BLACKSBURG – Leading up to the Maryland game in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl, interim head coach J.C. Price and select players held a press conference on Tuesday addressing the media. Read what they had to say below.
Tickets to the game, which are starting at $70 for the general public, can be found here.
HEAD COACH J.C. PRICE
Opening statement:
"First of all, we are really excited to represent Virginia Tech and the ACC in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl. The Yankees have been very gracious to Virginia Tech over the years, so it's going to be very cool to play in Yankee Stadium for our players, coaches and fans. Whit [Babcock] and our administration were on a call yesterday finalizing the details for our trip. We are certainly excited to see a lot of Hokies travel up there, including my wife and kids who are really looking forward to taking this trip and experiencing New York during this time of the year with the holidays. Then I am looking forward to the challenge of facing Coach [Mike] Locksley and a very good Terrapins team."
On what the protocols may be in New York and how the team will manage a potential Covid-19 outbreak:
"The Yankees have done a wonderful job keeping our staff informed on the procedures and the following when we make it to New York. We haven't really done anything more or less here, and Blacksburg isn't really close to a hot bed. The guys have all been following the same procedures throughout the whole year. So, our guys have continued to do a great job and continue to do things right with wearing masks."
On how he has structured the practices during the bowl prep and how the younger guys are stepping up:
"Going into it before everything, we talked about developing a little bit. I guess, as a coach, you have two different mindsets. You have a few duty structures, like a spring practice, and you try to get a lot of guys ready for next year. Or, you know, we went about it as a staff thinking that, since we are going to have a bunch of young guys are already playing, that we weren't going to back off. This is reward. I didn't want them to be out there for normal, two-hour practice. That's not what we wanted. We wanted to make sure these guys enjoy the bowl experience. It is reward. So, we basically cut things down. We had limited individual time. But I also expressed to them that there's a certain amount of work you need to put in to win the game. And we have done that. Inside drills. We've had spirited inside drills. What was live and we've had good on good. We were hitting our situations with red zone and third down. We did a two-minute drill of 1s against 1s and 2s against 2s today. So, we're trying to simulate as much as we can, good 11-on-11, as we prepare for the game."
OFFENSIVE LINEMAN TYRELL SMITH
On what he would like to accomplish before he leaves Blacksburg after a long career:
"Yeah, these last few weeks, honestly, I've been happy because my time here in Blacksburg has been so good, so I'm trying to cherish these last moments. But while we are we still here, we have a lot of business to finish. We weren't going to play in this bowl game if we didn't beat UVA. So that was our path and now we face Maryland in New York."
OFFENSIVE LINEMAN BROCK HOFFMAN
On the thought process on playing in the bowl before declaring for the NFL Draft:
"I mean, for me, there was no decision. I've never been to a bowl game. So, this is my first one. Like, it was just my decision. There was no way I wasn't going to play. Then in terms of the draft, for me, I just thought it was my time to move on. I talked to a lot of people here, and I talked to my family and I just felt like it was the right time for me."
DEFENSIVE BACK CHAMARRI CONNER
On the passing game Maryland presents and the difficulties defending it:
"It is definitely going to be a challenge to defend the pass against them, but, as a defensive back, that's what we look forward to. It will be exciting to see if we can stop them."
LINEBACKER DAX HOLLIFIELD
On it being a lot of his teammates' last game and what it means to play with them one last time:
"The seniors, they've put a lot of hard work into this program, and we want to send them out the right way. Then playing at Yankee Stadium is pretty cool. It's a really historical place, and the game is going to be played on a baseball field in the Bronx will be really cool. But, at the end of the day, we just need to get the win."
