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As Brent Pry enters Year Four of his coaching tenure in Blacksburg, there is no better time to make one thing abundantly clear.

Virginia Tech has the resources to compete at the level that fans expect them to.

Relative to the blue bloods of the sport — the Georgias, the Alabamas, and the Ohio States — Virginia Tech is falling further and further behind. Media rights deals for the SEC and Big Ten have vaulted their programs into new financial heights, creating windfalls of cash to support increased coaching salaries, infrastructural improvements, recruiting budgets, and NIL resources.

While that gap grows, it’s important to note that Virginia Tech isn’t far behind their peers of the sport. In fact, depending on how you measure it, the Hokies are in prime position to compete for a spot in the top 25 every year.

Alas, we know that has not been the case. Since 2021, the Hokies haven’t won more than seven games in a season, let alone sniff the Top 25 polls, an achievement the Hokies grew bored from 1995 through 2011.

A common refrain from fans is that while Virginia Tech has not successfully replaced the Beamer regime, the program simply lacks the resources necessary to compete.

To that, I call b******t.

Comparing Virginia Tech to the Rest of the Country

Despite falling behind their SEC and Big Ten peers, Virginia Tech is in a relatively privileged position when it comes to football resources.

See the below data regarding overall football expenditures from 2021-2024, courtesy of the Knight-Newhouse College Athletics Database.

2021

• Virginia Tech Football Spending: $26.7 million

• ACC Median Football Spending: 25.29 million

• FBS Median Football Spending: $16 million

2022

• Virginia Tech: $41.77 million

• ACC Median: $34.72 million

• FBS Median: $21.29 million

2023

• Virginia Tech: $32.45 million

• ACC Median: $34.52 million

• FBS Median: $23.14 million

2024

• Virginia Tech: $40.98 million

• ACC Median: $39.42 million

• FBS Median: $31.36 million

(Note: As some are private schools, not all ACC or FBS programs report their finances publicly.)

While outpacing the median FBS program in terms of football expenditures, Virginia Tech has also beat the median ACC program in spending three of the last four years.

Despite spending more than most of their peers, Virginia Tech has not kept pace where it really matters — in the win column.

Comparing Virginia Tech to the Top 25

The more salient point of this column is not to point out that the Hokies can keep up with the average ACC and FBS program, but that based on spending, Virginia Tech has the funding to compete in the Top 25.

Here’s more data from the Knight-Newhouse database, this time comparing Virginia Tech’s football spending since 2021 with each program that finished in the 15-25 range in the final College Football Playoff ranking.

Still dealing with the aftereffects of the COVID-19 lockdowns, Virginia Tech mustered a 6-7 season despite spending comparable resources with five teams that finished in the 15-25 range. That doesn’t include Wake Forest, who likely has less to work with than Tech does.

In case you’re missing the developing trend — Virginia Tech’s financial spending is very competitive with many teams finishing inside the 15-25 range. The Hokies may be less competitive when it comes to coaching salaries, but the money is there. Sadly, the results were not, as Tech finished 3-8 in Brent Pry’s first year.

The Hokies were less competitive this year in terms of spending, but still spent more money than five teams inside the bottom part of the rankings. Still, the Hokies lagged where it matters — the win-loss column.

More of the same for Virginia Tech, although the Hokies’ deficit in spending on coaching salaries is more pronounced.

It’s Time for Results

No reasonable fan expects Virginia Tech to compete at an elite level in the current landscape of college football. Those programs have such a large advantage in resources, whether it be overall program spending or investment in coaching and staff. That gap exists in the NIL space as well — something much more difficult to analyze.

However, saying that Virginia Tech lacks the resources to compete is a cop-out and a way to deflect blame from the individuals in charge. The Hokies do not have the funding to realistically compete for national championships, but they do have the funding to compete in the top 25.

Despite having the means, the Hokies haven’t come close to meeting that standard. Brent Pry has been the beneficiary of increased resources in recent years — the Hokies are spending more money than many of their peers in the ACC and across FBS, but aren’t winning the games that should come with those expenditures.

It’s time for Pry and his staff to win. Fans should hold their program to a higher standard, given what Virginia Tech is spending on football.

To that end, there should be no doubt that these expectations are reasonable and fair. The data makes that very, very clear.

The House Settlement

While writing this column, the well-covered yet still mysterious House settlement was approved, ushering in a new era of college athletics. Based on reports from those that have covered this from start-to-finish, the settlement has three key points:

• Back-pay for former athletes

• Capped revenue sharing with current athletes

• New enforcement organization regulating revenue sharing and NIL deals

The specifics of these settlements seem to be in flux, though the new enforcement agency, the College Sports Commission, has already hired a CEO to enforce new regulations on money paid to athletes.

How the House deal impacts each program individually and the sport in general is up for debate, but one would think that more strict enforcement of paying players would help level the playing field for programs like Virginia Tech. There will undoubtedly be those that attempt to circumvent the system, but it should help middle-tier programs like Tech hold their own.

Virginia Tech’s Financial Future

Regardless of the specifics, Virginia Tech will face the same challenges and obstacles as everyone else when it comes to operating within the new system. Based on the data presented, the Hokies possess the resources necessary to compete. It all comes down to putting the right people in place, which as we’ve seen over the last several years, is easier said than done.

It also depends on the administration’s ability to capitalize in existing and new revenue opportunities, whether it be fundraising efforts, third-party NIL opportunities, sponsorships, or the ACC’s media rights agreement with ESPN. Tim Sands and Whit Babcock, or whoever will be running the show down the road, will need to secure Virginia Tech’s financial future.

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Seasoned and experienced fans of Virginia Tech have often reminisced about their memories of the 1999 football season, when Michael Vick’s transformative play led the Hokies to their only national championship appearance.

Younger fans, such as myself, haven’t been fortunate enough to experience a something like that.

Until now.

Metallica’s show inside Lane Stadium on Wednesday gave younger fans the closest thing they’ve ever had to an everlasting moment.

By now, you’ve seen the myriad of photos and videos of the performance, which captivated more than 70,000 people for two hours. The clips are amazing to watch, and I highly recommend watching every video you can find, but they simply cannot portray how incredible the experience was.

Seeing the giant stage, lighting, and sound setup, made it feel like Virginia Tech was the place to be. Worsham Field’s beautiful blades of grass gave way to a massive concert arena for the first time in the stadium’s history.

How fitting it is that the act headlining Lane Stadium’s first concert is the band that helped propel the program into national relevancy so many years ago.

Metallica teased the crowd at the outset, playing a small portion of Enter Sandman before diving into the beginning of the set. As the artists finished Master of Puppets, they playfully trolled the crowd into thinking the show was over.

It wasn’t.

James Hetfield’s “Let’s go!” chants sounded loud enough that you could hear them across the New River Valley. The crowd’s response seemed even louder. And as good as Enter Sandman is in the Fall, it was even better on Wednesday.

I know this description seems rather extravagant and excessive, but for younger fans that have yearned for a milestone moment they can latch their fandom on to, this was more than a concert. It was a collective catharsis.

Seeing an internationally-renowned band selling out Lane Stadium made it feel like Virginia Tech was the national brand that it was just a couple decades ago. For just a few hours, Blacksburg wasn’t the home of a middling athletic program, but instead the epicenter of the authentic college sports experience.

I am fortunate enough to have shared this incredible moment with a few friends, but most importantly my dad, who has seen all the ups and downs of the Hokie adventure.

I don’t know if this will ever happen again. It took years for Virginia Tech and Metallica to make this happen. The group plays all over the globe, and is in high demand more than 40 years since it’s inception. If it does, I will do everything in my power to be there.

If it doesn’t happen again, I’ll be able to take solace in the fact that for my generation’s memorable moment, I was there.

While I’ll always hope for another moment that actually involves the team, I’ll never forget the feeling of seeing our very own Metallica play on our field. That’s a moment that we’ll all reminisce about, long after the next generation of Hokies join us on this wild ride.

(Editor’s Note: Metallica’s concert is the second inside Lane Stadium. The stadium hosted a show in 2007 featuring Dave Matthews Band.)

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It’s hard to believe that the last column I wrote was Feb. 8 of this year, but I have my reasons.

I got married in March and wrapped up the honeymoon in early April. While I was preoccupied with those matters, I also had to admit something to myself when it comes to Virginia Tech football — I don’t know much of anything right now, even after watching the Hokies’ annual Spring Game on Saturday.

Consider these points…

• Virginia Tech locked down their spring practices, showing very little to the local media. The Hokies’ playbook during Saturday’s Spring Game was even more vanilla than usual.

• Brent Pry has two new coordinators, both of whom are expected to make serious scheme changes. Including the new coordinators, Pry hired a host of new assistants and reassigned duties for other coaches.

• Kyron Drones missed a significant portion of spring and is undergoing surgery. Pop Watson picked up a “soft-tissue” injury before Saturday’s Spring Game, meaning none of the three quarterbacks fans saw last weekend have a high likelihood of playing this season.

Add all that together, plus a cadre of transfers on both sides of the ball, and it’s hard to piece together exactly what fans can expect on Aug. 31 in Atlanta.

All these questions leave me rather unsettled, a feeling I’d prefer not to have entering Brent Pry’s fourth season.

You don’t need me to tell you that the upcoming season is critical for Pry and his superiors. The Virginia Tech administration is taking slings of arrows from all sides, including from some dude in Texas. Pry needs wins, and he needs them now.

The uncertainty surrounding this coaching staff, this roster, and the current administration, will only ratchet up the pressure on everyone associated with the Merryman Athletic Center.

I wish I could paint a rosier picture of it all as we enter the warmer months, but I can’t. I have too many questions of my own:

• Will either Kyron Drones or Pop Watson have a strong enough command of the offense to win games?

• Did Virginia Tech appropriately replace their stars from last year, particularly at wide receiver and on defense?

• Will Philip Montgomery and Sam Siefkes be able to get the most out of the roster?

It’s almost go time in Blacksburg. In a few short months, Pry has to face the prodigal son of Blacksburg in a primetime matchup that will have an outsized impact on the perception of Pry’s program.

How will that go? Given the concerns above, it’s impossible to say.

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Imagine opening Indeed and seeing you can apply for a new job that requires less responsibility, pays more money, and is part of a larger, more stable company.

How quickly would you put in for that job?

That’s about where Tyler Bowen found himself this week, when Ohio State came calling. And while Bowen’s new job as the Buckeyes’ offensive line coach leaves Virginia Tech in a precarious position for the 2025 season, it says more about the Hokies’ standing within the college football landscape.

Show Me The Money

Perhaps the biggest incentive for Bowen to leave was the likely raise that awaits him. This, from Andy Bitter on X, “FWIW: Justin Frye, Ohio State’s O-line coach last year, made $1 million, which is more than Bowen’s $875K salary as the #Hokies’ OC.”

Everyone knows the Buckeyes are better resourced than the Hokies, but Ryan Day’s ability to pay his position coaches more than Brent Pry can pay his coordinator is a scary thought.

It’s even scarier when you consider the heightened financial investment in the assistant salary pool over the last several years in Blacksburg. Virginia Tech has pushed more chips towards the middle of the table, and it still isn’t close to enough.

Last season, Brent Pry paid his 10 on-field assistants $5.3 million, while Ohio State paid their assistants more than $11 million.

Abandoning a Sinking Ship

I’m sure that Brent Pry and Tyler Bowen have a fantastic relationship. Pry pulled Bowen out of the quagmire that was the 2021 Jacksonville Jaguars, giving him a soft landing. He’s supported Bowen from the start, giving him more responsibility over the years despite inconsistent results.

Bowen still left him high and dry. Why, you ask? Besides the money, Bowen likely sees the writing on the wall.

Pry is entering a pivotal Year 4 with a young roster supplemented by a cache of transfers. He’s coming off a disappointing Year 3, when the stars seemingly aligned only for Virginia Tech to barely make a bowl game.

Specifically on offense, Pry has one quarterback returning from injury and another that’s wildly inexperienced, along with total turnover at running back, wide receiver, and offensive line. The odds are that unit is going struggle.

Why coach a host of new starters for a coach on the hot seat when you can join one of the most stable programs in the country?

Just Another Program

In case there were any lingering debate about Virginia Tech’s position within the college football landscape, Tyler Bowen’s departure should end the conversation.

Virginia Tech is just another program.

The Hokies’ have devolved into a stepping stone for coaches and players alike, one year at a time. The process began more than a decade ago, and it has wreaked havoc on a once nationally-relevant brand. Unfortunately, the days of Tech being recognizable at that level are long gone.

Should the Hokies fall short in 2025, people shouldn’t look at Bowen’s departure as the primary factor. Instead, Bowen leaving Blacksburg should be a dose of ice cold reality that Virginia Tech is a have-not, and will be for the foreseeable future.

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Preparing for the Duke’s Mayo Bowl was not easy, but the work Brent Pry must do now will be much more difficult.

If we learned anything in Virginia Tech’s 24-10 loss to the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the Best Condiment Bowl on Friday night, it’s that the holes Pry and his staff must fill on an already mediocre roster will require his undivided attention this offseason.

If you watched the game, or are familiar with the myriad of players that opted out of Friday’s exhibition, you know where the holes are. The Hokies were missing three starters on the offensive line, and it showed, as Tech rushed for just 74 yards and allowed five sacks.

Two of the Hokies’ starting wideouts did not suit up against the Gophers, and Virginia Tech’s quarterbacks combined to complete just 10 of their 18 pass attempts for 149 yards and an interception.

Virginia Tech played the Duke’s Mayo Bowl sans all four members of the first-team secondary, and Minnesota took advantage by throwing for 236 yards, two touchdowns, and earning 11 first downs through the air.

The Hokies may have only lost by two scores, but they were mostly uncompetitive after the second quarter. The game felt like much more of a blowout than the final score indicates.

Unfortunately, this roster is not all that dissimilar to what Virginia Tech will enter next season with. Sure, Tech has added several transfers at key position groups, but there’s no denying that the Hokies enter next season without key contributors up and down the depth chart.

Despite all of this, and losing by 14 points to a middle-of-the-road Big Ten team, the Hokies were mostly optimistic in post-game interviews.

“I give props to everybody, because we got put in a real tough situation,” said Dante Lovett. “A lot of guys opted out, a lot of guys going to the league, well deserved…a lot of the boys put that work in and kept grinding.

“I’m excited about the boys who got to be able to play. Some of those kids have not gotten snaps all year and this was their first time playing. Some kids, sometimes, things go bad. Sometimes, things go good and they learn it early. It’s a good learning opportunity.”

Nobody exuded more confidence in postgame interviews than Brent Pry himself.

“We’re a much better team, even today, than we were last year at this time,” Pry said. “We’re just closer in so many areas, whether it’s in our locker room, whether it’s on the field, whether it’s depth, we’re just in a better place.”

For what it’s worth, Pry wasn’t the only Hokie that spoke about Virginia Tech’s progress from last season to this season.

Asked about his thoughts on the year Wilfried Pene replied, “A lot of growth. We have a lot of growth to do. At the same time, I’m pretty proud of the team. The culture got better compared to the other years.”

Many fans will see those sentiments and re-read the quotes to ensure they read them properly. Following a 7-6 season, Virginia Tech finished 6-7 and the leader of the program believes his organization is “in a better place.” Talk about a stretch.

Regardless of what level of progress you believe occurred this year, no one can doubt the work that lay ahead for Brent Pry. Aside from filling holes on his roster, he must make hires at defensive coordinator and strength and conditioning coach, two pivotal positions for a head coach entering Year 4 with a 16-21 overall record and a 10-13 record against the ACC.

You thought preparing for a game without normal contributors was hard? Try preparing for the most important season of your tenure as head coach.

Virginia Tech’s road to redemption begins in short order, as the Hokies will soon begin their winter workout program. After that, it’s spring practices. If Brent Pry is to get the Hokies where he wants them to be, which is competing for conference championships, he’ll need to succeed in both of those windows.

There’s little time to pick themselves up off the mat. Virginia Tech has some serious work to do, and the only easy day will have been yesterday.

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While fans rightfully complain about his lack of progress in the win-loss column, there is one area where the data clearly supports Brent Pry’s vision — the recruiting trail.

Virginia Tech signed 19 recruits in their Class of 2025 on Wednesday, accounting for all of Tech’s verbal commitments. They may add one or two more before the final National Signing Day on Feb. 5, but this year’s cycle is mostly finished.

These new Hokies represent a critical pillar of the foundation Pry is attempting to build in Blacksburg. Aside from all the on-field problems, Pry’s progress in recruiting is legitimate.

In an effort to quantify this success, I looked back to 2016, Justin Fuente’s first class as Virginia Tech’s head coach. I compared each recruiting class since in five key areas:

• Average 247Sports Composite rating

• How that number ranked nationally

• How it ranked in the ACC

• Number of four or five-star prospects in that class

• And the number of Virginia Top-10 prospects in that class.

Here’s what I found.

Fuente and his staff recruited quite well from 2017-2019, but much of those classes didn’t pan out. Virginia Tech’s recruiting bottomed out in 2020 and 2021, finishing amongst the worst Power 5 teams in the country.

Pry took over on Nov. 30, 2021, giving him some influence over the Class of 2022. That recruiting class marked significant improvement over the previous two classes, setting the table for continued gains over the next three cycles. Virginia Tech’s last three recruiting cycles are all marked improvements from the 2020 and 2021 classes.

Some of Pry’s early recruits are showing signs of success. The Class of 2023 yielded several contributors this season, including quarterback Pop Watson, running back Jeremiah Coney, wide receiver Ayden Greene, defensive end Aycen Stevens, linebacker Caleb Woodson, cornerback Dante Lovett, and safety Mose Phillips.

Aside from Phillips, it’s likely that each of those players return to Virginia Tech for next season, possibly assuming starting roles.

Improvements on the recruiting trail are important, but only if they translate to improved results on the field. Pry’s Hokies showed promise after a 6-6 season in 2023, only to duplicate the same record in the face of heightened expectations.

As the Hokies lose several starting seniors on both sides of the ball, it opens up opportunities for Pry’s hand-picked players to take reins and lift his program out of the quagmire in which it resides.

Based on the numbers, Virginia Tech should have enough talent over the next couple of seasons to begin contending. Then again, that’s what we expected the Hokies to do this season.

Pry’s winning on the recruiting trail. He’s invested heavily in relationships across the Commonwealth and across the region to put Virginia Tech back on the map. When it comes to recruiting, he’s done just that.

Now, he needs to win on the scoreboard.

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