Setting expectations for Brent Pry in Year One at Virginia Tech

Year one of the Brent Pry era at Virginia Tech is starting to get underway through spring ball. With the season still a few months away, CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd set his expectations for the Hokies after moving on from Justin Fuente after last season.

Pry, who was the defensive coordinator at Penn State from 2016-21, is taking on an almost entirely new roster. However, Dodd argued that’s not necessarily a bad thing considering his defensive background — and there’s plenty of experience there.

“Even Hokie fans might need to keep their game programs handy, because this roster has seen as much turnover in the last two years as any in the conference,” Dodd wrote. “The good news for Pry, who arrives at his first head coaching job after a successful run as Penn State’s defensive coordinator, is that the most experience appears to be on the defensive side of the ball. If that group is able to buy in to Pry and new defensive coordinator Chris Marve, the Hokies should see improvements in the pass rush and overall defensive numbers in 2022.”

However, the offense has plenty of question marks, which could make things interesting for incoming offensive coordinator Tyler Bowen.

“Offensively is a whole other issue, with both Braxton Burmeister and Knox Kadum transferring out of the program,” Dodd wrote. “Meanwhile, the quarterback room welcomes a pair of transfers in Grant Wells (Marshall) and Jason Brown (South Carolina) to battle with Connor Blumrick, the lone quarterback with any starting experience.

“There’s also the issue of finding new pass catchers after losing Tayvion Robinson, Tre Tuner and James Mitchell, as well as top running back Raheem Blackshear. Offensively, this team is starting from scratch, leaning on the transfer portal and trying to use this spring to gel all the pieces under new schemes with new coaches.”

Can Virginia Tech compete for an ACC title?

The ultimate question Dodd had was whether or not Virginia Tech could be competitive in the ACC. The Hokies went 43-31 under Fuente’s watch and won the league in his first season at the helm. However, they finished in sixth place in the Coastal division during the pandemic-affected 2020 season and in third place last season.

“Virginia Tech is a proud program that fired Justin Fuente and hired Pry because it wants compete for ACC championships again,” Dodd wrote. “But considering the turnover, is it reasonable to expect that can happen quickly in Blacksburg?

“This spring will at least give us some indication of where Pry and his staff believe the team is ready to go and where more improvement is needed heading into summer workouts and fall camp.”