Virginia Tech and Brent Pry have hired Matt Moore to be the program’s new offensive line coach, the Hokies announced Monday.
“I am thrilled to add Matt Moore to our staff,” Pry said in the release. “He brings extensive experience coaching offensive lines at the Power Four level. His proven ability to develop strong, tough offensive line units that play with exceptional physicality will be a tremendous asset to our program. His leadership and expertise align perfectly with our vision for Virginia Tech football.”
Moore brings 19 years of coaching experience at the Division I level to the Hokies and fills the role previously held by Ron Crook. Pry shook up his coaching staff Dec. 12 due to members not meeting “the standards and expectations” of the program, he said the following day, firing Crook, defensive coordinator Chris Marve and strength coach Dwight Galt IV.
Moore ventures to Blacksburg from West Virginia, where he spent the last six seasons coaching the offensive line. He was the co-offensive coordinator for the Mountaineers in 2019 before holding an assistant head coach title from 2020-24. In 2023, he was a Broyles Award nominee as one of the top assistants in the country.
The Timeline
He got his start in coaching at Pickens High School in Jasper, Ga., in 1997, where he served as the head coach for two seasons. In 1999, he moved to Hoover High School in Hoover, Alabama, and was the offensive coordinator and offensive line coach. He helped the powerhouse to a 77-7 record and three straight state championships.
Moore’s final stop at the high school level was at North Gwinnett in Suwanee, Georgia, in 2005 before he jumped up to the FBS level. His began at Troy as the offensive line coach in 2006 — the first of his two stints with the Trojans — where he met Neal Brown, the program’s wide receivers coach that season.
He moved to Lubbock, Texas, in 2007 and spent five years as the offensive line coach for the Red Raiders. Moore helped direct two units that finished in the top 15 in total offense in back-to-back seasons in 2010 and ’11 — all while Brown was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
His journey led him to Middle Tennessee in 2012 and then to Louisiana Tech in 2013, his first of two seasons with the Bulldogs. His time in Ruston, Louisiana, finished with a Conference USA Western Division championship in 2014.
Moore made his way back to Troy in 2015 for his second stint, where he served as co-offensive coordinator — the title was solely his in 2018, his final year — and mentored the offensive line. His unit led the Sun Belt in scoring offense in 2016 and was second in passing offense and total offense while finishing 10-3 and earning its first top-25 ranking in school history. The Trojans also had six offensive all-conference players.
Under Moore, four Troy offensive linemen earned All-Sun Belt honors, including Antonio Garcia. The left tackle was a third-round pick (No. 85) by New England in the 2017 NFL Draft — the highest-selected lineman in conference history.
In 2017, he helped the Trojans to an 11-2 record, a Sun Belt title and a win at No. 22 LSU, which broke the Tigers’ 49-game non-conference home winning streak.
A year later, the Canton, Georgia, native landed at West Virginia, where he coached from 2019-24, again with Neal Brown — who was the head coach this time around.
Moore had several impressive offensive linemen in Morgantown, a trend that started in his first year with Colton McKivitz. The left tackle was a first-team All-Big 12 selection, the Big 12 Co-Offensive Lineman of the Year and an All-American. He was picked in the fifth round of the 2020 NFL Draft by San Francisco.
Four members of Moore’s group in 2020 earned postseason honors: Mike Brown, Chase Behrndt and Brandon Yates received all-conference nods while Zach Frazier was a Freshman All-American. It was the second straight year WVU paved the way for a 1,000-yard rusher in Leddie Brown, and Frazier was a second-team All-American in 2021. Doug Nester, who transferred to the Mountaineers from the Hokies, was a second-team all-conference performer.
Moore produced one of the best offensive lines of his career in 2023 as WVU allowed just 10 sacks, tops in the Big 12, third in the FBS and second among Power 5 schools. That came after the unit ranked 44th in 2022. Once again, Frazier headlined the group. The Fairmont, West Virginia, product earned his second All-American nod and was a second-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft by Pittsburgh.
The Mountaineers also posted 2,976 rushing yards (most in the Power 5) and averaged 245.7 yards per game on the ground (most in the Big 12) that season. Their 24 rushing touchdowns were the most in the league, too.
Moore is a former Valdosta State player who started 34 games at left guard from 1991-94 and was a first-team all-conference pick.
What It Means For Virginia Tech
Moore is the Hokies’ eighth offensive line coach in the last 14 years (since 2012). Here’s a list:
How good were his units over the last six years with the Mountaineers? Let’s compare their PFF numbers to the Hokies:
Moore knows how to recruit and develop offensive linemen. Take Wyatt Milum for example. He started at left tackle for West Virginia this year and played 700 snaps. His grades were terrific: 90.0 overall, 87.5 run blocking, 90.0 pass blocking. Moore was the primary recruiter for the top-100 player and top-15 tackle in the country, who blossomed into one of the best linemen in the FBS.
The Hokies have been inconsistent up front for the past few seasons, a trend Moore has a chance to fix. His first task is to hit the transfer portal for talent. Here’s where Tech stands with its offensive line depth heading into next season:
LT: Johnny Garrett, Web Davidson
LG: Bob Schick, Layth Ghannam
C: Tommy Ricard
RG: Brody Meadows
RT: Montavious Cunningham
Outside of those seven, Tech currently has four other scholarship offensive linemen: redshirt sophomore Hannes Hammer, redshirt freshman Aidan Lynch and incoming freshmen Carter Stallard and Nathaniel Wright. There’s a chance Moore brings some of his guys from Morgantown to Blacksburg to fill some of those holes.