Virginia Tech football interim head coach Philip Montgomery joined Tech Talk Live on Thursday. In his conversation with Zach Mackey and Mike Burnop, he broke down the last week, how the team is feeling heading into Saturday’s game vs. Wofford and more.
Philip Montgomery
Coach, it’s good to see you. Thanks for coming out.
Thank you. I’m glad to be here. Thank all of y’all for showing up. It’s nice to see all of you. We’re looking forward to this weekend.
I can’t imagine what this week has been like for you.
Yeah, it’s a bit of a whirlwind. A lot of emotion. Obviously, things happened really fast. Brent [Pry] did an unbelievable job here. Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family. This is a tough time for them. Right now, our mission as a coaching staff is to keep this team together and continue to keep them pushing forward and understanding that we have a lot of games left. We haven’t even started conference play yet. It’s about getting off to a good start this weekend leading into the conference.
Have you been able to get any sleep?
Very little. I laid my head down a few times and tried to go to sleep, then I roll over and I’m awake again. I look at the clock and think, “It’s got to be time to get up” and it’s only been an hour.
How was the player’s response? The best thing was probably getting back on the practice field, wasn’t it?
It really has been. We actually had a workout on Sunday. That was a tough workout, but those guys came out and did a nice job. Got to visit with them some more after practice. Monday is their day off, they’ve got a lot of class and other things going on. Guys came in and started watching tape. I really thought that we changed things up this week, did a few things different from a practice standpoint. They embraced all of that. We had really good practice sessions. The energy was good, the focus was good, the tempo was good. I really appreciate their effort, their attention to detail, and their resiliency for coming out. The best part of our day is getting back on the practice field and playing ball, which they love to do.
Have you ever dealt with anything like this before?
Not really with this much season left, and the variables of college football right now are different than they’ve ever been. We’ve got really good leadership on this football team and Coach Pry was a big part of that. These guys are stepping up, and we’re doing everything we can to continue to keep bonding, growing and improving. We’ve got another opportunity this weekend.
You met with a lot of the captains early on. Touch on how that went.
Those guys are such a huge part of it. I think I’ve met with them every day since then. The biggest part of that is that there is so much raw emotion in those meetings. We’ve got to talk through all of that. You’ve got to get part of that out, and then we’ve got to understand how we can use that emotion to benefit us. Whether that’s driving us forward on the practice field or keeping our vision of what we’ve got in front of us. Those guys have been great and they’re doing a great job in the locker room. My hats off to them.
Where’s the mindset for the coaching staff?
They’ve been excellent, they really have. This is all about the players, but you’ve got to understand that from a coaching staff standpoint, their world got flipped too. They’ve got families, they’ve got kids and they’ve got things going on at home. They have been tremendous all week. They jumped in with both feet. They’ve done a great job in their meeting rooms and a great job of leading these young men and having conversations that you have to have. Those guys continue to grind and work. The staff is just pouring into these men and trying to push us forward.
You had to flip from an offensive coordinator to a head coach. Your energy has to be in different places now, I bet.
The energy has to, a little bit. It’s the time that’s going a lot of different directions. As you’re in there, trying to get your gameplan ready and doing other things, you’re just continually getting pulled out. I’ve done it before in a different circumstance. This is the way I’ve always done it. There’s going to be a little bit of adjustment in the first part of it. This week has been a lot with everything that’s going on. The staff has continued to be great and continued to work and develop the gameplan to make sure we’re all on the same page. It’s been really good from that standpoint.
You’ll go from calling plays in the booth to the field now. Will that be new to you?
No, it’s not new. It’s obviously different. Your vantage points are different. Where you’ve got to stand to see what’s going on. It does help to have the iPads on the sideline, we didn’t have those when I was at Tulsa. There’s so many different variables down there. Up top, you get the opportunity to take the emotion out of it and really watch and see to get a birdseye view. There will be a little bit of an adjustment, but we’ll make it work.
Will you have an extra pair of eyes in the booth?
We’re working on it. We’ll continue to keep working on that part of it. We’ve got good guys up in the box right now that were up there with me. I trust that those guys will do a good job. Whether I send one more up or not will be determined later.
What’s your assessment of Kyron Drones as the QB coach and offensive coordinator?
Quarterbacks are always going to get more praise and more criticism whether you win or lose. That’s part of playing the position. When you really break down what he’s done and how he’s done it, he’s made some unbelievable plays throughout the season. We’ve got to be a little more consistent in the passing game, for sure. There’s so many different variables and factors to that.
We’ve got to get healthy up front. We’ve got to do a great job of being on the same page and hitting guys when they’re open. The receivers have to catch it when he puts it on the money, too. There’s some opportunities for growth for all of us. I’ve got to do a better job of getting him in positions to continue to keep growing. He is working diligently and he’s doing a great job of being a leader. He worked on a lot of things this week and he’s continued to grow. That’s what we’re looking for out of him.
Give us an update on how the offensive line is doing.
We’ve got guys trending in the right direction. We probably won’t get them back this week. Maybe we can get one back here or there. Last week, we had four freshmen, whether it was redshirt or true freshmen, up front. Those guys kind of got thrown into the fire. They did some good things, but we have to continue to grow there. Those guys up front on both sides, that’s where the real football is being played. You’ve got to lean on guys, you’ve got to be strong, you’ve got to be physical, there’s some real men playing up there. Those guys are going to continue to get better. They had a good week this week and I expect good things from them.What’s the energy like out there with the players?
It was really good this week. Obviously, there was a lot of emotion going on. I thought they handled it and redirected it in a very positive way. I thought our energy at practice was maybe as good as it’s been all week. Our tempo was really good, I thought we had urgency about the way we wanted to practice. We’ve got to continue that trend. I talk to them each and every day and our coaching staff does as well. We had a really good day on Tuesday, now we’ve got to stack another one on top of that and another one on top of that as we build towards this week’s game.What did you do differently in practice this week?
From a scheduling standpoint, it was a little bit different. Just our focus and where we wanted to direct it, how we wanted to attack the field, just little details that go into it. We did that on Tuesday and Wednesday. We’ve been practicing with the mindset of a ‘no-sweat Thursday.’ A lot of teams around the country do that. We switched it up this week, today we actually got on the practice field and had another practice. Tomorrow will be a little bit softer of a day as we’re getting our legs back underneath us. It’s quite a bit of difference from what they’ve been doing. I thought they handled it well today and got some good work, and it gave us an opportunity to get a few more reps to see what they’ll do and how they’ll react to it.What are some of the changes that are inevitably going to happen with the coaching change?
I mean, everybody’s got their own personality to it. Our whole staff is part of that process. How we continue to prepare and continue to approach when we get in games. The biggest thing that I’ve talked to the staff and players is about putting a complete game together, playing four quarters and we must play complimentary football. There’s opportunities in every game and you’ve got to recognize those opportunities of when we need a big stop on defense or we need a big drive to go score on offense or we need a big special teams play that can really flip the course of a game and put momentum back on your side. We’ve been talking about those things and emphasizing those things. We’ve got to do a really good job as we continue to grow and learn how to seize the moment when it’s presented to us and make the most of that.You talk about tempo, urgency and attention to detail. Those little things add up a lot over a four quarter game, don’t they?
Yeah, they do. As you prepare and get out there on the game field, you’ve got to understand that there’s 11 guys on the field depending on each other to do their job. It’s about just doing your job. You don’t have to do more than that, you just have to do your job. You have to know your brother beside you is going to do that as well. Being locked into that part of it and understanding when we have an opportunity to make a play or make a tackle or make a catch or make a kick, whatever that might be, we’ve got to go seize that moment.Is there anybody that you can name as a leader in this tough week that has been stepping up in a big way?
Kelvin Gilliam is one of them. Our captains and our leadership counsel have done a great job of stepping up in opportunities like this. To step up and lead and talk and put their arm around guys, understanding that with all the different variables and all the different aspects of what’s going on right now in college football. Pulling guys to the side and talking to them, doing this, doing that. They’re keeping the locker room as clean and as close as it can possibly be right now.Terion Stewart getting healthy could be a huge boost to your offense, couldn’t he?
Yeah, I thought he did some really good things last week. Obviously, we’ve got to continue to keep working him back into shape. I think [Marcellous] Hawkins has done a really good job. We’ve got a good plethora of backs back there. All of them bring something a little bit different. Those two can carry a lot of that load and have done a nice job with it. What we need is an opportunity for them to get to the next level and break that last tackle and go ahead and finish that run with an explosive play. They’ve done a really good job. I think we’re trending that way. We saw some explosive runs the other night. We had a few the night before. We need a more consistent level of that.What has stood out to you about Wofford?
They’re very competitive and they play extremely hard. As you look at them defensively, guys have put up some yardages on them, but they’ve been a bend-and-don’t-break type of defense. They haven’t given up many points. We’ve got to do a really good job of getting touchdowns in the red zone. They’ve created some turnovers, I think Mercer had about four against them. We’ve got to do a good job protecting the football and continuing to finish drives.They play two quarterbacks, a better passer and a better runner.
I think they make that adjustment. We’ll see about the kid that they brought in. It looks like he might have hurt his shoulder a little bit. We’ll see what that is when he comes this weekend. We may get a little bit of both of them. That always makes it a little more difficult to prepare. Both of them are talented guys. Shawn [Watson] has done a good job, I’ve known him forever. You’ve got to really stay on point. They’ll put some RPO thing in there, they’re going to do a good job of trying to establish the run. You’ve got to be really smart about what they’re trying to do when they get into their heavier packages.That defensive front gets after it.
They really do. They do a really good job defensively of changing up some fronts, giving you some different looks. They’ll jump and overload, they’ll slant, they’ll be in odd, they’ll be in even. Not as much pressure as what we’ve seen in the last several weeks, but they’ve got pressure packages that they will be bringing. As you look at them in the secondary, they keep everything in front of them, so they’re not giving up explosive plays. You’ve got to do a good job at maintaining drives and continuing to work.Sam Seifkes was there a while and did a good job. They’ve continued that streak with defense.
They really have and really in that same light. They’ve kind of been an odd front kind of team that jumps back and forth between different things. They do a lot of slanting, twist game stuff. You’ve got to do a great job of understanding where your targets and IDs are going to happen up front. You’ve got to get on bodies and you’ve got to move people.Their offense has struggled but is able to spark with big plays. Limiting those has to be a big part.
It’s a huge part for us. We’ve got to do a great job of keeping things in front of us and not allowing explosive plays. Get them off track and behind the sticks and make them a little bit more acceptable to what we’re going to do from a blitz package standpoint. If we can limit those explosive plays and make them continually drive the football, I think that’s the best option for us.What do you want to see in terms of the whole team as you try to write this story about the next nine games?
That’s what I talk to the team about. We as a coaching staff are really pushing the mindset of having nine games left, 11 weeks. Our story has not been finalized. We’ve got a chance to finish this story and write it the way we want to. We’ve got an opportunity to do something that not a lot of people are expecting. That will be determined by us. We want to control the things we can control. I think our team and leadership is in that mindset. Our coaching staff is there with it. These guys are continuing to jell and come together and get healthy. Let’s get after it this weekend and see what happens as we get into conference play.
John Love has been really good. He’s from Spartanburg, South Carolina. How nice is it to have a kicker like that?
John is phenomenal. What he can do with kicking the football, wherever you put it. He’s got such a strong leg, he’s confident in what he does, he’s a great leader. He’s part of our captains and leadership group. He’s a special player and he’s a weapon for us offensively and for our football team. He has been fantastic, as well as all of our specialists.The NCAA has officially made the move to one portal window? You don’t have to worry about really retaining your team twice now. Is that a good sign?
I think it’s a good sign. I think a lot of the coaches across the country kind of see it in that mindset. With the two different windows, it’s really difficult to make sure that your roster count and the balance within that stays accurate. You never know when something’s going to change, move, flow. Having just one window will help stabilize that.A lot of guys can redshirt and sit out with the temporary window opening. Do you see that being an issue going forward?
There’s possibilities of all of those things. We’re having those conversations, we’re being very open with our players and we want them to be open with us. There’s so much misinformation that’s out there, so we’re just trying to educate them in understanding that we’re here to help them make smart decisions and know that we want them to be a part of this football team.With that being said, if you’re in, you’re in. There’s no toe dipping in this thing, both feet are in. We want guys that are going to represent this university and football team in the right way. I think that our leadership group has done a great job of that. These guys, it’s all about the educational part of it and then understanding that we’ve got a lot of football left and we’ve got a chance to go do something special. We’ve got to stay locked in together to make that happen.
You’re originally from Dallas, you grew up there and went to Tarleton State. Can you give folks a little more on the background about yourself?
I was born in Dallas, I am not from Dallas. My dad was a Church of Christ preacher, he’s retired now — or he thinks he is, he never retires. We moved a lot. I think the longest I stayed in one place was four years. We’ve been all over the state of Texas, from south of Houston to all the way up in the panhandle, and we lived in New Mexico for a little bit. I call my home Eastland, which is halfway between Fort-Worth and Abilene on I-20. If anybody knows Texas, you probably don’t, but that’s where it is.
I met my wife in ‘95 in Stephenville, which is where Tarleton State is, which is about 35 minutes from where I call home in Eastland. I didn’t know her prior to that. We met in April and I married her in December, so I’ve been playing with speed and tempo all my life. We’ll be 30 years this year. We’ve got two kids — Cannon, who is on our staff, he’s 27. My daughter just got her masters from Auburn, she’s 25.
I started off as a high school football coach because I met my wife when I was making $100 a month as a GA and I could not support both of us on $100 a month. I went to work at a small high school out in northeast Texas, then went back to Stephenville, joined that staff with Art Briles. Went to Denton, was an offensive coordinator there. I then went to U of H and Baylor, was the head coach at Tulsa, been to Auburn and the UFL. Now I’m here.
After all of those years down south, how did you like the winter here?
When I came up here for the interview and came back, that is when there was several weeks of ice and snow. Stepped off that plane and was like, “Ooh, here we go.” Didn’t have a jacket that big, didn’t know I needed it. It’s been good. It wasn’t much of the winter. I can deal with the cold, I’m good with it now. I was waiting for the heat. Where I’m from, by the time you get in May, you’re looking at 90s, 100s. I was waiting for that part and the summers are really cool and really nice. It gets cold at night. I think it was June first, I woke up and it was 48 degrees that morning. This is crazy.
Talk about recruiting. Do you have kids coming in this weekend? What’s the message to recruits from here on out?
That’s part of our job. We’re still going to stay on the recruiting trail and do the best that we can do for Virginia Tech. We’ve got kids coming to this game. Not as many as we thought we would before everything happened, but we’ve got a good group coming to the next one and we’ll continue to keep doing that. Our coaching staff is committed to that, we’re out recruiting and on the phone, talking to guys. The recruiting staff is doing the same thing. We want to make sure that we’re doing the best thing we can to continue to grow and nurture this place.
Who’s wearing No. 25 this week?
That would be Nick Veltistas. I hope I pronounced his name correctly because I’ve heard four or five different pronunciations of that. He did it in the Greek way, I couldn’t do that. This Texas boy’s only got one way to talk, this is all I got.
A lot of coaches win the toss and decide to defer no matter what. Are you one of those guys?
I think there’s a little more factors that kind of go into that — weather coming in if it’s a real windy day, this is going on, there’s other factors to it. Their style of play, our style of play, how can we steal a possession. It is nice to have that possession right after halftime, and hopefully you get to steal one if you can score right before half and get it again, so you have an opportunity to double down. There’s some good parts of that. Sometimes you just go and take the ball and see if you can establish it right here right now and get a lead and opportunity to get in front.
What is something you want to learn from your team this weekend?
I thought that, even with everything that happened last week, I thought our guys fought for four quarters. You didn’t see guys quit, you saw them continuing to work and play hard. That was a really good thing to point out. I want to see us play a complete game, which I don’t think we’ve done to this point. Put four quarters together and play solid football. We know we’re going to make some mistakes. Don’t let one mistake turn into two and turn into three, no matter what phase of the game we’re talking about. We want to play a complete game of complimentary football and then let it stand where it is at that point.
It was good to see Kyron have some success in the second half with four total touchdowns. Also seeing Ayden and Donavon Greene, they’ve been big supporters and a big help.
They really have. I call them the Greene brothers. They’ve done a great job. We’ve got to continue to manufacture ways to get them touches and opportunities to impact the game. I think our running game has been a little bit more consistent, so we’ve got to come back and be a little more balanced in our attack to make sure we do a good job of getting those guys some catches early and get them involved. We’ve had a lot of guys contribute and a lot of guys catch balls. There’s been a couple of times where we’ve had 10 or 11 guys catch a pass. It’s good to distribute it out, but we’ve got to make sure those guys are getting their touches.