The Virginia Tech Hokies are in their bye week heading into next Thursday’s matchup with the Boston College Eagles. Even in the bye week, head coach Brent Pry has spent time talking to the media and here’s everything he had to say.
Opening statement…
“Today’s competitive period went well, with a combination of BC’s efforts over the last few days. It went well. One-on-one, two-on-two, followed by development efforts, team periods, and scrimmages. And I thought we really improved.”I think it was a good few days on special teams, especially today because we overcame some technique that we were struggling with. ”
1. About the rest of this week’s schedule…
“The players have tomorrow off, but obviously Friday will be Sunday practice for us. It’s a normal Sunday.”
2. If a veteran player gets extra rest this week…
“Yeah, we really tried to get a lot of our guys back from the range of the whole practice. I told them to hustle and go hard and hard. We stayed up and the pads. We kept it up, we put on the uppers, we kept those two,” but certainly, the reps were thin for some of the players. ”
3. About running back PJ Prioleau…
“Yes, he’s going to be out for quite a while. It’s very, very disappointing for him. He’s a great teammate for us. He’s getting every opportunity. We’re very, very disappointed for him. I was looking forward to seeing what he did in the second half of the season. And it’s an unfortunate loss, not just from a production standpoint because of how much he’s invested in this.”
4. On how a bye week helps players like Ali Jennings rest and prepare…
“Yeah, by kickoff against BC he’ll be 100 percent and ready to go. I hope that happens, just like the other players.” Kelly Lawson, Raith Gangnam, we have some great players who will get healthy again. ”
5. Regarding the kick return game without Priolo…
“Yeah, you know, to be honest, we’re excited about Thomas Williams. We talked about it every week. You know, he’s had some chances, but we… We talked about investing 100% in him based on that.”That’s our first thought, but we practice Beishl every week and of course Malachi Thomas has experience there as well. ”
6. In the running back position without pre-low…
“Yeah, P.J. was kind of a tag guy. Yeah, there were some things he could do. We have some guys who can do that, we have Jay Lane and Turkey Heath. , they’re not participating.” So we’ve got Tyler Mason in the running back room, we’ve had a few stretches yesterday and today, and we’ll see what happens.”
7. Injury updates for Nick Gallo and Jalen Stroman…
“Oh, Strowman, it’s a long way off, but he’ll be back. In fact, Gallo was wearing all his gear today, adding to his personality. Really, I think today is the most important day. It gave me hope that he would come back and get out there someday. ”
8. About Braylon Johnson…
“It’s, yeah, we’re just a special teams, our depth in the secondary. You know, where we’re weak is Josh Hand not being available on the road, It’s just a few guys that normally play for Team T.” -Chill, still out, Will Johnson still out, we needed a little more guys on the team, but obviously we’ll play it safe for you guys too. I had a chance. ”
9. As for whether Stroman might be out this year…
“Yeah, I think it’s difficult. He might be cleared down the road, but whether that happens remains to be seen. If that happens, that’s fine. We’ll put him in any position. Can we take you to?’ We’re ready to play, but it’s different for us? ”
10. Regarding Elijah Kroc traveling to the game against Stanford…
“I said to the team, ‘There’s one guy who said he’s going to make a tackle without a helmet on, but who is that going to be? And they all know he’s a hard worker. He was about 30 minutes away from there, and although he’s not the kind of guy who usually travels, he said he had great athleticism and that his high school was a high school. It’s good to know that one thing I wanted to do for him: Yes, he has family here in Virginia, he has ties to Virginia Tech, and he has a great story. , I was happy to see him go to the game, hey, my mom was there, a lot of my friends were coming to the game, and he runs in on every kickoff. He tied the team. But he’s a good addition to our team. He’s just such an old-school tough guy. You know, he played undersized. He worked a little bit as a fullback. And you know, he goes back and forth between both fields. He plays with snot running down his face, he breaks his arm. He’s one of those guys that plays like a ball, but you know, he’s just fast, and he’s got everyone’s respect for that.”
11. If the players are in good position in the final stretch where they can get offensive reps, it’s on…
“So, yeah, and what’s been a little bit difficult is not only getting enough reps on the varsity field for them, but also doing a good job as scouts on offense and defense. So, this We’ve got a lot of guys like Chanz Wiggins, Kaylen Adams, we’ve got a lot of guys like that that I think have a chance to help us on special teams and give us depth at those positions.”
12. About Quentin Reddish…
“Yeah, thankfully he’s been out there every week and we need him. You know, the thing that’s unique to me is being a true freshman. He’s playing field safety and perimeter safety. He’s playing defense. And it’s tough mentally. And, you know, he’s getting better every week.”
