Everything from Virginia Tech WRs Coach Fontel Mines 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 receivers coach Fontel Mines spoke to the media after Friday's practice; here's the entirety of what he had to say:

Q: You guys ready?

"Of course."

Q: You see them?

"I'm ready to stop going against our defense. It's time to see another color, go against another team. We're ready to roll."

On whether it's a refreshing time of August to switch from camp phase to game prep phase:

"Yeah, man. Everybody's always excited to start camp. You know, you get the young guys, you got some new transfers, and everybody's excited about the new offense and new defense. So, I think that's well on its course and it's time to go play ball."

On roster turnover:

"Feel good, man. The good thing about my room was [that] those guys that were fortunate enough to be around those four seniors who graduated last year. Got an opportunity to learn how to be a pro, how to be a college athlete, what to do, what not to do, how to practice, how to take care of your body. Chanz Wiggins, Brodie Adams, Takye Heath. And I think they benefitted from it."

On whether Ayden Greene remains the room's leader:

"No question. No question. He's done a really good job of attacking that role, embracing that role vocally, on and off the field. And Donovan as well, man. Uh, that's 'unc', as they call him. That's our wily vet, man. And just teaching these guys, you know, the small things, how to watch tape. Some guys just really don't understand and you tell them to do extra and watch film, but they need education on how to do it as well."

On Devin Alves' development:

"Just being consistent. I think initially in the spring, when we made the transition from defense to offense and ironically enough, I'd always joked with Devin over the last few years about playing offense. And he did some stuff, some good stuff in high school. And I think it was a little new to him and he was a little nervous about it and was unsure if we were completely bought into him as a player. And I think once he got confidence in the offense and the ability and he's seen those himself make those plays, he's just continued to grow and grow at the position and he's going to get better as the year progresses. I'm excited about Devin. I am. I think he offers, he stretches the field for us. He's a bigger body. He's got really good catch radius, good body control. He's an older guy who's played in college games. Probably not a lot, but he's got it in games, so that's going to benefit us in the long run."

On what he does to challenge Ayden Greene as a leader:

"I treat Ayden like a freshman. And what I mean by that is, I don't relax. I don't take it easy on him, I don't take anything for granted as far as what the expectations are for him on a daily. And I think some guys need that. They need that constant push, whether it's myself or [assistant wide receivers coach Cam Philips who's done a really good job, and just being a mentor to those guys in that room and giving those guys confidence and extra film study and releases and pre-practice and post-practice. But you got to push him. You got to push him. He can't be complacent. He's confident. He's a little bit arrogant, which I love about him. That makes a really good receiver. There's no catch or play that's too big for him. There's no moment that's too big for him. And we're gonna lean on him a ton this year."

On whether that confidence came around during the Duke's Mayo Bowl:

"I'll be honest with you, man. Like that's been him since high school. That's just who he is as a player. And naturally you're going to take a little bit of a backseat to some of those older guys. But coming out of the spring last year, Ayden was running with the ones, he had a little injury in camp and it set him back a touch but the moment is not too big for that kid. Like, he's going to rise up at any challenge."

Q: What areas of growth have you seen now?

"I think it's more so how to take care of your body. Uh, what are you doing in the weight room? It's not more so things on the field, I've always seen the production and the highlight plays. The consistency needs to continue to grow. But what he's doing away from here, I think speaks more volumes than anything that he's done on the field."

On depth and how many wideouts Mines feels comfortable putting on the field:

"I feel good with seven or eight guys."

On the return of Tucker Holloway:

"Oh, man. I mean, you just even talk about just [being] the security blanket as the punt returner. And I think Tuck had to get some confidence back in the spring. He was a little timid with some of his motions and some of his movements and what he was doing on the field. And he acknowledged that and that's the good thing about Tuck. He's probably one of the most mature guys definitely in my room and on the team, to be able to self-recognize what he needs to get better and he's had a really good camp. He's playing fast. That's something I couldn't say coming after the coming out of spring. He's playing fast. He's making some plays. He's a guy that I have full complete trust in."

On Takye Heath's nature of suffering injuries:

"The good thing about Takye and Aiden and I don't say this as a dig towards any transfer because everybody has to leave a university for various reasons, but they did it the old-school way. I recruited those guys coming out of high school. Takye redshirted, Ayden didn't. Takye went through some growing pains. He went through some adversity. He had to find himself a little bit, man. And just had to figure out where he fit on the team, where he fit in the offense. And adversity will break, you know, the strongest man. I think he's bounced back and most improved in the spring. That's continued throughout the summer and summer workouts, and he's had a really good camp. And he's one of the most different guys. Like I have nobody built like him in the room as far as elite quickness, speed, break points, being able to get in and out of cuts. So, we can do a lot of different things with him. And I think he's going to flourish and I'm excited and I'm happy for him more than anything. Like I'm probably one of his biggest fans, to get to see him experience some success uh after going through some hardships."

On where he factors into the slot rotation alongside Cameron Spencer and Isaiah Spencer:

"I think they're all different, man. Like Isaiah has the ability to play inside and outside. Actually started Isaiah probably for three quarters of the way through camp on the outside. And the last few weeks, had the opportunity to move him inside and just create some depth. That was our big thing on offense, just being able to move guys around and create depth. If somebody goes down, they have a history of playing that position. But he's, he's up there, man. He's going to play a lot of ball for us."

On whether Shamarius "Snook" Peterkin can crack the rotation:

"He's looking like a freshman, but uh he's looking like a really talented freshman, who probably has made the most explosive plays in camp and most touchdowns, but also probably the most mental errors. And I think it's just a growth thing with him, of learning. He didn't enroll early. He got here late May. So, he's kind of going through the freshman woes right now of trying to figure out. You got class starting coming up here and Picture Day and just all the distractions that come with college athletics, I think he's kind of going through right now. But I promise you, I wouldn't hesitate at all to put him in the game. He's similar to Ayden, as far as confident, like the moment's not too big for him. I don't think he's going to get out there and freak out. If it's one thing that kid's going to do, he's going to make a play."

Q: Is [Micah Matthews] in the same boat?

"Yeah, I think Micah is probably a little bit further behind those guys. Snook and that freshman class is probably a tick above the the other freshman, just as far as like right now, readiness to be able to go out there and do some things. Just with Micah playing baseball, when he first enrolled early and then he touched his toe a little bit in some spring practices, but he didn't get the full gamut of 15 practices. So, he's definitely gotten better. He's starting to play faster. I think that's going to be a week-to-week thing ongoing and hopefully we can play him for four games and save his redshirt and kind of go from there."

Q: Same with Peterkin?

"He's in a little bit different situation."

On the biggest thing he's seen from Cam Seldon:

"Just learning how to play the position, man. Even in high school and I remember and I went back and watched this tape. When we were recruiting him in [the] transfer portal and just so raw development-wise. He played quarterback, he played running back, he played receiver and then to go somewhere in college and play running back for two years. We had to just get him acclimated to running routes and cuts and break points and catching the ball at different angles. And again, major credit to to Cam Phillips who has kind of taken Cam Seldon under his wing. Like the day Cam Seldon got here, three weeks straight, every single day, he's in the indoor, he's doing something extra, he's watching tape, he's on the jugs, he's just trying to get himself to 'How do I play the position?' But the growth for him is is going to be really big, probably middle to the end of the season. But a talent like that, you can't deny. No doubt one of the fastest, probably the fastest guy on the team. He's 6'2, he's 200-something pounds. So, you just got to find ways to get the ball in his hands."

On Isaiah Spencer's relation with Cam Philips:

"The difference with Isaiah and Cam Seldon is Isaiah's played in college games at that position. So, he's caught touchdowns. He's ran routes. He's gotten open at a lower level. And he's still developing and I can still see his potential. Neither one of those guys are maxed out. I think you going to continue to see them both grow and get better. The longer they're here, they both got another year left. And, I'm excited about them, man. Like, all three of those guys are completely different in the slot. You talking about Takye, Isaiah, and Cam, again with the ability to move Isaiah to any three spots just to create some depth and give us a little bit of versatility in offense."

Q: Do you have some kind of 'Bad Boyz' initiation for you guys? [Mines was wearing a "Bad Boyz shirt.]

"It used to be, when we first did it two years ago now, I waited 'till they got through all the practices to May 3 They were going to be here and didn't quit on me, anything like that. But no, man, like once you're in the room, you're in a family. Those old guys do a good job of bringing everybody to the group."