Virginia Tech football interim head coach Philip Montgomery and running back Terion Stewart joined Zach Mackey and Mike Burnop on Tech Talk Live on Thursday.
The Hokies (2-3, 1-0 ACC) have won back-to-back games against Wofford and NC State and are riding some momentum into Saturday’s homecoming game vs. Wake Forest (1 p.m. ET, CW).
Philip Montgomery
Coach, congratulations. How is everything?
We’re doing good. Guys played really well, played relentlessly. Just love the enthusiasm that they played with. They played a complete game. Those are the things we’ve talked about and we’ve been really practicing on. To see them go out and perform the way they did was just outstanding to watch and be a part of. We had another good week of work and we’ve got a really tough test in front of us.
First true road game. Explosive offense, you really shut them down. Great team win.
It really was. I was really proud of our defense. [Hollywood Smothers] is one of the more talented backs in the nation. I think it really started with our defensive line and the way they were creating havoc up front, penetrating, getting on their grass. Our linebackers played downhill. We did a great job of gang tackling. When we had those in the [open] field tackles where you had to make a solo type of attempt, guys got guys on the ground. They did a great job with that. I thought it really started with their presence and the way they came out and played.
What was going through your head on that fourth-and-1 late in the game?
How do you narrow it down to one thing? Lots of different scenarios and discussions. You don’t really have a lot of time to make those things. There’s so many different ways to look at it. It felt like at the initial jump of it, I was going for it. As you start thinking through all the different scenarios — if you don’t get it, they’re in field goal range basically at that point. When you start working in those factors, our defense had been playing really well, we decided to punt it away. Nick [Veltsistas] had played really well all game, felt like we could really flip the field in that sense. Our defense, knowing how they played and how relentlessly they played, just had tons of faith in them. We knew it would have to be a three-phase win and the defense came up in a big way for us on fourth down.
How cool was it to watch the pass breakup and the eruption on the sideline?
Even leading up to that. One of the things that we try to draw attention to as a coaching staff is how involved everybody on the sideline is. Just locked into the game every play, guys are cheering, guys are involved, ready for substitutions, doing the things that you’ve got to do. To your point there, fourth-and-1, sideline erupts, I erupt, everybody erupts, it was just one of those moments. Those are the ones that you talk about, those are the ones that you’re practicing. To go out and perform in that way was outstanding.
First true road game in a very hostile environment. Is that something where the team can just feel off that fan base going against them?
One thing that we’ve talked about as staff to our team is we’re all about us being us and staying in this moment and being together. When you go into an environment like that, you know what it’s going to look like and feel like and that it’s just you against them. I thought our guys really rose to the occasion and kind of took that to heart. They came out of the gates and played well from start to finish. There’s ebbs and flows to every game, but I thought our guys did a really nice job of creating and holding onto momentum and using that in a really good way in the first half, then they came out in the second half and reestablished it. Those are the things we’ve been working on and talking about. Those guys went and executed at a great level.
You were doing a little dancing in the locker room after the game.
I don’t know that I’d call it dancing
Did you get shamed into it or did you do it on your own?
We play music at practice and we were in dynamic warmup or something and Kaleb Spencer — the dougie song came on and he was like, “Coach do it,” and I said, “I ain’t doing it, but when we go win on the road, I’ll dance in the locker room with all of you.” He said, “Are you being honest?” I said, “Absolutely, I will.” He held me to it, I held up to my word and we had a good time, you’ve got to enjoy those wins. Just part of the story. The joy that you get to feel, they get to feel, when they put in so much work. They stayed locked in and to go out and play the way they did. Wins are hard to come by. I don’t care if you’re on the road or at home. When you get them, you’ve got to celebrate. We’re going to do that each and every time that we get the opportunity.
The video staff put something out this week and a lot of people commented on how you motivate the team and get them ready to run through a brick wall. Does that just come naturally to you?
I don’t know that it’s me. These guys are bonding together, they’re in this thing together, our focus has been about them. We’re trying to pour into them every day and they’re giving back to us. It’s a give and take on both sides of it. It’s a special group of leaders, we’ve got a good coaching staff. We’ve got to continue to stay motivated and stay hungry. You’ve got to keep your eyes on the prize. You can’t take that step back and feel satisfied. You’ve got to stay hungry about the process and stay that way each and every week.
Terion Stewart showed up and played big for you guys.
He really did. He stepped up and played big, [Marcellous Hawkins] played big. We had a lot of guys play big. It obviously starts with the offensive line. Terion and Hawk will both tell you that. Those guys did some nice things for them up front. When you look at what they did when they got to the second level, these are the things that we’ve been talking about and really working on, Coach [Elijah] Brooks has been pushing them to this point — to finish runs. Breaking tackles and making people miss. If you can get to the next level, that’s your job and that’s where you make it. He did some really nice things with the opportunities that he had. That big run that he almost scored on, broke a few tackles up the middle and made the safety miss and then it’s a footrace. That’s what we’ve got to continue to have. Those guys have been working tremendously hard and we just have to keep growing and growing.
The way the offensive line was able to move guys around on the line of scrimmage was pretty impressive on Saturday.
I thought those guys did a really nice job. We went into it with the mindset of trying to work. We’ve been a little bit better on the wide zone things. They tried to do some things to take that away and our inside zone game really came alive. It was good to see guys get a lot of movement inside, getting push, changing the line of scrimmage. We’ve had to shuffle so many different guys around. I don’t know how many different lineups we’ve had but it’s a lot. Getting [Montavious Cunningham] back, we had to move [Tomas Rimac] around a little, doing a little bit of different things in there. Probably the best job we’ve done up front all year long.
How good was it to have Johnny Garrett back? He was fun at the press conference the other day.
Johnny is one of the exceptional leaders on our football team. He’s a guy who comes to work every day. Those weeks that he missed, it was really bothering him. He was doing everything he could to get back on the field. He had a good week of work, had some setbacks throughout the week. I don’t think we could’ve held him out of the game the other night. He was that motivated and wanted to help. He did an exceptional job playing injured like he did. He played exceptionally well.
Is there anything specific you can point to that showcases why the defense has been so effective against the run?
I think [Sam Siefkes] and the staff have done a really good job at playing into our strengths. It all starts defensive line wise, it starts up front. They create the problems and create the hectic elements for the offensive line to try to work their way through. Our linebackers were really playing downhill being able to really fit things up. When we do that, we play with that relentless effort, that relentless pursuit, that’s what really makes it all go. Those guys have really done a nice job.
You kept explosive plays to a minimum. Long run of 11, long pass of 24. That’s big.
Yeah, it really was. I think on that explosive run, I think it was on a third and really really long and they ran the draw to him, which is fine. We’re gonna rally up and we’re gonna tackle. That was their longest run of the day. Again, defense and the defensive staff, those guys did a tremendous job and knew going into the game, we couldn’t let him get away from us. They were living on explosives plays and we had to do a good job of eliminating those.
You got five sacks from five different players against CJ Bailey. That’s a good rotation up front.
There really has been. Guys have been getting comfortable with the rotations. We’re keeping guys fresh and getting guys in for enough time to feel comfortable within the game. We did have five sacks with five different people, and I think we had the opportunity for four or five more of those. He’s slippery, he’s sliding out and doing some different things. The point was to get him off of his point, get him off balance, get him out of the pocket, but keep him contained enough where we were keeping pressure on him and making him push and get through his progressions. I thought our defense did a really nice job.
You talked about wanting to get off to a good start. You guys punted first, but the defense went and got a three-and-out and you guys got a field goal. That’s a good start.
It really was. Obviously, I would’ve liked to finish it, but with that being said, being able to come out of the gates and get some momentum, start moving the chains a little bit, get into the flow and the rhythm of the game. I thought our guys did a good job of that. Got an explosive play within that. I think that gave us confidence. When the defense comes out and goes three and out like they did, we did not give them an opportunity to flip the field, all of those things play into your hands. We played good complimentary football, which we’ve been talking about for several weeks.
John Love had a tremendous showing and was named ACC Specialist of the Week. How about knocking it down after that delay of game? He is Mr. Reliable.
Yeah, he really is. (Knocks on wood.) Let’s all do that. I mean, we’re not trying to jinx him here. He is very confident, he works extremely hard at his craft and he is as cool as you can be in those situations. Stepping up and knocking things down, he’s such a weapon for us and I’m glad he’s on our team.
He’ll be wearing the 25 this week?
Yes, that’s awesome.How about that Hawkins touchdown grab? Kyron Drones stood in there and got crushed by the blitz and still delivered the throw.
They executed it really well. With that being said, I’ve got faith in our guys. I took the timeout there because, knowing that it’s a crucial situation, I needed to know that we’re all on the same page and that we get a good call in to give us the opportunity to go get a touchdown. They were really good in the red zone. Wake is really good in the red zone, we’ll have to find a way to get touchdowns. In that scenario there, they brought the house, Kyron saw it coming, we got the back and and he stood in there and delivered a nice ball, took a pretty good hit right as he was releasing it. Hawk had the opportunity to just stride on in. Well executed play and those guys did a nice job.You had five true freshmen step up on the road. That’s got to excite you about the depth of this team.
Where we’re at and what we’re doing, those guys have really stepped in. I think there was a point where we had four freshmen on the field at one time together. They’re continuing to grow, they’re continuing to get better. From a depth standpoint, we're going to have to have them. As they get more experience and more opportunities, they’re just stepping up in big moments. It was good to see them do that on the road and in conferences. Those are all opportunities of growth and they did really well.How about Noah Chambers? Six tackles, he played well.
Yeah, he really did. Noah’s going to be a stud around here for a long time. His approach, whether you’re talking about what he does in the weight room, talking about what he does from a conditioning standpoint, the way he’s preparing, he’s still got a long way to go from understanding everything, but he understands, “That guy has the ball and I’m supposed to go tackle him.” And he does a really good job at that. He’s a big kid who can run, he’s got huge hands, he’s very strong and he attacks things when he sees it.What have you seen out of the play of Christian Ellis?
Another guy stepping up. We talk about the fourth-and-1 play, which was tremendous. To his and our coaching staff’s credit, they were talking about different scenarios on the sideline, that was one of them. The way they addressed it and the way he approached it to go and make a play, just a tremendous effort from him. The one earlier in the game when they threw the vertical that he broke up in the end zone, another tremendous play, game-saving play. You never know when that play is going to happen throughout a game, whether it’s the first or the last. In those big moments, he really stepped up and played tremendously well.How about Sheldon Robinson?
Again, another talented freshman and a guy that every time you put him in, he’s learning throughout the game. As things happened earlier in the game, he goes back to the sidelines, coaches are around him on the iPads talking through stuff, he’s correcting things as he goes back out. That’s what you want to see out of those young guys stepping up. They’re locked in, they’re focused, they understand their role and what they’ve got to do. When they get the opportunity, they’re going out with the mindset to go make plays.How nice will it be to be back in Lane Stadium?
Just really excited about that. Loved all the fans that traveled down to Raleigh and helped support us there. Obviously, looking forward to being home. The home crowd, we’re going to need your support, we’re going to need you to show up and cheer for us. Give them a hard time. They guys feed off of that. We’ve got to do a great job of giving you something to cheer about. On top of that, the love and support that you show them goes such a long way for our players and how this game comes out.What stands out to you about this Wake Forest team?
They’re a very talented football team. As you look at them offensively, [Robby Ashford] being their quarterback, I actually coached him for a year at Auburn. I know how talented he is, tremendous athlete, can run and throw. He gets out in the open space, you’ve got to watch out. Obviously, their running back is tremendous. We’ve gotta do a really good job of performing the way we did. We’ve got to get a lot of hats to the ball and do a good job of gang tackling this guy and get him on the ground, we can’t allow those explosive plays. When you look at their receivers, they’ve got a young guy on the inside there that’s quick as a cat and can really extend the field in a lot of different ways. They’ve got speed on the edges and we’ve got to do a good job of keeping stuff in front, not allowing the explosive plays to happen, and then getting penetration and getting Robby off his spot. That gives us a chance to get through that part of it.Robby’s a big kid at 6-2, 220. Started at Oregon, went to South Carolina, then Auburn, now he’s at Wake.
He’s made a few stops. Talented young man, big kid. He really does a tremendous job, so you’ve got to know where he is. When you talk about their defense, they do a tremendous job of really muddying up things in the middle, really attacking you from a run game standpoint, you’ve got to do a really good job of finding space and creating that opportunity. They play with a deep roof on things, so it’s difficult to find explosive passes downfield. I think their most explosive pass game was in their very first game on a broken play where the quarterback was able to get out of the pocket and find a guy down the sideline. We’ve got to do a good job of staying ahead of the chains. They do a really good job of getting you off that mark. You look at what happened with Georgia Tech, so many third-and-longs, you’ve got to find a way to stay out of those situations on Saturday.Ashford is a mobile quarterback. Do you feel like it’s helped that you’ve gone against guys like Diego Pavia and LaNorris Sellers already this year?
Obviously, that helps us, just in the game and experiencing that. We played some pretty talented quarterbacks so far this season and this will be another one. We’ve got to do a good job at that. I do think it helps us. I’ve got a lot of faith in what our defensive guys bring to the table.Ashford got banged up. What do you know about their backup quarterback?
He’s a big kid. From what I understand, he’s got a very lively arm. I’ve seen a little bit of him on tape. Still young, but a tremendous athlete. He came in for about a quarter there where Robby came out. I thought he did some good things while he was in there, I think it made them change just a little bit. We’ll see. How much work did Robby take all week? How much did they give the backup, I don’t really know the scenario for that, so we’ve got to be prepared for both.It’s the orange effect game this weekend, and the orange facemask is a slick look.
I was walking onto the practice field and I saw them in the cubbies, which was the first time I’d seen them. Y’all probably saw them before I did. I thought it looked pretty cool, we’ll see how it looks under the sunlight.How about those two scramble plays by Drones? One across his body to Ayden Greene and the other to Benji Gosnell.
Big plays in big moments, that’s what you’ve got to have. Kyron stepped up and delivered for us right there, as well as Benji and AG. [Isaiah Spencer] had another one like that. The one down the field where he’s scrambling to his right side and AG kinda comes back and makes a really nice play, low catch, but keeps his feet in bounds, that was huge. Then the Benji one, that was late in the game, all-out blitz coming, does a great job of trying to escape and giving Benji a chance to make a great play on it. Allowed us to keep the drive alive and continue to move the chains. You got to have guys step up and make plays in those big opportunities. Guys right now are searching for those moments to have a play like that. Instead of hoping the ball doesn’t come to them, they want the opportunity to make a play in this moment, not being scared of the moment and attacking it.What are the conversations you typically have with a quarterback on the sidelines?
My conversations, especially right now, I tell him what I need to tell him pretty quickly. Brian Crist does a good job of relaying information and being able to sit down and study those things. There’s a lot going on right now for me on the sideline, so it makes it a little bit harder. Brian does a good job and we’ve got a good relationship on that. I talked to our coaching staff about this — I think as we continue to work our way through all of this, I think what we’ve done is understand where we’re at. Our communication is better, we know what we’re all looking for and we’re all on the same page as we continue to make adjustments throughout the game. That’s growth by us and by the players. Those guys being able to step on the field and go execute at a really high level.How important are those iPads nowadays?
It’s a tool that really helps. Especially for somebody like me, when you’re going to call plays, to be able to put your eyes on the iPad and see some adjustments and things that we could possibly do. Guys all looking at it at the same time and being able to play through some things, that definitely helps. The biggest part of it is that you have to understand that you can’t reinvent the wheel when you get to look at it. We as coaches, if we’re not careful we can try to do too much or too many adjustments when you just need a tweak here or a tweak there and good things can happen. It’s a tool that you have to use the right way.Can you provide an update on the recruiting front?
We’ve got a good group coming in. Continuing to do a good job. We had guys on the road last week when we were down in North Carolina. We’ll have guys back out for the bye week coming up. Recruiting is obviously a little bit different right now. Just being honest with everybody. Guys want to understand who’s going to be here and what’s going to be happening. We’re trying to do a good job of recruiting for Virginia Tech so that they understand what a special place this is, what they can do and that their dreams of going to play in the league can come true here. The guys that have come here and already made that happen, we’re going to continue to have that. It can be a special place for you in a lot of ways.How about the offensive line? Some guys are trending in the right direction. Are you expecting to have more depth?
I hope so. Some guys are still working through some things. Each day it’s about who we’ve got today. I think we’re trending in the right direction. Guys are getting healthier. Can’t wait to get them all back and all healthy and all being able to play at full strength. We’re getting closer, but we’re not quite there.It’s a neat story with Donavon Greene. He played six years at Wake Forest. Now he gets to play against the Demon Deacons in Lane Stadium.
It really is. Donavon has been such a tremendous player for us all season, tremendous young man within our program. He’s done a great job from a leadership standpoint. They give him a hard time for being a little bit older. They call him unc and grandpa and whatever else. He’s just a guy that works extremely hard. I know this game will be important for him. We want him to have the opportunity to go out and play at a really high level.How about that athletic budget increase?
It’s very exciting for Virginia Tech athletics and for football, for everybody. To have the people to have the vision of understanding what needs to happen, what has to happen if you want to compete at the highest level and the commitment that is. What a tremendous gift that’s going to be for Virginia Tech and Virginia Tech football. The future around here is exciting, and I sure appreciate the gifts. Everybody has stepped up in a lot of ways. I know a lot of you are a part of that, we thank you for that.The guys are really having fun, huh?
Yeah, we talk about that part of it. The joy you really get from the work that you put in, then you go out and play and execute at a high level. It’s fun, but the joy that comes out of them, you really can’t describe that feeling. You can see it on video, but when you’re in the midst of them, just love how contagious it is. It’s a special moment.