Soundbites: Pre-Spring Practice Press Conference

BLACKSBURG – Following the conclusion of Phase One, Virginia Tech football is ready to proceed with Phase Two. Head coach Brent Pry and his three coordinators met with the media on Tuesday to discuss expectations for the program heading into spring practices. Read and watch below to see what they had to say about Phase Two:

Head Coach Brent Pry

On the current offseason model with Spring Game:
"Yeah, I like the current model. With the transfer portal windows, to me, that's what can affect the whole thing. I think that's why some coaches out there do what they feel is best for their team. But here at Virginia Tech and for Brent Pry, the traditional spring practice is what I think works here, works for us. I love the idea of the spring game in the stadium with fans. Game like situation for our players and coaches. I think it's a valuable experience that I think helps our team grow. But to each his own. I think moving forward, it just depends on these transfer portal windows. That's what makes it very challenging to have a true idea of what your team can look like before you head into the fall. So we'll see where that ends up, the windows."

On QB Kyron Drones' health status:
"Yeah, first of all, physically, he looks back to form. In these winter workouts, we do a lot of competitions. And he was very tough to beat. Didn't matter who I put him against, sled push, agility drills. We challenged him each and every morning. He was hard to beat. He's one of our best workers and had probably the highest win percentage. So I think he's back in form. I think he's confident again, largely because he's healthy. I'm so excited about Coach Montgomery and what he brings, not just to our team, to our offense, but to that room, to Kyron Drones. I think a big key for us, obviously, is for Kyron to play well. To be more polished, to be more balanced. Throw the ball down the field a little bit better. And so I'm excited about that. I think Kyron has all the potential to do that. I think Coach Montgomery has us in the right direction."

On Jarrett Ferguson and the strength & conditioning staff:
"He's always been one of my favorites. It was so long ago that I was here in the mid-90s, but there are certain guys and traits that really stuck out to me. And his mental and physical toughness was to be remembered. And it's something that we were missing, something that we needed to be better in that area. And he instantly brought that to us. He's got tremendous respect from the players, from the staff. He's doing a great job organizing, and leading. I really like the staff. I think we're getting the most out of our staff right now. Mason Baggett has been a great addition, polished guy who was a head strength coach. So I'm pleased with what's happening in that space right now."

Offensive Coordinator Philip Montgomery

On installing a new offensive scheme:
"I think as you start trying to describe us offensively, we'll pull from a lot of different experiences of mine. Places that I've been all the way from my high school days to where I am now. And so I think it's always a learning process. I'm trying to learn every day. And so when you get an opportunity to come in and install something new, you get an opportunity to kind of work some of the kinks out that you had in some of your old stuff. You get ideas from new people in the room. We've got a bunch of really talented coaches in the offensive room. And so being able to take some of the things from that and being able to go how do we apply it to what we do now? How does it fit? How does it gel? And so I think there's a lot of different influences to what we're going to be able to do. Most of it's going to be built around what our personnel is able to do. And so I think the most successful offenses are built that way. You know, you look at our quarterback and what he has in his tool belt to bring to the table, and then you look, okay, we've got this guy on the outside. We've got this guy inside our offensive line. This is what they're really good at. And so I think as we combine all of those, by the end of spring, we'll have a really good feel of who we want to be, the direction we need to head, and then we start adding and building according to that."

Defensive Coordinator Sam Siefkes

On student-athletes establishing roles in the defense:
"Yeah, very eager number one to see the guys that maybe didn't get quite the opportunity last year to be able to showcase their skill set and where they've grown. But number two, obviously, there's some guys in the mix that have transferred here that I think will do a nice job and be able to compete. I told these guys today, the advantage that everybody in this room has is that I'm new. And so I don't know if any of them can play or can't play, right? They have to prove that to me on a day-in and day-out basis. There's the guys that have played a lot of reps here, but they also have to earn that from the get-go. Being no different than the guys that may be transferred here or the guys that are incoming freshmen or guys that maybe have been backups. So that's the benefit, obviously, coming in and being new to the situation, is it allows for guys to find and carve roles and get a fresh start. And I think that's beneficial for a lot of those players."

Special Teams Coordinator Stu Holt

On the transition of fully overseeing Special Teams:
"Yeah, especially as it's always been my niche. That's what's kind of kept me employed over the years. That's always had a great interest in it and enjoyed it. I love coaching offense. I worked with the running backs here and the tight ends and enjoyed working with those guys. I think this is where it's going. I think with all the changes in college football, particularly with the staffing, you're gonna see more of the NFL model. And having a special teams coordinator devoted strictly to the kicking game. So it's exciting, that's an exciting portion of it is really getting to evaluate. The part that I've loved really this offseason is being able to evaluate the defensive guys more so than I have in the past. I'd really just see those guys whenever we would interact in the kicking game, and that would be about the only time unless we did something pre or post-practice. So I think that's gonna be a big benefit. And just having more guys to help, more staff guys available. So I think that'll be great as well."