The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday
College football is nowhere near as serious as the kind of work performed by United States Navy Seals, but the unit’s motto encapsulates where Virginia Tech finds itself among the sport’s landscape.
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.