CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Virginia Tech is coming off a 3-8 campaign in what was the start of the Brent Pry era. With the foundation having been laid…now the focus is on solidifying what the coaching staff is aiming for — a consistent, winning brand and culture.
“A lot of hard work, it’s not that we weren’t working super hard every week but the wins just weren’t coming,” Head Coach Brent Pry said. “We lost three games where we had a lead in the 4th quarter and lost 4 games by 11 points. It was a tough road and there’s just a lot that goes into it right now. It’s just a large body of work that has to keep pushing the needle in the right direction for us to be the program we need to be.”
The Hokies have more than 30 new scholarship players and while the defensive line will be bolstered with depth and experience, the offense will look to be more dynamic with Tyler Bowen at the helm of the offense.
“It allowed us to say, ‘Hey, we really need to make a change here and really have to drive this thing forward,’ if we want to have the kind of season we’ve had,” said Hokies tight end Nick Gallo. He’s returning for his fifth season.
One of the big off-season additions was wide receiver Ali Jennings transferring from Old Dominion.
“I believe that Virginia Tech had the blueprint and we just had to get the personnel and guys to believe and bring in a little bit of leadership,” Jennings said.
“We brought in guys but even the guys who have been here have been great at competing and stepping up a whole level,” Gallo added.
The quarterback competition with Grant Wells and Baylor transfer Kyron Drones will continue into fall camp. Pry did say he doesn’t anticipate Jesse Hanson being a player for the program this season, due to a potentially career ending health issue. That will be a blow to the Hokies offensive line and the former Lord Botetourt grad.