Brent Pry

COACHING HIGHLIGHTS

• Brent Pry is in his third season as head coach at Virginia Tech. He joined the Hokies after serving eight seasons as defensive coordinator/linebackers coach at Penn State.
• The Hokies reached some significant milestones during the 2023 season under Pry including a 5-3 ACC record, the best conference record since 2019. Tech also was one of eight Power Five teams to post five conference wins by 17 or more points. The Hokies finished in the top 20 nationally in total defense while ranking 58th in total offense, up from 119th in 2022.
• Pry's team made the program's 35th overall bowl appearance in 2023, beating Tulane in the Military Bowl, 41-20.
• Pry returned to Blacksburg after working as a defensive graduate assistant for the Hokies from 1995-97 under head coach Frank Beamer and defensive coordinator Bud Foster.
• A 30-year coaching veteran, Pry has coached teams that have qualified for 15 bowl appearances and have finished in the FBS top 25 in total defense nine times.
• He has played an instrumental role in coaching top 10 defenses at Virginia Tech, Penn State, Vanderbilt, Georgia Southern, and Western Carolina.
• Following his promotion to defensive coordinator in 2016, the Nittany Lions posted three seasons with 11 wins and four seasons with nine or more victories. He helped the Nittany Lions to the 2016 Big Ten Championship after defeating No. 6 Wisconsin in that conference’s championship game.
• His longtime association with current Penn State head coach James Franklin dates back to 1993-94 when Franklin was the quarterback for East Stroudsburg University, where Pry coached outside linebackers and defensive backs.
• Pry was a 2021 Broyles Award nominee for the top assistant coach in the country as the Nittany Lions ranked fourth nationally in Red Zone defense (66.7%), seventh in scoring defense (16.8 ppg), eighth in defensive pass efficiency (111.98), and held their opponents to 4.7 yards per play.
• Under Pry’s direction in 2020, Penn State ranked third in the Big Ten in total defense (328.8 ypg), good for 17th nationally, second in pass defense (198.6 ypg), second in TFL (6.7 per game) and fourth in rush defense (130.2 ypg).
• Pry’s defense helped lead Penn State to an 11-2 record in 2019, ranking eighth nationally in scoring defense (16.0 ppg). The Nittany Lions also led the nation in fewest yards per carry (2.6) and forced fumbles (22), while ranking fifth in rushing defense (95.0 ypg) in 2019.
• The Penn State defense led the nation in sacks per game (3.62) and ranked fourth in tackles for loss (8.2) in 2018. His 2018 squad also ranked fifth in the county in yards per pass attempt (5.67), eighth in defensive pass efficiency (106.1) and 11th in Red Zone scoring percentage (.750).
• Penn State also registered an 11-2 record in 2017 with Pry earning his first Broyles Award nomination. The Nittany Lions finished seventh in FBS in both scoring defense (16.5 ppg) and sacks per game (3.23) during the 2017 campaign.
• After taking sole reins as Penn State’s defensive coordinator post in 2016, the team posted an 11-3 mark and finished seventh in the nation, averaging 8.1 TFL per game.
• As co-defensive coordinator for Penn State in 2014, Pry helped direct a unit that finished second in FBS in total defense (278.7 ypg).
• Pry served as co-defensive coordinator at Vanderbilt from 2011-13 prior to his arrival in State College, Pennsylvania.
• While at Georgia Southern in 2010, his defensive unit helped the Eagles to a win over No. 1 Appalachian State and an appearance in the NCAA FCS semifinals.
• A member of the Memphis staff from 2007-09, Pry’s defensive line corps helped the Tigers to back-to-back bowl appearances.
• He also coached at Louisiana-Lafayette (2002-06), helping the Ragin’ Cajuns to their first Sun Belt Conference championship following a four-year tour of duty at Western Carolina (1998-01).
• During his stint as a graduate assistant at Tech from 1995- 97, he was part of a staff that guided the Hokies to three bowl berths.
• Pry lettered as a defensive back at the University of Buffalo before suffering a career-ending injury. He began his coaching career as an undergraduate student in 1992. He graduated with a degree in history from Buffalo in 1993.
• Pry’s father, Jim, played collegiately at Marshall and began his own 40-year college coaching career at his alma mater in 1973-74. The elder Pry went on to enjoy a distinguished career that included stints at Illinois, Duke, Dartmouth, Akron, East Stroudsburg University, Buffalo, VMI, and Bethune- Cookman, as well as time as a high school head coach.
• Pry and his wife, Amy, are the parents of a son, Colby and two daughters: Madeline and Catherine.

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