Five Takeaways from Whit Babcock and Philip Montgomery's Tuesday Press Conference

Lead editor Thomas Hughes offers five takeaways from Tuesday's press conference.

Virginia Tech Athletics

Virginia Tech football held its first press conference since former head coach Brent Pry's firing yesterday afternoon. Here's five takeaways from yesterday's presser.

No. 1: Athletic director Whit Babcock played things close to the vest.

Babcock read from a prepared statement when he stepped up to the lectern and did not elaborate much from what was already stated in the team's press release. Going into Tuesday, the plan was already public that a committee, assisted by Babcock, would search for the Hokies' next head coach. Tech Sideline's Andy Bitter reported that it is currently unclear whether Babcock is on the committee or an adjacent piece of it.

Asked a bit afterward and it's unclear if Babcock is actually on the committee or adjacent to the committee. He will be in communication with it, though. The whole deal is perhaps not set in cement yet. #Hokies https://t.co/fSJeM8oPeQ

— Andy Bitter (@AndyBitterVT) September 16, 2025

The details on who comprises that group is still unknown, as is what happens specifically to Babcock over the next couple months. Smoke and mirrors remain abound after yesterday's presser.

No. 2: A more modern structure is on the way for Virginia Tech football.

Though Babcock didn't outright say that Virginia Tech football will utilize a general manager in the near future, reading between the lines, that's sure what it sounds like.

"With additional financial support and new resources available to increase traditional and creative athletics revenue generation, I am confident you will soon see a modernized structure built for success in this rapidly changing environment of college athletics more in line with a professional football type organizational structure on the football side of things and from an athletic department standpoint, a structure and organization more in line with corporate business. It has become a $150 [million] to $200 million annual enterprise, after all. I and we will improve, evolve, and adapt to this new landscape successfully. I'm excited for this new era and the forthcoming initiatives and opportunities planned. We truly can make a major move, as Dr. Sands referenced."

A GM in the ACC is not a foreign concept; California and Stanfrod are currently doing it with Andrew Luck and Ron Riversa, respectively. How soon the Hokies transition to adding a general manager to the department, or whether it ends up being a slightly different structure, is still an unknown like the majority of questions abound heading into the press conference.

No. 3: Montgomery appears unwavering in his belief that things can be turned around.

On four separate occasions during yesterday's press conference, Montgomery mentioned the words "rewriting a story". That's different from what Pry and the players were saying in previous pressers about ignoring outside noise. Things appear different and have a different vibe about them. Whether it's actually different, or simply smoke and mirrors, is yet to be determined. Ditto for Montgomery’s ability to actually deliver on that narrative. Words can shift a mood, but the results on the field for the remainder of this year will ultimately decide if this “rewriting” results genuine progress or another chapter of false hope.

No. 4: It doesn't seem like there will be any shift at quarterback, at least in the short-term.

Things appear to be functioning as usual in relation to who's the starting signal-caller.

"To your point, maybe, we haven't lived up to some of the expectations offensively," Montgomery said. "We've got to grow as a group. In my opinion, that doesn't fall on one person. We've got to do it collectively as a group. We've got to continue to keep growing as an offense. We got to continue to keep growing as a defense and we got to continue to keep growing as a football team. That's got to be our focus. We got to get some guys back healthy. That's going to help in some areas. But that being said, this is not about one person. This is not about me. This is not about Kyron. This is not about this person. This is about us collectively as a group and how we're going to continue to move forward."

It's not a 100% endorsement for Drones for the remainder of the season, but for now, things appear to be chugging along as usual.

No. 5: Montgomery's main message is retaining team unity.

Rather than sidestepping struggles, he emphasized the importance of sticking together, especially with conference play looming. His words carried both urgency and optimism, framing the remainder of the season as an opportunity to prove doubters wrong.

"Yeah, that's one of the biggest things that we've talked about is is staying together and keeping our roster together," Montgomery said. "There's a lot of variables right now in college football. Our leadership has been really good. They got to continue to do that. We've got to continue to stay arm in- arm as we are in the locker room. As we continue to move forward in this season to your point, we've got this week and then we start conference play. And so, we've got a lot of football left. We got a lot of opportunities. Again, I'm going to say it to rewrite this story. And they have the opportunity to set their legacy of what this year is really about and what it means. And Kyron has had his struggles this season as is the offense."

Whether that’s enough remains uncertain, but the focus on legacy and resilience suggests that Montgomery is intent on reshaping the narrative rather than just surviving it.