I think we're trending in the right way. Guys are doing some good things this week, but we still got to see where that's going to take us towards the end of the week. I like the way we're trending, but no new availability as far as info. Right now, we're still watching. We're observing and we're kind of seeing where it all falls."

Q: Do you expect any other freshman or register freshman might need to step up and play more, like a Gavin Crawford or Lucas Austin?

"Yeah, I mean, those guys have already, some of those guys have already had to step up and play. So, they're preparing to do that. I think several of our freshman are preparing to do that just because you just never know what's going to happen when you look at the depth and everything that we have. Guys got to be ready to play. So, we're preparing ourselves that way every day. They're preparing themselves that way every day. Whether that's in the meetings, whether that's on the practice field, we got to continue to do that."

Q: How was the operation moving you moving back down to the field to college plays? How did everything go last week?

"It went pretty well. I mean, obviously, it's different. You feel all the juice of what's going on. You got to control some of that. I got to control my emotions at times during it because you get mad, you make a knee dirt decision, say, 'Heck, I'm just going to do this.' So, you got to be smart about that. It's a little, you got to see in a different way, but the guys in the box, the guys on the field, having the iPads, all of that helps. And so, it's finding the time to get all that in when you're trying to make decisions in the course of the game, as well as paying attention what the flow is.

On clarity regarding several players whose status is in flux due to transfer portal:

"It's an ever-changing, flowing situation right now. I think we're in a good spot. I think our team is pretty bought in to where we're at. And so, we'll continue to to have conversations when they come up but we're trying to educate. We're trying to do the right things and every decision we make is about the team and the team moving forward."

On whether Montgomery needs to tell them about making a decision at a certain point:

"I'm not going to put any pressure like that on any of our student athletes. My encouraging and our coaching staff, we want every one of those guys out there on the field with us. So, we're trying to to hold our team tight and continue to to grow as a football team and as a unit."

[Montgomery was asked about Caleb Brown being unavailable and stated that he would see "how it plays out". He also said that James Djonkam and Keyshawn Burgos were in "kind of the same boat"].

On the buy-in of the offensive identity:

"Well, I think more than anything, it's finding the balance. We got to establish the line of scrimmage. You want to get the run game going, but you got to make sure that whether we're moving the pocket, whether we're standing in the pocket, we're taking our shots down the field. Our philosophy is always going to be [that] we're going to spread them as far as we can, spread them when we're going to stretch the field as far as we can stretch it. And we got to be able to pick and poke on different parts of the field to be able to move chains, stay ahead of the chains, stay out of third-and-long, and when you get down the red zone, you got to convert."

On if Montgomery knows how the ACC's new player availability report will work:

"Yeah, and I think you used the right word right there. It's availability. It's not really injury, right? So, it'll be a flowing type situation. So, you'll get an availability report tomorrow. I think we turn another one in on Friday, turn another one in a couple hours before the game. So, that thing will continue to adjust and move as situations change."

Q: Do you do that after practice? How does that work?

"I think it comes out at 8:00 tomorrow night."

Q: So you have to sit down and just like list people?

"Yeah, kind of basically very much like the NFL. I mean it'll be questionable, probable, out. I don't know what all the different functions of it are, but yes, that's what it will look like. But from a coach perspective, it's good not to list the specific injuries or anything like that. It's just designating the status, right? It is status at this point, right? Not the injury itself."

On cornerbacks Krystian Williams and Thomas Williams:

"Yeah, been really pleased with the way they have continued to improve, right? They're steady students in the film room. They're up here all the time trying to get more work, trying to get more film time, and then when they get out on the field, those guys are really locked in. And that's what we got to have. They're improving each and every day."

On Ayden Greene's development as a leader:

"He's really been phenomenal. He really has. And he's really taken that role since I've been here. I don't know what he did prior to [me coming in], but I can tell you, since I've been here, he's a guy that does a great job from a leadership standpoint. Talks when he needs to, actions on the field, go make plays, been selfish in some areas like that. So, I've been really, really pleased with what he's done."

On Kyle Altuner in the same vein:

"Yeah, the center has so much control of what's going on up front and making sure that we're getting things targeted right and ID'd right. He's done a phenomenal job with that. Carries himself more like a veteran guy than he does a redshirt freshman. And so, even when you talk to him, you see the maturity that's in him. He's just steadily improved each and every week. I think the speed of the game, he's caught up with. Obviously, he's going to continue to get better, because he's so young. But he's a mainstay for us at center. We got to have him."