Brent Pry Press Conference (9/3/24)

coach have brief opening statement we'll open it up for questions um obviously uh we're all very disappointed in the outcome of the game in Nashville um you know we uh we didn't play well enough or coach well enough to win the game and they did they outplayed us and out coached us I give those guys credit uh we have to be better have to have a better plan um you know it doesn't take away from uh how tremendous hokey nation was uh the turnout was was incredible and uh we all appreciate it as players and coaches and understand how special it is we're very very fortunate that way you know we all look forward to the crowd uh for our first home game against Marshall um students the student section sellout crowd you know it's uh you know it's a special deal being back in Lane Stadium we're looking forward to it celebrating the 99 team you don't have many opportunities to celebrate a team that played for a national championship and we'll do that which is special you know there's a lot of personal ties to the to the Marshall program for our our our team for our program for our staff for our players there it's meaningful um you know and this is a good team we're playing a group that's beaten Notre Dame recently that's you know that's beating us that's taking North Carolina state to the wire I mean we're going to get their best effort they're well coached coach Huff does a good job um you I expect it to be a good football game questions start right here yeah Brent I'm curious after a disappointing opening week result like that what is the tenor of a Sunday practice uh with you is it intensity how how do you approach something like that yeah I think first of all it's addressing what we what we felt like was was not uh where it needed to be you know from a coaching standpoint owning that with our team from a player standpoint owning it with one another uh you have to kind of get to a place where you can be you know make the corrections make the adjustments when you get out there on the field I think the guys did a great job with that um you know we're not out there banging heads on Sundays uh it was still a physical game we got guys with with you know banged up with some Nicks and bruises and but we make the corrections uh we get we get in a good head space and then we move on to the next opponent and and dive into those guys guys uh look at the the depth chart You released Jaylen strowman is not on there do you expect him this week no is he was that an injury from last week what what happened with yeah he was injured do you expect that to be long term I don't know that yet um I foresee him missing a couple of weeks at least what does that do to your safety situation I know you had sort of a rotation of three there and in the past you've talked about Monsour possibly playing there as well how's that factor in yeah so obviously it's it's increased Reps for Jaylen Jones uh for Mo and for Quinton reddish you know that's they'll be uh you know his his snap Count's going to jump way up and he'll play both the field and the boundary and then we' we've continued to train Monsour there because of situations like this so he he got snaps in Camp he was in some meetings um he's been involved there we'll we'll increase that and then we've also got a situation with brilin Johnson with Devin Alves where we're giving those guys some opportunities possibly even Caleb Spencer uh to play a little bit in that boundary so we've got to find that fourth guy right now you know if if if it gets into an injury situation you know monor's the next guy right now but to be the fourth guy going into the game uh Monsour will obviously be your starting corner so you know somebody else has to step up and do that Dam Brent got to see the offensive line uh combination for the first time through film review how did you assess their performance yeah I think in the Run game we need to be more physical you know they were shooting gaps and doing some things that we hadn't expected and it slowed us down a little bit I think we got to be we got to come off the ball be more aggressive be more physical at moments we looked pretty good in the Run game we were hat on hat we were moving people um and then in the throw game I think we got beat a little bit too often you know they had a little bit too much success rushing a quarterback than we'd like to see we got to be better there the evaluation what was the communication like with them on the sidelines did it seem like all five were in sync or did it feel like with LA first time starting briland first time at Center that there might have been you know some things missed because of them being in new spots there was a few um community unication issues but not many and I thought la for the most part in his first start did a pretty good job I wanted to ask you about linebacker seems like you've moved Keller back to Mike I know he still can play Mike and will and you got Kelly and Caleb in there and then J Jim mcdonal I guess is there as a third option at Mike what did you see about moving those guys around to specific places yeah we thought Kelly played um Harder Faster what we need uh made some plays in the game by any means didn't play perfect or even great but made some plays that that opened our eyes and he's done that throughout Camp that's been a close battle with him and JK the other piece is uh uh you know just a little more onus on JK at Mike to be a good compliment to to Sam um and then the last piece is Kaleb Woodson has done a nice job he did it he did some good things in the game and deserves more snaps back of the room J thanks coach we appreciate your time I gota ask you sir obviously last year there were occasions you guys got off to slow starts and it kind of reared its head this past week what do you guys have to do to prevent these slow starts which because obviously once you go to a slow start you use all this energy to make the comeback but then it just didn't work out yeah we certainly dug ourselves in a hole and nobody wants to do that I think uh you know the methodical drive that Vanderbilt had to start the game it's deflating for your defense um and then to turn around in your first possession on offense it's an interception you get him to Third and eight got chance for a big Sudden Change stop they make a nice throw and catch and they score and you're down 10 nothing I think the momentum went their way pretty quick you know we got on our heels a little bit and it took too long to to recover we still we made some nice adjustments last year year and how we started practice and we did that this Camp you know most practices we started with a competitive period to get the guys going I think when you start slow you you have to have a momentum swing you know I talked about it with the staff we need to be aggressive as play callers in those situations and we need to go make plays you just swing it back uh to get out of that thing quicker than we did DAV back yeah I'm curious when when you look at uh the first half on film and the way you guys approached it what stood out in your eye about what you guys could could do differently in that situation uh there's a lot obviously you know that's the first half certainly wasn't up to our expectations um not how I expected us to start the game I think uh their quarterback did a nice job there were some differences with formations and things that we hadn't seen and you know they were methodical they would stayed on schedule that first drive uh um you know I still saw it as a positive to force the field goal you know I don't know that our players felt that way um and then to to to you know you want to answer offensively you want to go answer we had an inside screen call that looked like it was going to be pretty good they had an inside Blitz called you know their linebacker did a nice job knocked the ball up in the air D tackle makes a nice play all of a sudden you know they're in the Red Zone knocking on the door and and and we get him to Third and eight you know an opportunity to get a sudden change stop and our coverage isn't exactly what it needs to be they make a nice throw and catch and all a sudden it's 10 nothing um but you know we didn't get enough possessions offensively uh that's certainly obvious um you know the last possession truly of you know of the half was was the two-minute which I wasn't happy with that but we had the long drive that resulted in a field goal um you know you'd like to see four or five possessions for our offense to get you know have a chance to kind of get it going Andy asked you about safeties earlier Jaylen Jones um seemed like he played pretty well on Saturday what were your impressions and um you know what what have you seen from his growth in terms of you know where he was last season this off season you know kind of like Mo's where both those guys are taking big leavs yeah I think Jaylen played with more confidence and I think he played the way he practiced all Camp you know I can't say that for everybody right now but I think he did a nice job of uh bringing everything all the improvements he made he brought that into game one it should be a confidence builder for him as well obviously we're going to rely on him even more now with the with jaylen's situation Gallow didn't travel on the depth chart is there any update on his situation he's questionable um unlikely but questionable and uh with in terms of the helmet communication uh did you guys have any issues with that on Saturday it looked like an overtime there might have been trouble getting a play in yeah so I asked Kiren um you know and Colin and it was just sometimes it was about hearing it you know it wasn't loud enough in the headset and you'll see them you know and I saw it a lot um you know watching some games covering the ear holes to be able to hear it well enough so you know we talked about making sure our volume is what it needs to be and when we're speaking into the mic that it's nice and loud and clear so that there doesn't have to be a repeat of it um but for the most part it was pretty good Andy back Jimmy and then Dam hi coach Jim Tracy from wz in Huntington coach Huff is talk Huntington in the house oh i' got up at s in the morning for this okay talk about U he's talked all month about he doesn't know who's going to start a quarterback is that hard for you to prepare for if you don't it might be the kid from Tulsa might be the kid from more Texas or last year start is that how challenging is that CU you you you might know who you'd see and too but that's going to be quite a question mark here in a couple days yeah I think uh we broke down both quarterbacks uh we looked at their you know their film they both played a couple of games at their prior institution we looked at those we looked at what they did in this game against Stonybrook uh it was a little bit different with each guy but there was a lot of similarities as well so I think you got to study them independently and that's what we've done they're both pretty talented guys d Brent you had to rotate new defensive lineman in there for the first time with anias Kelvin Kamari how did you assess how the defensive line played yeah I thought that unit uh played well to be quite honest you know they weren't enough of a factor in the game um you know it was more of a perimeter issue defensively but um I thought they played well and the rotation was good it was healthy I thought Kamari came in who's really been penciled in as the 50 tackle right now and made some good plays and earned more playing time but I thought all those guys played pretty well we're going to talk to Kelvin I guess tomorrow he seemed like he blew up a play there bulldo through the offensive lineman I believe on a third down play did you like how he played in his burst that he was able to play opposite whether it's anas or Josh or Wilfred yeah I sure did I thought he did a nice job um another guy that had a good camp that carried it into the first game you I think there's five guys there right now that that you got a healthy rotation and all of them JC's done a good job all of them can play nose or three technique I can't say that we've always been able to do that here or at other places um it's challenging initially but it helps you down the stretch and and we're fortunate to be in that place now back J what does Huntington mean to you your dad went there and we might have been on the same playground together at 5 years old remember much of that t but what's it kind of mean to the pride family U kind of where he kind of started things and here we are yeah it means a ton um you know I spent a couple years there married student housing my folks got married at 18 and had me and you know that's kind of where it all started um so you know Marshall's very near and dear to my father uh just his experience going there why he chose Marshall uh being on that uh you know the young Thundering Herd and you know taking him to that game last year and uh you know he walked around campus and walked around town and it was emotional for him uh so it means a ton uh you know and I think about Frank lauia and you know just what he means to this place and you know coach tally I mean just there's so much that when you dive into it that I don't want every want to you know we got to go be one and0 and win this game but man there's a lot of layers that are emotional about Marshall and about uh for myself my family for this team for this school um you know so got a lot of respect for Marshall let's go to zoom for on Zoom please use the raised hand feature to ask questions please also state your name and affiliation before asking we'll start with David teal please Brent Brent you were gone by then I guess at Western Carolina but do you have any memories of Virginia Tech 1999 season just watching it on TV David uh obviously stayed close and was very proud um you know I remember the fourth quarter and the coverage adjustment and all the things that you think about as a coach um you know when Florida State kind of either took the lead or Got Back it right there at the end but um you know I know it's a it's a big piece of the tradition around here and we certainly speak of it you know on the recruiting trails and and with our team so you know I'm anxious I'm excited that we're celebrating that group they deserve it as coaches and players you mentioned the the the first half Saturday on offense your passing game seemed to be almost strictly horizontal and it got much more vertical in the second half was it the plan to start that way or did you just guys just not have the execution that you needed yeah I think it's both we wanted to uh to work the perimeter saw that as a strength and opportunity uh to get those guys the ball out on the perimeter to uh to open up the inside Run game you know make sure they're they're defending the whole field and we weren't successful enough perimeter blocking execution it wasn't good enough um and at the same time you know we always want to threaten the field vertically as well and there were some plays called and we got soft coverage and Kiron checked the ball down which he should have uh that prevented maybe you know a big play down the field but um we know we have to do that you know that that's that's got to be one of our strengths is throwing a ball pushing a ball down the field and we saw that in a second half and I think as coaches and as a head coach I got to make sure that that happens early in the game and uh we're consistent with it you were pretty animated after the the last play have you discussed that with the ACC and if so what did they tell you about targeting there yeah they felt like it was clean um you know when you looked at it on film their Defender was going for the ball uh and the Collision occurred you know there were some other plays we turned in but that one was was hard to justify I mean I was worried about Quan in the moment you know I didn't see it precisely enough to know it was just a heck of a hit a heck of a collision I'm glad he's okay I'm glad he bounced up um because often enough you see it go the other way there go to David hail next please BR I know you talked a lot um over the offseason during Camp about making sure that your your guys were in the right head space and we're not you know reading too many of the the Press clips that were saying how great things ended last year do you feel like they were in the right head space to open that game and and where do you think the me the sort of mental approach is uh this week yeah we've certainly talked about that the last couple days um as a reminder for the team I think you never know for sure but uh we we talked about it um you know can't be there you can't ever feel like you're better than you are you hear me say all the time humble and hungry they seemed in a good head space in that locker room um I think the way the game started kind of deflated things I think there was respect for Vanderbilt um I know as a coaching staff we did and we certainly preached that with our team but uh you know it's my job as a head coach to make sure that we come out you know guns blazing and and and playing really tough and really hard and I don't think we did that it wasn't long into the game where I felt like we lost that and it took too long to get it back any final questions on Zoom okay Travis back DAV coach seems like you guys schemed up a few plays in the Vanderbilt game for takai Heath kind of in a bit of a gadget role what have you liked from him in that role Ro and what do you think his role in the offense will be moving forward this season yeah I liken him to uh a young Jay Lane you know he's got ability to to catch the short ball and make something happen with it you can hand him the ball or pitch him the ball um he's got a he's got a really good skill set and he demonstrated that in Camp he was playing his best football had a minor injury that set him back for a couple days but uh you know like with a lot of these new players you give them a you know just a small opportunity and see what they do with it and and then it can grow from there and I think takai is a guy that you know showed us in in you know big moments in a game he can make a play so I look for him to uh to be part of what we do offensively moving forward good morning what are some things from Saturday that you feel like were good or hopeful or that you guys can capitalize on heading into Marshall yeah first of all I love their resiliency um it's not easy for a team to battle back you know it's it's 173 and and to come out and find a way not just to come back and tie the game but take the lead obviously we got to finish better but we were able to do that and I'm proud of that um I think Kiren you know it's kind of lost in in the loss but Kiren it was a career best completions career best passing yardage and in a half really um he did some good things um and he wouldn't be happy with his performance but um and there was some some bright spots you know across the roster from a Personnel standpoint um some things that occurred that get us excited about some guys that we'll we'll be able to count on and I think just growth and development you know throughout the the experience I mean we understand the expectations and um you know we're certainly disappointed you know what we can do is invest and get better and learn from it and have a heck of a week and go be a better team this Saturday we have to be um you know so I think uh you know I haven't lost confidence on our team I'm I'm excited about our football team uh certainly not what we expected and not what I expect and not what they expect they're as disappointed as anybody and U so I do expect a great week of practice and improve performance on Saturday last one do you have an update on will Johnson Will's going to be out for a little while yeah tough guy starter on four special teams Ultimate Team guy um pretty tough injury uh tough guy I knew when I saw him kind of in agony out there it wasn't something minor because otherwise he would have bounced up and limped off if he had to so he's going to be out of commission for a little bit we hope to get him back at some point down the stretch uh somebody we're supposed to talk to here shortly is Benji you mentioned how you he's making catches through traffic or was in Fall Camp I know he dropped the first one but he had a couple big ones for you what would you like about his first game this season yeah first of all I loved you know he could have hung his head he dropped that first one which would have been a touchdown man he bounced back and uh made some big plays for us and showed his toughness um you know yards after the catch and but also he did a much better job in the Run game uh against a pretty good you know couple of defensive ends that had some size and were bending down in there and you know Benji was making good contact and and good leverage and so I think it's a great game for him to build on um I was I was happy for him and excited to see him continue to grow and develop thanks coach okay thanks everybody