BLACKSBURG — For at least a couple of hours Saturday evening, Brent Pry was not feeling any of the pressure that almost has the grasp of college football coaches.
The spring game had concluded. Injury issues had been kept to a minimum. The first round of the transfer portal came and went without major losses. He knows he won’t be spending the summer mulling the decision of who should be Virginia Tech’s starting quarterback.
“Hokies win,” Pry declared as he entered his post-scrimmage press conference.
In an event that is light on veteran presence and heavy with walk-ons and reserves on the southern half of the depth chart, the Hokies’ spring game wasn’t perfect. But Pry and his coaching staff had the solace of knowing that sending inexperienced players into the huddle wasn’t an act of desperation, but rather preference.
“Oh yeah, I couldn’t be more excited,” Pry said after watching his Orange and Maroon squads combine for five touchdown drives in a two-hour scrimmage played in front of about a half-full Lane Stadium. “And it’s … every time I get excited, then caution kind of creeps in.”
Having caution is a constant side effect for all coaches. Pry is entering his third season in charge at Virginia Tech, so while being wary of pitfalls, he is also much more familiar with his surroundings.
That familiarity starts with the offense, where almost all of the top receivers and running backs opted to return. That includes former Old Dominion wideout Ali Jennings, who showed great promise in his debut as a Hokie last fall, only to be lost early in Virginia Tech’s second game due to a season-ending leg injury.
Jennings re-introduced himself to the fans right away, catching the first two passes for his Orange team and finishing with three catches for 45 yards.
“It was great, good to see him back in the stadium with confidence and playing ball,” offensive coordinator Tyler Bowen said. “He’s obviously a big part of what we’re doing and a big part of leadership in that room.”
Also making a brief appearance was quarterback Kyron Drones, who just offered a brief glimpse of what’s to come in the fall. He was playing with three returning starters from the 2023 season.
Drones, a redshirt junior who became the starter three weeks into the 2023 season, assured the Lane Stadium audience that for the first time in the Pry era, there would be no quarterback controversy heading into fall camp.
Drones completed 6 of 10 passes for 122 yards and led the Hokies’ Maroon unit to three touchdowns in his four series.
“He was (efficient) and we did some things to try to push the ball down the field early,” said Bowen, who also serves as Virginia Tech’s quarterback coach. “So, we can certainly get into a more high-percentage pass game for him, which we got into when we moved the pocket, some quick game, things like that to get the ball out of his hands. But I was pleased the way he went in and operated, led us on a few touchdown drives in the first quarter, and then we were able to get him out.”
Drones said the offense on display Saturday was the result of a lot of work he and the other skill players have put in since the Hokies wrapped up the 2023 season with a 41-20 victory over Tulane in the Military Bowl.
“(I was most pleased with) the consistency we had,” Drones said. “The big jump we had from last spring to this spring is a tremendous improvement. The consistency we had, we never had a day where you leave practice and be like, ‘What the hell was that?’ The consistency has been good, just going against the defense and having that competition. I’m really proud of our offense and where we are right now.”
To no one’s surprise, the top two running backs on the roster, senior Bhayshul Tuten and redshirt junior Malachi Thomas, made brief appearances Saturday. Tuten was in for three snaps for the Orange team, while Thomas saw a little more action — he carried the ball three times for 14 yards, caught a 66-yard pass from Drones and actually threw the first pass of the game, which was incomplete.
That left time for a number of running backs further down on the depth chart to get some time.
Walk-on P.J. Prioleau, son of safeties coach Pierson Prioleau, scored the first touchdown of the game on a 6-yard run for Drones’ Maroon team. He also scored the Maroon’s third touchdown on a 22-yard run.
In between, Drones connected with another walk-on, redshirt freshman tight end Ja’Ricous Hairston, on a 3-yard TD pass.
Prioleau finished with 62 rushing yards and 29 receiving yards, earning accolades from the coaching staff.
“He reminds me of his dad a little bit from back in the day,” Pry said. “He’s crafty, he’s quick, he’s kind of twitched up. We’ve asked him to do everything. He’s played it all on the scout team for us. He bounces around. If we need a wideout, he goes to wideout. If we need a running back, he goes to running back. I think we even tried him in the secondary at one point.
“… He’s gotten better and better each year. He’s positioned himself where he’s got an opportunity to help us.”
The Orange team’s touchdowns came on carries by redshirt freshman quarterback William “Pop” Watson II in the second quarter and redshirt freshman running back Tralon Mitchell.
As for concerns, Pry mentioned that his staff will need to figure out why the two defensive units finished with a combined 13 sacks. While some were the result of the no-tackle rule on quarterbacks, Pry said it still caught his attention.
“That’s a little tricky,” Pry said. “It’s always tough on the O-line when we split the team. I had written down on my notes: So many sacks. Why? It felt to me the quarterbacks were holding the ball a little too long — the young guys. They have to get rid of it. That probably contributed to some of it. We’ve also got some guys who can rush the quarterback. So it was probably a combination there.”
In the case of Watson and the other quarterback currently battling for the backup job behind Drones, redshirt freshman Dylan Wittke, Pry said that is one postion where Virginia Tech may look in the transfer portal and see if there’s someone who can help.
“We’re having those discussions now,” Pry said. “We’ve obviously got some guys in mind that we’ll speak with. We’ll see where it goes. It’s got to be the right group. When you look at Dylan and Pop, and you say ‘could one of them be ready by September?’ Maybe. But do you want to take that risk? That’s something (we’ll consider) when we’re watching this film. That’s why today was so important for those guys.”
