BLACKSBURG — For at least a few hours Saturday evening, Brent Pry didn't feel as much pressure as a college football coach.
The spring games have ended. Injury problems were kept to a minimum. The first round of the transfer portal ended without major losses. He knows he's not going to spend the summer thinking about who should be Virginia Tech's starting quarterback.
“The Hokies will win,” Pry declared as he entered the post-scrimmage press conference.
The Hokies' spring game wasn't perfect in a tournament with few veterans and a heavy presence of walk-ons and reserves in the southern half of the depth chart. But Pry and his coaching staff were relieved to know that sending inexperienced players into the huddle was not an act of desperation, but rather a preference.
“Oh yeah, I couldn't be more excited,” Pry said as the Orange and Maroon teams combined for five touchdown drives in a two-hour scrimmage played in front of a roughly half-full Lane Stadium. He spoke after watching the match. “And it's like… every time you get excited, a certain wariness creeps in.”
Being cautious is always a side effect for all coaches. Pry is in his third season on the job at Virginia Tech, so while he's wary of the pitfalls, he's also becoming more familiar with his surroundings.
That familiarity starts with the offense, where nearly all of the top receivers and running backs opted to return. That includes former Old Dominion wideout Ali Jennings. He debuted as a Hokie last fall and showed great promise, but was quickly sidelined by a season-ending foot injury in the second game at Virginia Tech.
Jennings quickly introduced himself to the fans and caught the Orange's first two passes, completing three catches for 45 yards.
“It was great and good to see him come back in the stadium with confidence and play ball,” offensive coordinator Tyler Bowen said. “He's obviously a big part of what we're doing and a big part of the leadership in that room.”
Quarterback Kyron Drones also made a brief appearance, giving a brief glimpse of what's to come in the fall. He was playing with three returning starters for the 2023 season.
Drones, a redshirt junior who became the starter three weeks into the 2023 season, was the first in his Pry era to assure the Lane Stadium crowd there would be no quarterback controversy heading into fall camp.
Drones completed 6-of-10 passes for 122 yards and led the Hokies' maroon squad to 3-of-4 touchdowns.
“He was (efficient) and we did some things to push the ball down the field early on,” said Bowen, who is also Virginia Tech's quarterbacks coach. “So we'll definitely be able to get into the passing game with a higher percentage for him. When we move the pocket, play a quick game, do things like get the ball out of his hands. , we were in it.'' But I was happy with the way he came in and the way he operated and led us to a couple of touchdown drives in the first quarter and then we were able to get him out. . ”
Drones said the offense he showed Saturday was a testament to the amount of effort he and other skilled players have put in since the Hokies ended the 2023 season with a 41-20 win over Tulane in the Military Bowl. He said it was a result.
“(What pleased me the most) was the consistency,” Drones said. “The big jump from last spring to this spring is amazing progress. Because of our consistency, there's never been a day when we finish practice and think, 'What the hell was that?' did. The consistency was good and they were competing against and competing with the defense. I’m really proud of our offense and the situation we’re in right now. ”
To no one's surprise, the top two running backs on the roster, senior Beishul Tuten and redshirt junior Malachi Thomas, made brief appearances Saturday. Tuten played in three snaps for the Orange, while Thomas saw a little more action. He carried the ball three times for 14 yards, caught a 66-yard pass from Draughns, and actually threw his first pass of the game, which was incomplete. .
That left time for a number of running backs further down the depth chart to earn time.
Walk-on PJ Prioleau, the son of safeties coach Pearson Prioleau, scored the Drones' first touchdown of the game on a 6-yard run for the Maroons. He also scored the Maroons' third touchdown on a 22-yard run.
During that time, Drones completed a 3-yard TD pass to redshirt freshman tight end Jarikas Hairston, another walk-on.
Prioleau had 62 rushing yards and 29 receiving yards, earning praise from the coaching staff.
“He reminds me a little bit of my old dad,” Pry said. “He's crafty, quick, a little nervous. We asked him to do everything. He's been playing everything on our scout team. He bounces around. If you need a wideout, he goes wideout. If you need a running back, he goes running back. I think they tried him in the secondary at some point.
“…He's gotten better and better every year. He's in a position where he's going to have an opportunity to help us.”
The Orange team's touchdowns came in the second quarter on carries by redshirt freshman quarterback William “Pop” Watson II and redshirt freshman running back Tra'Ron Mitchell.
As for concerns, Pry said the staff needs to figure out why the two defensive units finished with a combined 13 sacks. Although the no-tackle rule for quarterbacks played a role, Pry said it still got his attention.
“That's a little difficult,” Pry said. “When you separate teams, it's always tough on the O-line. I wrote in my notes: There were a lot of sacks. Why? I don't have enough time for quarterbacks, young players to hold the ball. It felt like it was a little too long. They have to take that away. Maybe that contributed to some of it. They have some guys who can rush the quarterback as well, so maybe the combination there. There must have been.”
In the case of Watson and the other quarterback currently competing for the backup job behind the Drones, redshirt freshman Dylan Witke, Virginia Tech will look into the transfer portal to see if there is anyone who can help. That's one potential position, Pry said.
“We're having those discussions right now,” Pry said. “Obviously, there's some players in mind that we're going to talk about. Let's see what happens. It has to be the right group. You look at Dylan and Pop and say, 'One of them is nine. When you say, “Can we get it done by the end of the month?” perhaps. But do you want to take that risk? That's what I think about when I'm watching this movie. That's why today was so important for them. ”
