Soundbites: Week Nine Press Conference (Georgia Tech)

BLACKSBURG – With its sights set on Saturday's matchup, Virginia Tech football met with the local media on Tuesday afternoon. Head coach Brent Pry took the podium for his weekly press conference to acknowledge Tech's performance against Boston College and highlighted the importance of shifting focus. Pry was followed by student-athletes Jaden Keller and Xavier Chaplin to wrap up the media session. Read and watch below to see what each speaker had to say:

Head coach Brent Pry

Opening Statement:
"I'd like to start by thanking all our fans again. Can't thank them enough. It was an incredible environment Thursday night in Lane Stadium. I don't want to take that for granted in our program. We're very fortunate. I also want to thank everyone that's involved in putting that game on. So many people in the setup, in the breakdown, in the management and operation of it. A lot goes into that being successful. It's not just our football team coaches. So thanks to everybody. Special thanks to Bruce Smith, Mike Vick, being on the sideline. Not many programs can tout having two number-one picks on the sideline of their football game, which is a great opportunity for us to be able to do that."

On Antwaun Powell-Ryland's disruptive playmaking as a pass rusher:
"Yeah, I'm not surprised. I think his skill set, the way he works at his craft, the emphasis we put on it. I think the history here at Virginia Tech with rushing the quarterback, the history in this structure, rushing the quarterback, its part of who we need to be. I'm happy for him, and he certainly has done a tremendous job. But it also goes along with the type of defense, the caliber of defense we need to play here in and year out with here at Virginia Tech."

Linebacker Jaden Keller

On the defensive's ability to generate turnovers in recent contests:
"Yeah, it's a big main thing we focus on. Before every practice here, we always do a turnover circuit. It just puts into us how important turnovers are and how they can change the game, just being able to, like you said, change the momentum of a game off of a turnover. So it's definitely one of our biggest focal points and just what we focus on, like I said before, practice a turnover circuit. And that shows up in the game. So as long as we keep doing that turnover circuit, it's going to keep on showing up for us. And we just got to keep on playing how we're playing."

Offensive Lineman Xavier Chaplin

On the effort needed to earn Pro Football Focus offensive lineman of the week:
"I would say playing at the highest level is really just the little things that people really don't think about. As an offensive lineman, I know it's like the first and second steps, just toning into the little stuff. Remembering the little stuff every play. Knowing your rules every play and just knowing that the man in front of you can't mess with you for real."