Everything From Virginia Tech WR Ayden Greene Following Friday's Practice

The Hokies are now only nine days away from opening their 2025 campaign against the South Carolina Gamecocks in the Aflac Kickoff. Wide receiver Ayden Greene spoke to the media after Friday's practice; here's the entirety of what he had to say:

On stepping up as a leader:

"It's going great. Like I said, stepping up, being a leader. I took this whole offseason as a way for me to work and to prove that, prove it to myself, prove it to my teammates, prove it to the coaches, just through my work, my effort, my attitude, my approach to to every day, whatever the challenge was, whether it was summer workouts, spring ball, winter workouts, fall camp. Just coming in, working every day to build my confidence as a leader and to show the rest of my guys that, you know, I am a guy to look to."

Q: Is there anything Fontel does with you about that leadership role? Does he push you any harder than he did before or different way?

"Oh yeah, the page kind of flipped for me from being a young guy to to being an older guy in the room now. So, Mines, he looks to me to handle how our room operates, how we show up, what our energy looks like. Teaching, helping these young guys come along. He definitely looks to me to motivate and be a a player-coach in our room."

On age (Greene is 20) and whether it's weird to be in a player-coach role at such a young age, adapting with having receivers in his class older than him looking up to him as a leader:

"Age is a number. I grew up playing ball one, two years um ahead. So, all my brothers are older. Always wanted to hang out with their friends and I've kind of always been more mature for my age, older than my age in a sense. And I hold myself to a high standard. So, regardless of me being 20, I don't look at that as like a factor in me being a leader, me being mature, and me being a player, and leader of our unit that I need to be."

On Donovan Greene:

"It's been great. He's had a lot of years in college, so he's very comfortable, very confident in the game and the operation of things. So, he's very mellow. He's not a very antsy kind of guy just because of how long he's been in this game. So, being around him is great. It kind of gives me a realization of like, 'Oh, well, he's been doing this for so long' and I'm looking at how he approaches things and his mentality and it's a very mature approach. Very confident approach. And I think being around him, having the younger guys be around him, has given our room a good perspective of how we need to approach each and every day, approach our prep for this game."

On any of the younger players standing out:

"Yeah, all of them have have showcased their abilities. They've all made big plays, they've all shown that they can play at this level. Still bringing them along, them being freshman, they've got to get their feet in the water. They've still got to get used to the operation, how fast the game is, playbooks, all those things. but they're coming along at a very, very fast rate. Better freshman class than I've seen since I've been here when it comes to understanding plays, coverages, running routes, getting open, catching the ball, making plays. So, I think here this season and then within the next few years, they'll be a big attribute to our unit."

On Shamarius "Snook" Peterkin:

"His ball knowledge. I can tell just from watching him practice that he's a gamer. He comes out here, he makes it look easy. He's a deep threat, knows how to get open, knows how to catch a ball, knows how to make a play. He always seems to be around the ball, which that's a that's a good thing to see out of a freshman coming in so soon and having that effect at this level very quickly. It's a good thing to see. And like I said, I think over the course of this season and then in the near future, he's going to be a big standout in our room."

On his own growth over the offseason:

"Everything, really. My play, my attitude, my approach, my mentality. Really, everything. I I know I have the physical abilities, but tuning some of those, making those better. Route running, releases, catching the ball, anything in that realm. And then outside of it, just understanding that I am a leader and that I am capable of being that for this team and showing up every day with the with the right mindset, the right mentality. Bad things are going to happen in this game. Unfortunate things are going to happen, good things are going to happen in this game, but highs, lows, just staying staying right there in that medium. That's a major key in in being a leader and being able to go out and do the things we want to do."

On continuity with quarterback Kyron Drones:

"It's big having a relationship with your quarterback. Obviously, he gives you the pill, he throws you the rock. So, I feel like that's very important to have a relationship with your quarterback, all quarterbacks. That's a big step that me and him have made this year. Me finally being a starter, me being the leader of our room. Me and him becoming very close, very tight, building that trust. Having him understand that, whether I'm wide open or whether I'm covered, you throw me the ball, I'm going to make it happen for you, I'm going to make it happen for us. And then me having faith that he's going to give me the ball, he's going to make the right read. It's big because if we go out here in Lane Stadium and 60,000 strong, 70,000 strong, you need that kind of telepathy mind game going on where we both understand that we're going to get the job done for each other and for this offense."

On any adjustment to new offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery's system:

"Yeah, of course. I mean, getting used to a new system has its perks. It is a learning curve, you wiping the slate and creating a new one. So, learning all that, it was definitely a curve. I think now, for the better. We've got a lot of schemes, a lot of plays and stuff that I think are really going to benefit us and we're really going to be able to showcase our abilities offensively. I love Monty outside of a football coach and him being the offensive coordinator. It's a great guy. I can go to him about anything, everything. He's going to shoot me straight. he's going to be honest and he's very personable. So, with him being that type of coach, him being very helpful, him being very understanding, it was easy for me and for our offense to to learn and adapt to his playing style, his play calls, his schemes. Everybody will see real soon what we're about."

On expectations for the 2025 campaign:

"Sky's is the limit. There is no real, for me, at least goal or expectations. I think we're capable of anything. I think we're capable of going out, beating South Carolina, going out [and] winning the ACC championship, competing in playoff games. I think we're capable of all that. If you put your mind to something and you firmly believe that and have an undeniable belief in your abilities and what you want in life, anything is possible, anything is capable. And we've worked our butt off this offseason to to go out and not have to think, not have to worry, just rely on the work that we've done. And we've came out here and worked our butts off, worked our tails off, just put our heads down, so we can go out this season and you know, anything that happens, anything that gets thrown in our face, we're ready for it. And we'll know how to work through it. And like I said from laying off of that, us working so hard this offseason, come game time, there should be no thinking. It should just be 'go, go, go'. We're fire when we're ready, we can't be stopped and it'll show here in the next few weeks."