Virginia Tech names Brent Pry its new football coach
Virginia Tech hired Brent Pry as its new football coach, the school announced Tuesday, tabbing the Penn State defensive coordinator to fill a vacancy that came open two weeks ago.
Pry’s ties to Virginia Tech include serving as a graduate defensive assistant from 1995 to 1997 under coach Frank Beamer and defensive coordinator Bud Foster. He will be formally introduced at a news conference Thursday.
“Coach Pry owns a winning track record on the football field, as well as a history of developing young men into leaders off the field and in the classroom,” Athletic Director Whit Babcock said in a statement. “He’s earned his way up the coaching ranks, and we believe he is the right person to lead Virginia Tech football and to achieve the goals that we all aspire to attaining.”
Pry arrives following the departure of Justin Fuente in mid-November, when Fuente and the school agreed on a buyout and parted ways shortly before the end of his sixth season.
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J.C. Price, a first-year co-defensive line coach at his alma mater, was promoted to interim coach for the final two games of the regular season. He directed the Hokies to a 29-24 victory over Virginia in the regular season finale Saturday in Charlottesville to secure bowl eligibility at 6-6. Pry indicated Price will remain on the staff as associate head coach/defensive line coach. The two worked together in 1995, when Price was a standout senior for the Hokies.
Pry takes over a program that before this year finished with losing records in two of the past three seasons, drawing considerable ire from a fan base that became accustomed to Virginia Tech competing for conference championships as a national power.
“Even after I departed Blacksburg, I always continued to appreciate Virginia Tech, its great players, its championship teams and its wonderful traditions from afar,” Pry said in a statement. “... We can’t wait to meet the team, the support staff and Hokie Nation.”
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Pry took over as the Nittany Lions’ defensive coordinator in 2016 under Coach James Franklin. This season, Penn State finished seventh in scoring defense (16.8 points per game) and fourth in red-zone defense, allowing opponents to score only 15 touchdowns in 42 trips.
Overseeing a stout red-zone defense made Pry particularly attractive for Virginia Tech, given that the Hokies ended the regular season 10th out of 14 teams in the ACC in that category. Those struggles contributed to Virginia Tech losing three games by narrow margins in the closing stages.
Virginia Tech consistently had one of the more rugged defenses in the country under Foster, who retired at the end of the 2019 season. Justin Hamilton is in his second season as the Hokies’ defensive coordinator, but it’s unclear whether Pry will retain him.
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“I’m so excited that he’s earned this opportunity to lead our football program,” Foster said in a statement. “The best coaches are the ones who are always striving to get better, who are open to new ideas and who can put their players in the best position to be successful. Brent embodies all of those qualities and so many others that it takes to be a leader.”
The Nittany Lions (7-5) were 36th in total defense (344.3 yards per game), 34th in pass defense (208.3) and 43rd in run defense (136.0) this season. They played well in marquee matchups, such as a 16-10 win against Wisconsin to open the campaign, a 28-20 win over then-No. 22 Auburn and a 23-20 loss to then-No. 3 Iowa.
Another component of Pry’s hire is Penn State’s success in recruiting Virginia. Virginia Tech mined some of its top talent at home under Beamer, who pushed to keep the best players in the commonwealth.
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The Hokies have been unable to attract the most coveted recruits in Virginia in recent seasons, with players such as defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos, a native of Spotsylvania who plays for the Carolina Panthers, and five-star linebacker Brandon Smith (Louisa) choosing the Nittany Lions.
Pry has an additional connection to Virginia Tech from his high school playing days in Lexington, Va., where one of his coaches was Bryan Stinespring, currently an assistant head coach at Delaware. Stinespring spent 26 seasons at Virginia Tech, including 12 as offensive coordinator.
Terms of Pry’s contract were not disclosed, but according to reports he was making $1.5 million at Penn State. Fuente earned $4.25 million in 2020, making him the highest-paid coach in the state.
“Virginia Tech is getting a great coach and a wonderful fit for our football program,” Beamer said in a statement. “Not only is Brent exceptionally intelligent, he also possesses a great deal of football knowledge. Growing up as the son of a coach, he’s been around the game all of his life. I’m confident that he’ll do a tremendous job as head coach of the Hokies.”
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