Everything Virginia Tech's Brent Pry Said At ACC Media Days

Today was the final day of ACC Media Days in Charlotte, NC and one of the first teams up on the final day was Virginia Tech. To kick things off for the Hokies, head coach Brent Pry took the podium and discussed this year's team. Here is everything that he had to say.

Opening Statement...

"It's good to be back. Certainly means that the season is right around the corner, which I couldn't be more excited about.

When I come to this event, it reminds me again how fortunate I am to be the head coach at a place like Virginia Tech. A place that I love, I'm very thankful for Whit Babcock, our athletic director, our president, Dr. Tim Sands, our Board of Visitors, for the opportunity to coach these guys and represent Virginia Tech.

I'm also very excited and proud of the guys that we brought today to help represent our team, our players, our organization. Outstanding young men that represent everything that Virginia Tech is about, that I want our program to be about.

I'm excited and encouraged by the leadership from our players, from our new coordinators, our new strength and conditioning coach. We made some upticks in some really important areas in our program. We needed to have the type of off-season that we're having.

Our roster is deeper. We've had an influx of talented transfers, high school signees, and young men that we've developed in the program over the last couple of years, guys that we've recruited and have been in the system for multiple years.

I'm also excited and encouraged by the type of off-season we've had. When we reflected on the 2024 year, it was evident to me that we needed to be a more mentally and physically tough team. That starts with me, and we've addressed it in each phase of our off-season program, the winter, the spring and the summer.

The leadership that Jarrett Ferguson has provided in the strength and conditioning arena has been outstanding. The changes on defense with Sam Siefkes, offense with Phil Montgomery and Matt Moore. I'm a big fan of our staff and our players right now.

The other thing that we did this off-season, we doubled down on our team building. In today's game, with the influx of players, the transfers, the high school additions, now more than ever, and especially at a place like Virginia Tech, team is where it starts and ends.

The guys have embraced it. The coaches have embraced it. We've had several unique opportunities to grow as a team, to become more and more selfless and put this team first, put this brotherhood first. We're making great strides in that area, as well.

I couldn't be more excited about the team that we have the opportunity to be. Excited about the opener. That's why these young men come to Virginia Tech, to play on the big stage, to play on national TV, to play a marquee opponent that's very talented, well-coached, arguably a playoff team last year.

We've got a lot to prove in Blacksburg, and we've still got this preseason camp to attack and make sure we make the most of it.

I'll take some questions, please."

Brent Pry Virginia Tec — Jul 24, 2025; Charlotte, NC, USA; Virginia Tech head coach Brent Pry answers questions from the media during ACC Media Days at Hilton Charlotte Uptown. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

1. On how to win more close games...

"Yeah, we've certainly talked about it a lot, as well as everybody else. First of all, it was coaching decisions, making sure we're making the right decisions, not just at the end of the game but throughout the game. Then secondly, being the team that is more mentally and physically tough and prepared at the end of a game to close it out.

So there's a couple different areas that we focused on to make sure we're better there, and certainly we've talked about it. We've leaned into it as a program, how close we were to being the team that we want to be. We were competitive week in and week out and just kept finding ways to come up short as a staff and as a team.

We should arguably be improved in that area. We've put a lot of emphasis there."

2. On having seven games at Lane Stadium this season...

"Yeah, I'd like to have eight or nine every year, to be honest. One of the most unbelievable environments in college football. I'm glad you're coming. You're not going to be disappointed. From the entrance throughout, we've got an incredible fan base, blue jeans, sweatshirts, standing all game long, cheering all game long. Our guys can speak more about it, but it's a great atmosphere to play in, to coach in, to watch a football game in.

Certainly love a home game versus an away game."

3. On the edge room on defense...

"Yeah, first of all, I'm excited about the coordinator hire we've made. Coach Siefkes is young, but he has some really good experiences. At the college level, tremendous success at Wofford, a couple of different ways, and then in the NFL, not just that he was in the league, but the defensive minds that he spent time with while coaching there.

Then the additions from the transfer -- we needed a shot in the arm in our secondary with some depth, some safety-type bodies, some guys that can track the ball and tackle. We helped ourselves there.

Then I love what we've done, we needed to reinforce the depth at linebacker with JK and Caleb, and we were able to do that with a couple of young men out of the portal. Then we've helped ourselves up front. We've supplied a bunch of depth at all positions along the front and end tackles.

We've added the depth. We've added the experience. We've added some talent on that side of the ball. We were able to do some of that with the new system in place, being able to make sure we have what Coach Siefkes needs from a personnel standpoint."

4. On the first two games vs SEC Opponents...

"Yeah, honestly, in general, we feel like we have something to prove, and that's been the mindset since the end of season.

The opportunity to play South Carolina, to play Vanderbilt at night in Lane Stadium, again, that's why these guys come to Virginia Tech. That's why I wanted to be back. The standards and expectations are to beat those guys, to win those games, like Tech did for a bunch of years.

It's challenging. South Carolina is a hell of a football team. They've recruited well. They've got a ton of momentum. They've got a dynamic edge guy. They've got an ultra talented quarterback. We've got our hands full.

But we're up for the challenge, and we're working every day to be the best team that we can be to go down there and play a good brand of football.

Then Vanderbilt, great respect for Clark Lea. I know Clark; he's done a tremendous job. I coached at Vanderbilt three years. I know the challenges in that place. He's done a tremendous job. They'll bring a really good football team in here, and they've got their own quarterback that's awful talented.

But I like our group. I like our quarterback. I like our guys. I like the direction we're going. This team right now is the closest to the vision I have for Virginia Tech football, for what I want us to be and who I want us to be. We're closer than we've ever been."

5. On hiring Phillip Montgomery as the new OC...

"Yeah, that's a great question. It's pretty easy to answer. First of all, I wanted somebody that would give us the best opportunity, us and Kyron, for him to reach all of his potential and then some. When you look at Phil's track record with quarterbacks, it's hard to argue that he's not the right guy to do that.

Then secondly, to bring a play caller in here that has a proven plan that he believes in, that he is super knowledgeable about, that you're not reinventing the wheel every week and trying to find answers and trying to find solutions, that we can invest and buy into a plan and a system and have answers, and Phil provides all that. He's an experienced play caller. He's a veteran quarterback developer, and he's an outstanding person.

I feel very fortunate to have him with us."

6. On what has stood out about South Carolina...

"Yeah, first of all, I think the way they responded to adversity early in their season. A testament to Shane and to that group of coaches and players, to rally back and finish the way they did.

They've notched some big wins, which is where we're still trying to get. We came awful close on a Friday night down in Miami, but we haven't garnered that type of win. South Carolina presents an opportunity to do that.

They're arguably a top-10 group. They're talented on both fronts. They've got a really -- their defensive line is productive. They're athletic. They're tenacious. They've got a great plan defensively.

I think the quarterback is one of the best in the country, and he's only going to get better. I think the pieces around him -- the offensive line, down the stretch, played as well as any group out there. Veteran coaches, and I know they're doing it the right way.

We're going to have our hands full, but we've got a good group. We're hungry, and we're competing, and we're deeper. We've got a bunch of transfers, but these transfers have a ton of experience, guys with a lot of reps at other places, and they've really come together nicely.

It's going to be a dogfight. We're going to give them everything that we've got, that's for sure."

7. On recruiting the Richmond, VA area....

"Yeah, Richmond has come on strong. KG is a testament to that. He'll be happy to answer that question, too. They brag about it and fight about it and argue about it all the time. Richmond has been a great area to us. There's coaches in that area that are Virginia Tech guys, that went to school at Tech, that played at Tech. There's a long history of guys having success at Virginia Tech from Richmond. Obviously the whole Commonwealth is important to us. We've made a real emphasis to invest in our state. There's more than enough good football players in the state of Virginia to compete for championships.

But Richmond and the connections there have been very valuable to us and will continue to be."