BLACKSBURG, Va. – It’s been a long offseason full of change for Virginia Tech with first year head coach Brent Pry and a revamped staff. After all the offseason work now the time has come to get fired up and bring an intense competitive fire to the field--but that was lacking on Tuesday when the Hokies opened camp.
“A lot of things yesterday [Tuesday] that weren’t good enough and that were disappointing a little bit,” Pry said to reporters after Wednesday’s practice. “Just non-competitive. Something that we’ve emphasized and made strides in but we have to compete in everything we do. We were allowing them to knock balls out and not really challenging for the catch. Allowing them to get open and not contest on the catch. Just the will and determination to win the rep and it was so much better today.”
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“Today we came out ready to go,” said fifth year defensive back Chamarri Connor. “Yesterday was a setback but today we came out fired up, ready to go and came back and answered the challenge.”
The intensity and energy was top notch Wednesday--the first time media members were allowed to attend for a brief part of practice. Pry was the more vocal coach particularly during the running backs versus linebackers drills.
“I do believe player led teams are the one’s that have the best chance to go the long haul but the energy and enthusiasm starts with us [coaches],” Pry told 10 Sports. “If we come out there flat it’s hard for us to expect them to bring it. That’s just who we are as coaches,” Pry said.
Fall camp takes on a new meaning for Connor.
“This year I’m really being intentional making sure everybody is intentional, holding everybody accountable, making sure everybody is working,” Connor said.
When it comes to the quarterback competition, both Jason Brown and Grant Wells looked rather sharp and accurate during the periods media members were permitted to attend.