'We Feel Like We Have Something to Prove': Virginia Tech's Brent Pry Speaks Ahead of South Carolina Matchup

For many, the 2024 season represented a lost opportunity, a missed campaign where the buzzwords "could've" and "should've" cropped up around potential wins that slipped away from Virginia Tech football. Under current head coach Brent Pry, the Hokies went 0-6 in games decided by 10 points or less last season.

"Yeah, we've certainly talked about it a lot, as well as everybody else," Pry said on Thursday's media availability session for the 2025 ACC Kickoff. "First of all, it was coaching decisions, making sure we're making the right decisions, not just at the end of the game but throughout the game. Then secondly, being the team that is more mentally and physically tough and prepared at the end of a game to close it out. So there's a couple different areas that we focused on to make sure we're better there, and certainly we've talked about it. We've leaned into it as a program, how close we were to being the team that we want to be. We were competitive week in and week out and just kept finding ways to come up short as a staff and as a team. We should arguably be improved in that area. We've put a lot of emphasis there."

Only two of those games, a November clash against Clemson and the bowl game against Minnesota, were games that Virginia Tech football stood a slim chance of capturing. Even in the former contest, coaching decisions were questioned, particularly around starting quarterback Kyron Drones, who was dealing with injuries at the time, and around the lack of tailback usage. That game, running back Bhayshul Tuten was the only back to log any carries, tallying four for a net yardage of zero. Drones totaled 115 passing yards befored exiting midway through the game. He wouldn't return for that contest or for the rest of the season.

Now going into his redshirt senior season, Drones has a fresh start to a campaign, one more chance to prove to the NFL that he is a worthy draft selection. Entering last season, the quarterback drew dark-horse Heisman attention, including praise from ESPN’s Pat McAfee. This year, the narrative has shifted, though for Pry, that shift is viewed as a positive one.

"Our roster is deeper," Pry said. "We've had an influx of talented transfers, high school signees, and young men that we've developed in the program over the last couple of years, guys that we've recruited and have been in the system for multiple years. I'm also excited and encouraged by the type of off-season we've had. When we reflected on the 2024 year, it was evident to me that we needed to be a more mentally and physically tough team."

That 2024 team was undeniably a talented one, a squad that came close to unseating then-No. 7 Miami. Though many may question the legitimacy of the Hail Mary call being overturned, the Hokies could have avoided that situation entirely, had they not opted to fake a fourth-down field goal that was unsuccessful. Small decisions like those, coupled with the failure to involve the tailbacks against Clemson and a sluggish start versus Vanderbilt, contributed to a style of play that felt predictable and one that played moreso to not lose. That mindset was most evident against Syracuse, when the Hokies chose not to rush a potential game-winning field goal by John Love and instead let the game go to overtime, where a Collin Schlee fumble sealed the loss.

The "could've" I mentioned at the start and used in my last graf is a representation of a squad that held high aspirations but through a myriad of tiny cuts, never truly lived up to what some thought it could be. It's a testament to how little it takes for a squad that some labeled an ACC title threat to fall by the wayside. Now carrying the sting of last season’s unfulfilled aspirations, felt by both returning players and the coaching staff, Virginia Tech football finds itself just over five weeks away from the start of the season, a neutral-site Week 1 clash with SEC foe South Carolina in Atlanta, Ga. on Aug. 31.

Led by redshirt sophomore LaNorris Sellers, who has garnered preseason Heisman hype, the Gamecocks were ranked No. 13 in ESPN's post-spring "Way-Too-Early" rankings, released back in May.

"Yeah, honestly, in general, we feel like we have something to prove, and that's been the mindset
since the end of [the 2024] season," Pry said. "The opportunity to play South Carolina, to play Vanderbilt at night in Lane Stadium, again, that's why these guys come to Virginia Tech. That's why I wanted to be back. The standards and expectations are to beat those guys, to win those games, like Tech did for a bunch of years. It's challenging. South Carolina is a hell of a football team. They've recruited well. They've got a ton of momentum. They've got a dynamic edge guy. They've got an ultra talented quarterback. We've got our hands full. But we're up for the challenge, and we're working every day to be the best team that we can be to go down there and play a good brand of football."

The hope of recapturing the spirit of Beamer Ball, and the glory days of stars like Michael Vick and Tyrod Taylor, remains strong in Hokie Nation. Pry believes 2025 can mark a step toward those lofty standards, though achieving them will take time. Motivation, however, is only part of the equation; how the team responds in Week 1 will tell the real story. 38 days remain until Virginia Tech football kicks off its season. Until then, a sense of mystery, mystique and uncertainty clouds the Hokies' hopes, though this weekend’s ACC Kickoff offered a clearer glimpse into what’s unfolding in Blacksburg.