Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG – Virginia Tech football met with media Monday to discuss this week's matchup against Pitt. Read below to see what head coach Brent Pry and wide receiver Jadan Blue had to say.
Head coach Brent Pry
Opening statement:
"I don't have much to open with other than thanking the Hokie fans for coming to Chapel Hill. I'm always impressed with the turnout. I know there was an obvious disappointment, but we've moved on to the next week. At this point, we're excited about the challenge in Pitt. They're a good football team. A physical team. I'm looking forward to getting back out on the field today."
On the message he gives to the team after a tough loss:
"The message to the team was we're closer than they think. We just got to do more things right, then all the sudden, it's a knotted-up game in the fourth quarter. We've got a chance to win it against good people. We tried to show them on film, Sunday, the missed opportunities that we've made in practice or other situations. We do it here. Look what happens. We catch this ball on third and 10, drop it in coverage where we're supposed to on fourth and 3. There're opportunities in all three phases for us to play, what I consider our potential to be. That's the whole thing. It's reaching your potential week after week, beating good teams to do that. Right now, we're not hitting it. We're not playing to our potential consistently enough. My message to them was we're not that type of team. We're not the type of team where the offense is just going to go dominate and you win 60-58. We're not the type of team where we're going to go win three to nothing. We're not the type of team that's going to have a blocked kick and two punt returns for touchdowns. We've got to play complimentary ball. We've all got to do our part in each of the three phases. If we do that, we're good enough to beat anybody left on our schedule."
Wide receiver Jadan Blue
On what he feels like the team can improve on:
"One of the biggest things is self-inflicting, with penalties and stuff. If we can eliminate those, it will definitely help people be able to make the best calls. Then, on top of that, it will help Coach Pry to be able to make those reads that will help those explosive plays happen. In practice, when you're doing those things, it's nothing like a game. So, if you're self-inflicting yourself, it's going to be really hard to make those explosive plays, and that's what we need."
On what the frustration level on the team is right now:
"The frustration is high. It has to be, because if not, that means you don't care. The one thing I believe that people always talk about is not being discouraged. We can't be discouraged. That frustration is not going to go anywhere, it's going to continue to stay there. We must be encouraged about what's going on. We've got to believe in it."