Chris Marve recalls first experience with Virginia Tech home crowd

Chris Marve has seen a lot of top environments in college football during his time as a player and a coach. However, very few, if any, are like what he gets to take in each week at Virginia Tech.

Marve, the defensive coordinator for the Hokies, spoke about the energy in Lane Stadium during an appearance on ‘Andy Staples On3’ on Tuesday. He began by recalling his first chance to see what it was like there during spring ball and what that showed him about the fanbase in Blacksburg.

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“Yeah, I can take you back even before the first game in ’21 – I guess it was ’22. We had the spring game,” said Marve. “You talk about the level of excitement, engagement, just buy-in, and ownership that the community has for the program? I felt it at the spring ball game.”

That then naturally continued later that year into his first season at Virginia Tech in 2022.

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“So, you fast-forward a couple of months in 2022? You go to the first home game and you feel the energy and the connection between the community and the program just on an entrance,” said Marve.

Lane Stadium is among the top venues in the entire collegiate sport. With it being in use since the 1960s, it holds over 66,000 fans for a given game. That’s before even getting to the tradition at Worsham Field with the most notable obviously being the team’s entrance to ‘Enter Sandman’.

Again, Marve has seen a lot during his time in the SEC. He played and coached at Vanderbilt before coaching at Mississippi State. He was then elsewhere in the ACC with two seasons at Florida State before now entering year three at VT.

However, nothing he has seen is quite like what he and the Hokies experience for each kickoff from Blacksburg.

“I mean it’s very unique – very unique,” said Marve. “Unlike anywhere else I’ve ever been, quite frankly.”

Marve details the challenge of preparing for Vanderbilt

An ACC-SEC nonconference contest will take place on Saturday in Nashville with Virginia Tech traveling to face Vanderbilt.

Playing a power conference opponent in the opener presents all kinds of challenges, especially for defensive coordinators. Chris Marve is no different in having nothing from this season to game plan around yet.

“First games are always challenging,” Marve said during Tuesday’s episode of ‘Andy Staples On3’. “I think there is some overlap between the first game and a bowl game, particularly one that’s later in the bowl season, because there is a level of newness and novelty that you just have to plan for.”

The expectation is for Diego Pavia, the transfer from New Mexico State, to take starting snaps for the Commodores. Marve has a ton of respect for Pavia just from watching the tape alone.

“When you look at the young man and the quarterbacks they have on their roster, I have a tremendous amount of respect for them,” Marve said. “You look at production, you look at ability. You talk about young men that know how to play football with grit, leadership. It jumps off the tape. So, we know we have a challenge in front of us and we’re excited.”

Marve did play his college football at Vanderbilt, maybe keeping up with the program during the 2023 season. If not, everything thrown at Virginia Tech on Saturday could be completely new, especially since Tim Beck is in his first year as the offensive coordinator.