New Virginia Tech head football coach Brent Pry was joined by Virginia Tech president Dr. Tim Sands and Director of Athletics Whit Babcock for his introductory press conference Thursday morning, Dec. 2. Read some of what they had to say:
DR. TIM SANDS
(Opening statement) I'm thrilled to have the opportunity on behalf of Virginia Tech and Hokie Nation to welcome Coach Brent Pry to Virginia Tech, and we welcome his family - Amy, and the three children. It's just wonderful to have you back in Blacksburg.
Coach Pry also understands what it means to be a Hokie. We had a chance to get together last night, and we talked a little bit with his family. Of course the question that came up was, "What's a Hokie?" He knew the answer, but it started a great conversation, not only about the proper response - I am - but what the values of this institution are, what it means to be a Hokie, not just a Hokie on the football field but also in life.
It gives me great pleasure to bring a family in who understands this and I look forward to working with you, not only with football and with athletics, but also as a member of the Hokie community.
Now, of course it's a welcome back to Blacksburg for Coach Pry. He was here as a graduate assistant back in the '90s, and every interaction I've watched him have over the last several hours has been like a reunion.
It's been a while, but everybody knows him, and it's just a real pleasure to watch that dynamic. We're really excited to have him back. He understands what it's like to build a strong program. He's certainly had a long coaching career, very successful coaching career, and he was here during a period that was really formative for Virginia Tech football, so he understands the foundation of the program that we have now, and it's exciting to have him back.
He has not experienced "Enter Sandman," so this is something Laura and I look forward to experiencing with you, cheering on the Hokies, when you first get a chance to jump in Lane Stadium and lead the team in.
I'd like to thank Whit for his leadership. Our athletic director understands also what it means to be a Hokie, and I think you can see that with his choice.
WHIT BABCOCK
(Opening statement) Welcome to the next chapter of Virginia Tech football. Like all of you watching, I'm excited to see how the story unfolds under Coach Pry's leadership. We feel great about our chances with this new direction and energy, and again, welcome to all.
Before I go much further, I want to also recognize and thank a few people, beginning with our players, our students at Virginia Tech that just happen to be able to play football at an incredibly high level. What they've been through the last couple years, all that athletics teaches them, I was so happy that they could feel victory and enjoyment and unity with that win over UVA.
We talk about creating memorable experiences, and that certainly was one. I look forward to them having another opportunity in the bowl, and just, again, incredibly proud of those young men as if I were their parent.
I'm also incredibly proud and want to thank J.C. Price, how much he cares, holding us together, still is, leading, and then he came up with the quote, right, "This is my school, that's home, that's it..."
I also want to thank the coaching staff that's currently here that will coach the bowl game with J.C. and those coordinators during difficult times, right. They're in uncertain times. Their people, their families behind them, and the professionalism they showed to invest in these young people, I certainly want to tip my cap to them. This staff will coach the bowl.
Coach Pry will get up and running. Our current staff will stay in the building. We'll have Coach Pry and some of his staff here as they come in the stadium, operating separately.
I certainly want to thank Dr. Sands. The direction, alignment, and commitment is a huge reason we're successful and will be so in the future at Virginia Tech, from the board to the president to the athletic department, the deans, so on and so forth. This is a special place to be.
I also want to thank our fans and donors, big and small. You've helped us greatly enhance our assistant coaching pool and our recruiting infrastructure, which we will now launch into the very top tier of the ACC. If you're not yet on board, we need you to help us get past our Drive for 25. We need you.
Momentum is a powerful thing, and as Coach Beamer used to like to say, "We're all in it together," and I dang sure know good things happen when we're all pulling in the same direction.
I want to thank our department and campus staff that worked so hard behind the scenes during these past few weeks. I certainly want to thank Amy, Colby, Madeline, and Catherine Pry for coming.
It takes a village, and for them to uproot and come, thank you for having that faith in us, and you have a community here ready to welcome y'all with open arms.
Coach Pry, I certainly want to thank him. He has been incredibly selective on the job front. This was one that interested him. A lot of people know this is a great job, but for him it was because it was this job. This job at Virginia Tech. That certainly stood out.
We also certainly like the circle of Coach Pry of his career. It started here and we certainly hope it will finish here. It's a wonderful story, from our history to now making new history.
When we started in our process, Coach Pry was in our original three. We had three to five. It ebbed and flowed a little bit. We zoomed with him first. Some head coaches after that, another coordinator, but the bar was set from the get-go.
It's really nice to get into a search and have somebody that does so well. They're the bar that you consider for everyone else, and he certainly stood out. He was very well prepared.
It was his résumé and coaching experience certainly, but at the end of the day he just really fit better. He genuinely wanted the job, like I said, because it was Virginia Tech and what it stands for.
He has Virginia roots, and I'm certainly partial to sons and daughters of coaches, too. That defensive edge is our brand, and understanding and appreciation for this special place, this sense of place at Virginia Tech, he fit all of those.
He also fit the 10 traits or characteristics we mentioned in the previous press conference. I won't go through all of those, but when you can find your guy and look down the list and it hits everything you were looking for, you know it's a pretty good day.
So yes, his head coaching experience. 30 years he has been -- he has not had head coaching experience, but 30 years in this profession, and he's been as close as you can be to it. He's been in big games in the SEC and the Big Ten. He's been the right-hand person and confidant for James Franklin, their regional connections, their recruiting approach, and all that he's learned, we have no doubt that he's ready.
The outreach from current and former players, fans, coaches and more speaks volumes. Coach Pry is easy to root for.
Today he met with the band, the Corps, and he went through the tunnel yesterday, and we're still working on those VT hand gestures...
Coach Pry has prepared his whole life for this day. I'm so excited for him and proud of him. We've planted the seeds for this, planning for this new era, this next chapter. Today is a big, big step in that direction, renewed and united energy.
HEAD COACH BRENT PRY
(Opening statement) It's great to be here in Blacksburg. I'm honored and I'm humbled. It's very surreal for me.
I met with the team this morning. I'm looking forward to getting to know them. Obviously that's what this is all about, the experience that those young men have. They recognize how special Virginia Tech is. That's why they came here.
I told them that's why I came here. It was a great meeting, and I'm anxious to get to know each one of them better. I got to meet some of the staff here and will continue to do that, and I'm obviously anxious to meet all the passionate fans of Hokie Nation.
My sincere thanks to President Sands, to Whit, to John Ballein, our board of visitors, our rector, and all of the people who have made this moment possible.
I appreciate your faith in me and your confidence in me, recognizing that I am the fit for Virginia Tech.
Thank you to my wife, Amy. It's not easy being a coach's wife, and I appreciate her so much and being on this journey with me. My children, Colby, Madeline, and Catherine, the roller coaster we've been on the last few days, when you grab your kids and pull them out of school and tell them after eight years we're going to uproot and move is all part of this, as well. So I appreciate y'all's support and faith in your daddy. We're blessed to be on this journey and all of us feel very fortunate.
Thank you to Coach Franklin. James is like a brother to me. 12 years. I wasn't sure I'd ever step out and do my own thing, and it took this place to do it. It took what Coach built and Bud and so many others to be the right place for me, and it was the right time.
I thank James Franklin, and I thank Penn State.
There have been so many other coaches that have influenced me, like all of us in this business, but no one has been bigger than my father, Jim Pry. Journeyman coach, small college, played at Marshall, high school coach in West Virginia, college coach in West Virginia. He's my ultimate mentor, and I'm hoping that this moment is making him very proud. I'm sure it is.
I couldn't be here without him and without his influence.
Of course I want to thank Coach Beamer and Coach Foster. It's surreal to me because I looked up to you guys so much. The admiration I have for you guys. I appreciate you being here today and supporting me in this venture. Appreciate the chance you took on me in 1995.
Finally, the fans. You matter to me. I want this to be a program that you're always going to be very proud of. I'm going to embrace the fans and embrace this community. I know how important those things are and what makes up Virginia Tech.
My philosophy, I've been asked that a couple times here recently, my vision. I learned this from Coach, just we're going to hire the right people. We're going to recruit the right people that want to be at Virginia Tech. We're not going to twist the truth. We're not going to play games.
We're going to tell them what this place is all about and what's so special about it, and if it's not for them, it's not for them.
We want people that understand what Virginia Tech is all about and can identify with the special qualities of this place.
We're going to hire the right people. We're going to recruit the right people. We're going to manage and develop our roster. Particularly in today's college football that's a big task. It's a daily task. With as fluid as your roster is, it's a daily conversation about where your needs are and what needs to happen to have the best-looking roster and the best group that you can put out there on Saturdays.
We're going to recruit our footprint. We're going to recruit everywhere, but our footprint is going to be the emphasis. There's been a sense of pride on this football team for a lot of years about the guys from the state of Virginia coming here and being successful.
I know what it meant to Coach, and I'll never forget when he said you can -- I want to recruit guys that can drive in here with their families, because it's not going to be easy, and when the tough times come, I want those moms and dads and coaches to be here. This is a journey for these young men together, as coaches, as family members, to help them be successful.
But we're going to recruit our footprint. We're going to dive in with particular emphasis in the state of Virginia, obviously. I know how good this state has been to Virginia Tech. I've had a ton of former players reach out to me in regards to that, and we're going to work our tails off to bring those Virginia kids to Blacksburg.
We've had a little success doing that up in Happy Valley, so I think it ought to be easier to do that here.
We're going to connect to the community, to the fans and to the former players, as I mentioned. I'm going to be approachable. The relationships are very important to me. That's what this place is built on. We're going to treat people right. We're going to have an open-door policy as I told the players this morning, and we're going to be welcoming to these high school coaches. We're going to embrace the fans. We're going to connect with the community.
Relationships is where it's at for me. I seem to have aligned myself in each stop with people that believe in that, that that's where it starts, from Coach Beamer to James Franklin and everybody in between. That's not going to change for me.
That's what's right for Virginia Tech, and that's who this place is.
There was opportunities along the way, but this was the right time and the right place for me and for my family.
This is who we will be, and you have my word we're going to work very hard to accomplish these goals and be the program that everybody knows it can be.
I'm very proud to be the head football coach at Virginia Tech, and I thank you guys.
