BLACKSBURG – Following its fourth practice of fall camp on Friday, Virginia Tech football met with the media for a press conference. Read below for what offensive coordinator/tight ends coach Tyler Bowen, athlete Connor Blumrick and running back Malachi Thomas had to say.
Offensive coordinator/tight ends coach Tyler Bowen
On if he will wait to name the starter at quarterback at the conclusion of fall camp or if that decision will happen during fall camp:
"We got a good battle going on right now. Both of those guys [Jason Brown, Grant Wells] have improved a lot from spring and summer. It's been fun to watch it play out so far."
On the versatility of athlete Connor Blumrick:
"I'm excited about Connor. Connor's working at receiver, tight end and the backfield, so a lot of different places. He's got a unique skill set. Obviously, he's played receiver before and quarterback a lot of his career. So, it's on me to figure out the best way to use in him different packages and personnel groupings."
Athlete Connor Blumrick
On what he focused on in the offseason to get him to this point:
"Just trying to put on weight, so I can do some other things, like, speed and strength, which should allow me to do other things than quarterback."
On what those conversations were like of him and staff talking through his position change:
"Coach [Tyler] Bowen and Coach [Brent] Pry called me into their office and they were just honest. They said I was an incredible athlete and that I would be more valuable at this position. So, I just trusted me coaches and I'm going with it."
Running back Malachi Thomas
On how the offseason was for him:
"I'm trying to get bigger, stronger and faster. We have a great strength and conditioning staff here, so I'm pretty sure they're going to be able to get me to where I need to be."
On what the culture is like at running back:
"It's all love in there. We're all just trying to help each other get better. Whenever someone makes a mistake, we talk them up and talk them through it in ways that they will learn from with things like that."
