BLACKSBURG – Following its game Saturday at North Carolina, Virginia Tech football met with the media for a press conference. Read below for what head coach Brent Pry, receiver Kaleb Smith, defensive back Chamarri Conner and quarterback Grant Wells had to say.
Head coach Brent Pry
On North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye:
"I think he was as advertised. It's a guy we'll see the next couple years, too. When we were able to pressure him and make him throw off his back foot, his wideouts were making plays. When we didn't pressure him, we gave him too much of a running lane. When we had good coverage, he was able to scramble out of there or make a nice throw. He's a tough kid. He took some shots. But we got to do a better job of corralling him."
On the score right before halftime by UNC's quick two-minute drill leading to a field goal as time expired:
"Yeah, really disappointed, to be honest. We had a little momentum following our touchdown. That spoiled our nice drive. We had a coverage breakdown on one of the big gainers. We got to be better at that. We focus on two-minute in practice. We have to be better at that."
Receiver Kaleb Smith
On the loss:
"It's very disappointing. That comes down to the lack of our execution. We just have to make more plays."
On knowing the team has potential but still needing to get there execution-wise:
"Yeah, man. One-hundred percent. As a team and everybody individually, we know what we're capable of. We see it every day (at practice). Just have to execute."
Defensive back Chamarri Conner
On what North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye does well:
"He's a pretty good quarterback. He runs a lot and extends plays. He's a really good player."
On the defense allowing big plays:
"I wouldn't say we were falling asleep, but we have to execute the call defensively. Everybody has to do their job and we have to get better at executing."
Quarterback Grant Wells
On the offensive rhythm:
"We were just inconsistent. That drive in the first half was good. Just had trouble moving the ball. Had unnecessary penalties that hurt ourselves. We can clean that up and be fine, though."
On North Carolina's defense:
"They had some solid coverage and did so with either two- or one-high (safety). They did not bite as much on the run like I thought they would have. I got a little bit of pressure, but should have not thrown that one ball."