Tech Talk Live Notes: Brent Pry Previews The Battle For The Commonwealth Cup

Virginia Tech football head coach Brent Pry joined Zach Mackey and Mike Burnop on a prerecorded version of Tech Talk Live on Wednesday night. The Hokies (5-6, 3-4 ACC) host Virginia on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET (ACC Network) with bowl eligibility on the line.

Brent Pry

Coach, how are you?

Good. We’ve had a good couple of days so far. Around this building, UVa week is a big one. There’s a lot of chatter and excitement.

As you look back on Duke, what was different about those big plays that allowed them to score early on?

The first one was busted coverage in three-deep coverage. Eyes were looking at the wrong thing and leaning the wrong way. Good throw and catch, but shouldn’t have happened. The second big explosive, we get tangled up there at corner at takeoff. There was a little push-off but regardless, there wasn’t great technique. The one in the middle of the second quarter, the DB just falls down at the snap in press. I don’t even think that the quarterback knew he fell down. We played pretty good defense for a lot of snaps in that game, but when you do that three, four, five times, that’s enough to beat you.

What goes through your mind when you’re down early like that? You were down 14-0 not even halfway through the first quarter, but you rallied your guys to score 17 straight points.

We’ve got a group of players and coaches that have a close bond, they believe in one another, they’re fighters that compete all offseason, all preseason. There wasn’t a lot of doubt in my mind as to how we were going to fight and claw to get back in that thing. You don’t always know what it looks like, but those guys are resilient and they battle. They battled all night long. We’ve just got to find a way to get on top of some of these games. We’ve been right there and really competitive all year long. We’ve given ourselves a chance to win and we’ve found too often a way to lose it.

What can you tell us about the quarterback situation around Collin Schlee and Kyron Drones’ health?

They’re both improving. Collin is probably further ahead. I’d say they’re both questionable to this point. Pop [Watson]’s been getting a ton of work with the 1’s. The guy you’ve got to talk about is Davi [Belfort]. He’s your next guy in on Saturday night, we were one play away from Davi being in the game. Right now, we’re getting four quarterbacks ready.

How did you evaluate Pop’s overall performance at Duke?

There were plenty of positives to what he did. He stepped up on some key third-down plays and made some clutch throws. He avoided pressure, stepped up in the pocket, made some nice runs. The things he’d like to have back, you can mostly chalk up to inexperience. Setting the protection wrong, patting that ball a second too long, an errant throw or two, which will happen. All in all, he played a great game for him to build off of.

Tell us about Davi.

First of all, he’s mature for a young guy and he’s a heck of an athlete. It’s not often that you look at a quarterback and go, “Can that guy play safety? Can he play receiver?” That tells you the caliber of athlete, and I think with him, people would say he can. He may have been recruited that way by some folks. He didn’t get here until the summer, so he’s very inexperienced. When you’re that far down the depth chart, you don’t get a ton of reps. He’s been the developmental quarterback in a lot of our bye week scrimmages, he’s gotten opportunities there. He’s a learner, he hangs on Coach [Brian] Christ’ hip throughout practice. Gets every mental rep to the max ability. His arm is getting stronger, which has been a concern, but we’re seeing progress there. He’d make it interesting, he’s a competitor and he’s got some traits that will give him a chance.

Collin Schlee got the start against Duke and Syracuse. He really is a hard-nosed runner. How much does it make you hold your breath when you see him out there?

It’s often that I have to remind him that he’s not built like Kyron [Drones]. He’s not 6-2, 230, squatting 600 pounds. There’s this thing called a slide. I love the way he competes, but he’s taken some licks. He did at Syracuse, he did the other day when he was in. He’s a great, tough competitor.

Speaking of tough, how tough is Bhayshul Tuten, and what has he meant to this program?

First of all, when you look at all the great backs that have played at Tech, you have to put him in the conversation with what he’s been able to do in just two years. As a tailback, as a returner, catching the ball. He played the first part of this season with a knee injury and a knee brace on, there’s no questioning his toughness. We weren’t sure till pregame if he was gonna play in this one [at Duke]. He wanted to. He got gassed up and got going, and I don’t know how confident he was before he got some carries under his belt. We’re proud of him. He was sore after the game, but no setbacks. He’s got six days to keep getting better. We haven’t been able to practice him much in the last couple of weeks.

Is there a chance we can see Malachi Thomas?

He’s questionable as well, another tough guy. It’s hard when you’ve got a bad wheel as a running back. He’s giving it everything he’s got. The training staff is working full time — on the running backs, the quarterbacks, keeping [Stephen] Gosnell healthy, trying to get as many guys feeling as good as they can for this game. 

That near scoop and score at the end had to be frustrating. Did Cole Nelson just lose his balance?

He did. He had one the week before where we popped one out. He tries to pick it up, falls and we don’t come up with it at all. I think he was trying to make sure that didn’t happen again. There were some Duke guys around it. Not sure how far he would have gotten, but he would have given it a chance for sure.

Tuten hit 1,000 yards on the season. We just talked about his toughness — he’s been injury riddled and he still hits 1,000 yards.

He’s tough. It was a great recruiting job by the staff to get him here in Blacksburg. He’s got a great demeanor, he’s coachable, even fun to coach. He’s a great teammate, too. The guys enjoy him.

He could have wrapped it up, knowing he has a bright future. It really shows what kind of teammate he is to want to keep playing.

It speaks volumes. There’s some disappointment over what he hoped to accomplish. These guys are still fighting and clawing with everything they’ve got, and they’ll do that Saturday. No. 1 to beat UVa, No. 2 for postseason play, but No. 3, that's just how they’re wired. We’ll get their best effort.

It seems like Ali Jennings has progressed nicely since that injury. What did you think about his game against Duke?

I’m really happy for him. He made some big plays that were super important. It just takes him a couple of weeks to be back to himself after an injury. We saw what he’s about and we need it again on Saturday.

Talk about what Antwaun Powell-Ryland has meant to the program.

He’s got a great story. A 757 guy who goes off to the SEC. It doesn’t work out after several years of trying. Great job by the staff to get him back home. He fits our scheme, he impacts the game with his numbers, but he also elevates the room and the approach to rushing to quarterback. He’s been a great addition to our team, and I'm glad he came back to Tech. 

He didn’t have a sack for the first time this season at Duke. Was that something the Blue Devils did differently?

Their average time releasing the ball was 2.2 seconds going into the game, quick. Already going to be hard to get there. They did a lot of catch and throw on Saturday.

Virginia has size on the boundary. How do you think you guys match up?

I think if our guys play their A-game, I like the matchup. We’ve got to go play well, it’s a good challenge for the secondary. Dorian [Strong] and Mansoor [Delane], but also guys like Dante Lovett and Jaylen Jones. They move their guys around some. 

You talked about Mose Phillips being banged up a bit. We saw Devin Alves get some burn. He’s a kid that I know you guys are high on.

He did a nice job. His strength is pass coverage and he played well on Saturday night. A few open field tackles. We didn’t ask him to do much in the box, but with what we asked of him, he did a great job.

UVa’s got one of the best DBs in the ACC in Jonah Sanker. What does that secondary look like to you guys?

The first film I watched, that kid jumps right off the screen. He elevates the way that defense plays. They’re improved all across the back end. The angles are better, they’re gang tackling, they’re playing harder. I think that’s one of the reasons that the defense has kept them in a bunch of games.

What do you take from last year’s film to tell your guys this year?

Obviously, from a schematic standpoint, you look at where they had success last year. That will be something that they lean into. Where can we make changes that we feel good about? A lot of talent eval, too. Watching guys against other people can be hard to gauge talent, but against your own, it’s a lot easier to tell how fast these guys are and what they’re really good at.

That game last year was the most complete game we saw all year. What was the message to the team that you’d like to emulate?

It’s a huge game around here. In this building, on this campus, in this state. It’s a big game to everybody, the players, the coaches, the fanbase, the whole university. I don’t have to say a whole lot; everybody knows what this game means.

Do you have any of the older guys talk about this to the younger guys? Winner goes to a bowl, the loser goes home.

Even more to it. For us, it’s senior night. Having all of these guys that have been through coaching changes, and ups and downs, the Cole Nelsons of the world. To do it against UVa, last game of the season, bowl opportunities, it’s got everything you want to finish this thing out on a positive note.

How do you keep it together when you look at those seniors and think about what they’ve done for this program?

It’s not easy. You have so much love for them. You know how hard they work and what this means to them. You know their personal journey and story. You talk about Bhayshul, a guy that goes to [North Carolina] A&T. Probably had dreams and aspirations to go to a place like Tech early in his career. He got a chance to do that regardless and he made the most of it. Peter Moore, one of the most diehard Hokies in our program. A three-year captain. Guys who have overcome injuries and found success. There’s so many stories and I know them all. What they’ve been through on and off the field to get to this point. It’s a great, resilient group of guys. Coaching changes, tough losses, these guys have been through it all. They’ve stuck together, embraced this cultural shift in college football with the transfer portal and NIL. They navigated that.

How important has it been for this group to stick together in the last couple of weeks?

That’s who they are. There was no question as to how they would respond to a tough loss, getting up for a game after Miami, Syracuse, for this game. Handling a big win and refocusing. They travel well. These guys are mature, I hope we’ve impacted them the way that they’ve impacted us.

How many recruits are coming in for this game?

Another sellout on Thanksgiving weekend. We’ve had to cap the number of recruits again. Upwards of 100. Some guys on official visits. Got some very important guys on unofficial visits as well. We have to finish the deal with some of these commitments, looking into the next cycle, and the portal. There’s a lot going on with the recruiting front. A chance to put our best foot forward in Lane Stadium, Saturday night, on national TV. It’s outstanding.

What’s the plan for the team and Thanksgiving?

We have a big meal on Wednesday after practice. Invite the coaches and their families. The players that are married or have children, they bring their wives or children in. We bump practice up early on Thursday so they have a chance to travel if they choose to. A bunch of them will take buddies, couple friends, go home and come back on Friday. A lot of parents come into town if their son has an apartment. They come into town and cook a Thanksgiving meal for them here. We try to come together as a football family and then give them a chance to do things with their immediate family.

Is it nice to not have classes for rivalry week and getting to focus on just football?

It is. I told them Sunday, “You’re NFL players this week. No school. You live in that film room, you can bother the heck out of your coaches, you can get in extra work at the indoor.” A bunch of guys are taking advantage of that.