Brent Pry injects new energy into virginia tech

By Carter Hill

Staff Writer

December 2, 2021

BLACKSBURG — Newly named Virginia Tech head coach Brent Pry played his high school football just up Interstate 81 at nearby Lexington High School in Lexington, Va.

He grew up in the footprint of Virginia Tech football, in the footprint of the early Frank Beamer days, and in the footprint of a program ready to surge at any minute en route to the eventual success that Tech had sustained.

While his dad, Jim, served as the offensive coordinator at nearby VMI, Pry didn’t have his sights set on playing for the Keydets. It was, instead, on suiting up for the Hokies.

Unfortunately for him, that opportunity never materialized. But the 51-year old is now receiving the ultimate mulligan, as the former Penn State defensive coordinator was officially introduced to the media on Tuesday morning as Virginia Tech’s 35th head football coach.

“Just going to high school in Lexington, this place was like the Mecca to me,” Pry said when referring to Lane Stadium. “Believe me, it was my dream to play here, and I did come to camp here. I know Coach Beamer won’t remember, but I did. I just was never the player to be at Virginia Tech.”

Instead, Pry attended then-Division III Maryville College in Tennessee, but he finally got his foot in the door in Blacksburg when he joined the Hokies’ staff as a graduate assistant in 1995.

It may have taken up to 50 phone calls, and 30 resumes and cover letters sent in to former associate head coach and running backs coach Billy Hite, but Pry had found his way in. And it afforded him the opportunity to coach under Beamer, former defensive coordinator Bud Foster, and be on staff for J.C. Price’s senior season.

That’s the heartbeat of Virginia Tech football, and Pry was able to sit back and serve as an apprentice while still cutting his teeth in his own early career.

The understanding was there in terms of what the culture should look like day in and day out inside the Merryman Center. It’s almost like he knew what was missing inside the program, continuously referring to the Beamer and Foster regime.

The first issue Pry touched on? Recruiting. A component constantly criticized throughout the Justin Fuente era, one that ended after six years in mid-November, and most of the criticism with Fuente’s lack of recruits from Virginia.

Pry, though, sees that changing.

“We're going to recruit our footprint. We're going to recruit everywhere, but our footprint is going to be the emphasis,” Pry said. “There's been a sense of pride on this football team for a lot of years about the guys from the state of Virginia coming here and being successful.

I want to recruit guys that can drive in here with their families, because it's not going to be easy, and when the tough times come, I want those moms and dads and coaches to be here. This is a journey for these young men together, as coaches, as family members, to

help them be successful.”

Tech currently has the 20th-ranked 2022 recruiting class in the country according to 247 Sports. But rankings have slipped during Fuene’s tenure, and the Commonwealth has since been taken over by the likes of North Carolina, and of course...Penn State.

Taking the poacher out of a poaching school can certainly provide dividends for Virginia Tech though, as many viewed Pry as an elite recruiter in State College in addition to serving as head coach James Franklin’s right-hand man.

The proof?

Not only did he pull a guy like Micah Parsons, who was drafted in the first round by the Dallas Cowboys in the first round in the 2021 NFL Draft, to suit up for the Nittany Lions. But he also secured the services of the likes of Brandon Smith (five-star from Mineral, Va.), Devyn Ford (four-star from Stafford, Va.), and Yetur Gross-Matos (2020 second round pick from Fredericksburg, Va.) inside the state of Virginia. Which leads fans to believe he’ll have no problem recruiting while donning the VT logo throughout the entirety of the Commonwealth.

“We've had a little success doing that (recruiting in Virginia) up in Happy Valley, so I think it ought to be easier to do that here,” Pry said with a chuckle.

Additionally, he knew what Tech was missing in terms of a leader outside of the locker room.

The community, fans, students, donors, alumni all have seemed to be disconnected from the face of the program more and more each and every year. Pry intends to fix that.

“You matter to me,” he said when addressing the fan base. “I want this to be a program that you're always going to be very proud of. I'm going to embrace the fans and embrace this community. I know how important those things are and what makes up Virginia Tech.”

Slowly but surely, it's almost as if fans can feel the curtain that’s draped over the program start to be pulled back as time goes on.

“We're going to have an open-door policy...we're going to be welcoming to these high school coaches. We're going to embrace the fans. We're going to connect with the community,” Pry emphasized.

A statement that’s sure to be a breath of fresh air to any fan that supports the maroon and orange.

It’s almost as if Pry had been waiting on this day his entire life, he was prepared for the moment, he had all the right answers, and he united a divided fan base and one that had been for quite some time.

He knew what to address, he brought up the right points, he expressed his desire to coach in Blacksburg, and he’s created an excitement around the 2022 season that was unforeseen just a few weeks ago. Oh, and he did so by continuously praising Beamer and Foster for their service to the university. Smart guy.

What started as an appreciation at Lexington High and as a graduate assistant from 1995-97, has carried over 25 years later.

It was unsure if Pry would ever leave Penn State even for a head-coaching gig. But was he hoping Director of Athletics Whit Babcock called when this one came open?

“Absolutely,” he responded. “An opportunity to come to Virginia Tech was obviously a dream come true back then, and it was a dream come true today.”