When he became the head coach at Virginia Tech, Brent Pry mentioned finding the best fit for every player would be important in the spring.
After Saturday's half-scrimmage, the Hokies started to experiment and make a handful of position changes, many on the defensive side of the ball. Pry said his team embraced the adjustments, which are made to help utilize a player's strengths and weaknesses.
"Let’s give this other spot a shot and see if we can’t get a little better play out of you right now," Virginia Tech head coach Brent Pry said on Wednesday on the conversations with players. "See if we can get you on the field quicker. An opportunity to start in the two-deep for somebody buried on the depth chart. An opportunity to earn some playing time. Somebody that’s a backup that has a chance to be a starter at another spot. To me, the spring is time to do that."
A majority of the changes dealt with moving a player closer to the ball. As Pry noted with the media, it comes down to putting athletic ability in better spots.
Keonta Jenkins moved to the field backer spot. The McDonald twins from nearby Salem, Jorden and Jayden, went from Sam linebacker to defensive end and Will linebacker, respectively. Gunner Givens shifted from defensive end to defensive tackle, while Ny'Quee Hawkins is now at the other safety spot.
Pry described the moves as Tech's defense "downsizing" and getting more speed around the ball. He said the difference was noticeable on Tuesday in what he called the team's most competitive practice of the spring to date.
"Things kind of went from corner to safety, safety to linebacker, linebacker to defensive end, and d-end to d-tackle," Pry said of the changes. "... To be honest, defensively, I felt it out there yesterday, just in one day. ... Yesterday was by far our best practice. We looked more like a football team out there from a competitive standpoint from the beginning of practice."
The conversations involve the position coach and the coordinator, and Pry is involved if needed. But he noted that being upfront and honest with every player is crucial in this process, and they shouldn't be surprised about the adjustments.
He also admitted that while the changes are positive, made for a player to be closer to reaching his full potential, sometimes guys see it in a negative light.
"I just told them, ‘You’ve got to trust us,'" Pry said of the conversations with players. "'I’ve been doing this 31 years. It’s in all of our best interest to put you in the best place where you can play the quickest and help our football team. That’s good for you, that’s good for us.'"
Offensively, Pry mentioned Connor Blumrick, who he called one of the team's "22 best players" after winter workouts. He said Blumrick could line up at tight end, receiver or in the backfield at quarterback depending on where he fits best and what Virginia Tech can scheme things up for him.
Pry spoke of running backs Chance Black and Keshawn King, too. Both are versatile guys that have a lot of talent, and he said this period of time is crucial in terms of finding where they fit best on the roster.
"I say, 'Listen, we need to figure out what Chance Black can do," Pry said. "'We need to get him enough touches over the next several days so we can figure it out. Is he a top two or three guy at the running back position? Or do we have an opportunity to maximize what he can do and maybe it’s at receiver, maybe it’s at corner. ... It’s our job to get him in the position where he needs to help us this fall.
"'He needs to help us. He’s too talented of a guy, so if it’s not at tailback, where’s it going to be?' It may very well be at tailback. If it’s not, then we only have 15 practices in the spring to get him an opportunity somewhere else."
Tyler Matheny, a walk-on, is another good example. He was practicing at safety, but the staff moved him to Mike linebacker to give him a chance to see how he fits there.
The Virginia Tech staff can find the strengths and weakness of different players and test their limits. In turn, that will give the Hokies a better understanding of what each player can and cannot do.
Pry said it all goes back to bringing in guys who can play multiple positions, because in the end, versatility is key.
"You want to recruit guys you feel like can play receiver, can play DB," Pry said. "Recruit linebackers that you feel like can run the ball, and I don’t mean like fullbacks. Guys that can play tailback who were good tailbacks in high school. That’s part of it right now."
Pry didn't specify, but he did say there are a few key spots that Virginia Tech has to fill. And while that doesn't mean the staff won't come back around to the player that started there on day one, the coaches are vetting the roster to find the best fits.