Brent Pry makes bold claim about top program in state of Virginia

It’s been a few years since either Virginia or Virginia Tech have been truly relevant on the football field, but that won’t stop either program from making claims about being the best in the state of Virginia.

Just ask Hokies head man Brent Pry, who put it quite bluntly at the ACC Football Kickoff on Wednesday.

“We’re the flagship school in the state,” Pry said. “There’s no question about that.”

Take one look at recent history in the rivalry series and you’d be hard-pressed not to agree with Pry’s claim about the state of Virginia, though of course Pry hasn’t really been there for much of it.

Virginia Tech has won 17 of the last 18 meetings in the series, with Virginia’s lone win since 2003 coming in the 2019 season. The Hokies own the all-time series record 60-38-5.

Last year’s game — a game between first-year head coaches — was a relatively tight affair, won 29-24 by Virginia Tech.

But the trajectories for both programs over the last few years have been similar. It’s been since 2019 that either team finished a season with a record above .500. Virginia Tech has gone 14-21 in the last three years, while Virginia has gone 14-18 in that same timeframe.

Who will claim dominance on the field in 2023 as Tony Elliott and Virginia and Pry and Virginia Tech look to get fully back on track and take the top spot in the state of Virginia? That remains to be seen. But Virginia Tech has made an important change that may help.

Brent Pry explains giving up play calling

After a challenging first season calling plays defensively, Pry will give up duties to Chris Marve, his defensive coordinator. He didn’t feel he could manage calling the defense and calling the game as well as he could have.

The new change might free him up to better manage the entire operation.

“I think being the defensive coordinator and the head coach,” Pry said at the 2023 ACC Football Kickoff. “As the DC for a bunch of years, you have a system, you have a thought process, and it just kind of rolls out and you know how to hit curveballs, you’ve hit them before.

“And when you’re doing that, that’s well and fine. But when you’re also the head coach and you’re hitting those curveballs [as well], I think I was probably not the best head coach I could be and not the best DC I could be.”