Hokie ClubCHARLOTTE, N.C. – Virginia Tech football had four representatives speak to the media on Wednesday, taking the podium at ACC Kickoff.
For what head coach Brent Pry, defensive lineman Josh Fuga, tight end Nick Gallo and wide receiver Ali Jennings had to say, read below.
Head Coach Brent Pry
Defensively you obviously returned strong players in the secondary. How do you feel about the growth on that side of the ball and what that unit can do for you?
"I want to get to your question obviously, particularly about defensive personnel. Very comfortable there. I first want to mention we had a tough loss in our Hokie family the last couple of days. We lost our assistant tennis coach. A young man, 36 years old. Wife, 5-year-old. As everyone knows, we're a close group in Blacksburg. So I want to send prayers and condolences to the Sayer family and Coach Thompson and our tennis program before we move forward.
Defensively we lost a couple of leaders obviously with Chamarri and Dax, but I really like the speed and athleticism that returns on that side of the ball. We got a fast group. Coach Marve has them racing to the football.
We've really honed in on our fundamentals and techniques. We've got a good plan to create more explosives through personnel, through scheme, maximizing what we do well."
Wide Receiver Ali Jennings
Coach spoke on the relationships of this team, and he spoke about he wants you to want to be here. What can you say about the overall continuity of this team and you coming in with this?
"It's funny. I was just talking to Coach Pry about this last night over dinner. As most of you know, I've been a few places, but this environment here, it's the most tight-knit, family-oriented place I've been. You see guys coming in every day, staying long hours even after the mandatory meetings and workouts are done, doing whatever they can to help better each other, better themselves, and the team.
It's just something that you see a part of the culture that's, like, man, I see the trend that we're going in. I'm liking it, and I want to be a part of it.
Everybody loves being around each other. Everybody is having fun together. Everybody is working hard together. Everybody is bringing each other along, so I can't wait to see how everything works out for us this season."
Tight End Nick Gallo
You heard Coach talking about hopes for improvement offensively. What is your outlook for what that unit can look like?
"I think we were definitely pretty disappointed with how we played last year, and I think kind of the first thing that we addressed was all the mistakes we were kind of making, putting ourselves in bad situations.
So, one of the fundamentals we talk about is details. Offensively we've been really dialed in on the details all offseason. Like Coach Pry mentioned, we have a lot of great transfers in the portal. Playmakers there.
They're really talented, but more important than that they're all great culture guys. They hopped right in and were asking every weekend to throw routes, catch routes, all these things, so they fit right in.
Then I think experienced guys coming back, settling into the second year of Coach Bowen's offense, I think it's all going to pay off."
Defensive Lineman Josh Fuga
You are a player that has -- we've talked about Coach Price and all that he is. We see Coach Pry's personality popping through here. What's it like to have coaches who not only have played your position, but that have coached your position, and have the personalities that they do because, you know, we know that defensive line coaches aren't necessarily known for that. What does that feel like for you?
"It feels amazing. Just how Ali alluded to it, when you walk in the building, man, it's nothing but good vibes. I'm a family-oriented guy, and Coach Pry and the whole staff have done a phenomenal job since they got here of making that the vibe. That this is a family place.
You can have hard conversations, and there's nothing -- there's no emotions to it. It's a hard conversation. You have to be able to have a hard conversation, but then also, you can also sit back and talk whatever about anything. You can laugh, joke with anybody in that building, and it means a lot. You don't want to be uptight every day like, oh, man, I got to do this, I got to do that.
No, you want to be loose, have fun a little bit, and then when it's time to go, it's time to go."