It has been several days since the Virginia Tech Marshall game and just a few days before Pitt comes to town. And I still don’t know what to say that hasn’t already been said. Seriously, what can I include here that has not already been written about in articles and in tweets or talked about on the television or radio or podcasts?
The horses have been beaten beyond death. Fire the coaches? Check. Fire the Athletic Director? Check. Welcome to rock-bottom? Check. Can’t run? Can’t stop the run? Struggling with identity? Worst P5 program?
The list goes on and on.
So writing anything now that reflects on the debacle that was the Virginia Tech Marshall game at this point is just be another slug to the carcass of that dead horse.
Instead of that, I am taking a different angle. I am not coming to you with maroon and orange glasses, saying everything is going to be alright, to trust the process, that the injuries and the past coaches are why this team is struggling.
No. I acknowledge fully that there are challenges and shortcomings across the board that are frustrating to fans. But I am also one of those die-hard fans, like you, that has to sort through these emotions to try to get through the season.
Fortunately or unfortunately, I have gotten to a place that helps me do that. I don’t like it – no, not at all. But it helps me keep everything in perspective and continue to root for my beloved Hokies while not getting incredibly upset at their missteps.
This is what I do to mitigate the pain and suffering, and it is my advice to you to consider doing the same for the remainder of the 2023 season. Take it for what it is…one passionate fan’s suggestion for getting through another woeful season.
Stop Making Comparisons to the Past
So often we read social media posts about how Frank Beamer did this and Frank Beamer did that. Yes, he built his team by recruiting the state, particularly the 757, and by developing walk-ons (with Mike Gentry, one of the best strength coaches in the nation). It is well documented – and re-posted – that Beamer struggled at first then fired his coaches, which resulted in a turnaround of the program. People love to talk about that, as if it is a blueprint for success.
Yes that early coaching change happened, but doing that again now is no guarantee of future success, nor is doing everything the way Coach Beamer did it. We love Beamer, but just because he was successful does not mean that replicating his ways will also result in the same positive changes. Besides, there are barriers today that did not exist for the Hall of Fame coach.
The landscape of college football is vastly different in 2023 than it was for most of Beamer’s tenure. Brent Pry – and Justin Fuente before him – deal with issues that did not exist years ago. The transfer portal and NIL. The talent level drop and changing football dynamics in the 757. Recruiting services that extend the reach of prospects, and national programs who have an easier path to raid the top talent in the state.
Times are different. Yes, as Hokies, we hold dear the memories of the Beamer years. And Coach Pry is trying to reconnect to a lot of those values.
However, it is just a different time in a different landscape of college football right now. As a fanbase we have to acknowledge this and move forward, for better or for worse.
If we keep living in the past, we will look ridiculous, like that ornery curmudgeon who always tells you that in his day, he walked five miles to school…uphill both ways…in the snow…
Or worse, we will become Uncle Rico from Napoleon Dynamite. Appreciate the past, yes. Pull lessons from it, definitely. But don’t live in it.
Stop Comparing Virginia Tech to Other Schools and Programs
Among all of the vitriol on social media are a myriad of posts that look something like this:
“Look at Elko at Duke/Coach Prime at Colorado. He turned things around in a year, why can’t we?”
While that is a valid question, it is not a simple comparison. Each team/school/program has different variables that affect the success of the rebuild. Yes, Elko brought in experienced coordinators, which is a valid point of contention for the Hokie faithful, but he also inherited an All-ACC caliber quarterback whose line is full of upperclassmen.
Coach Prime is not even worth discussing. Does any sensible Hokie fan really believe that Virginia Tech could have lured Deion Sanders to Blacksburg two years ago – or even wanted to? Sanders is one-of-a-kind, so even the mere suggestion of bringing in another big name (former Hokies are being thrown around on social media) is not a guarantee of immediate success.
And look at other high-profile coaches who failed early in new positions. Les Miles flopped at Kansas after leading LSU to a National Championship. Chip Kelly went 3-9 and 4-8 in his first two seasons at UCLA after great success at Oregon that included a BCS title game appearance. Need we talk about Rich Rodriguez after he left West Virginia? And even the great Nick Saban struggled his first year at Alabama, going 7-6 and losing to Louisiana- Monroe!
My point is that coaching hires are not easy. Athletic directors sometimes hit home runs, and other times they whiff. And most of the time, it takes a few years to figure out if the hire was a good one, and that will likely be the case with Brent Pry. We won’t know how good – or bad – of a hire this is until a few more years have passed.
Has it started well? Not on the field. But there have been improvements off the field. In due time we will be able to evaluate the complete picture. Until then, fans should stop peeking over fences to look at greener grasses. That usually does not lead to any sort of satisfaction.
Understand the Problems on the Roster
It has been said repeatedly that Virginia Tech just does not have the talent on its roster to compete at a high level. It is hard to argue that, especially when the all-conference teams are devoid of Hokies each year.
A deeper dive into this issue helps the casual fan understand how this could be a reality at Virginia Tech.
From the 2019 class, which includes players who are redshirt seniors this year – and players who still have an extra year of Covid eligibility, there are only a handful of guys left on the roster. There was talent in that class, which ranked 27th nationally, but only three players are contributing significantly right now (Mario Kendricks, Norell Pollard, and Josh Fuga). Nick Gallo and Jesse Hanson are out because of injury, and the rest either failed to pan out or left the program/school or transferred.
Those transfers hurt a lot – namely linemen Doug Nester and Brian Hudson, with one flourishing at West Virginia and the other a mainstay at Louisville.
The shortfalls of the 2020 class (ranked 59th overall by 247Sports but 76th in its composite rank) compound the depth problems of today. That class only signed 15 guys out of high school, including two failed #TX2VT defensive ends that left Blacksburg early. Five players from that class are starters right now, but that includes a punter. Add in Wilfried Pene, and a total of six players from that class are contributors right now.
The 2021 class, which ranked 49th overall, also lost a lot of its signees. While this class still has quite a few guys playing today, there are still a lot of losses through various forms of attrition.
Do yourself a favor. Click the links above and look at all the misses from three straight years of recruiting classes. Just make sure you pour yourself a beer first so you have something to cry into.
The 2023 Virginia Tech Hokies are a young team. The failure to retain and develop players from 2019-2021 is a significant contributor to the need to play so many young guys now. I said it last week after the Rutgers game, and I will say it again: there will be growing pains as these young guys are forced into action.
The silver lining is that they are getting valuable game reps and that should pay dividends in the future.
When going through tough situations it’s bound to change something in you or spark something that makes you want to do things differently. So embrace the struggle or tough times your going through, you’ll be a better person or in a better situation coming out the other side. 🙏🏽
— Ahmed Hill (@MED_XIII) September 25, 2023
Understand that the Portal is Not a Magic Wand
A lot of criticism of Pry’s tenure has been aimed at the Hokies’ relatively unimpressive success at landing impactful players out of the transfer portal. While it is a fair assessment that Pry did not utilize the portal much in his first year, he did do a better job in his second year.
Because of the in-state recruiting mess that Pry inherited, he made the (correct) choice to put his efforts of his first winter in Blacksburg into rebuilding relationships with the high school coaches in Virginia. It is well-known how bad those relationship soured under the previous staff, so Pry and his new coaches traveled the Commonwealth to visit every single high school and try to rebuild relationships.
That strategy is already beginning to pay dividends, as Virginia Tech has landed some very promising in-state commitments for the current recruiting cycle. Long term, this is how to build a program.
This past year, Pry brought in a few impact transfers, namely Ali Jennings, who is now injured and out indefinitely, Jaylin Lane, who started well before pulling a hamstring, and Bhayshul Tuten, who has shown tackle-breaking ability but has not had much room to run. So Pry has some portal victories from last year, but unfortunately they are not yielding the expected dividends.
It is important to understand, though, that signing players out of the portal is easier said than done. Coaches have to recruit these kids over a short period of time, without the benefit of building relationships. And if they players are very good, they will be in great demand. Can Virginia Tech win battles for portal players against quality P5 programs? That is a hard sell right now.
And linemen? If you know anything about college football and the transfer portal, then you know that there are a limited number of linemen in the portal each year, so they are a hot commodity. Tech went after a few last year, but their top targets chose other destinations. Still, Virginia Tech brought in one lineman, Clayton Frady, so the coaches are trying to address the issues. Saying otherwise is not fair nor accurate.
The way to combat this problem is to win. Winning is the ultimate remedy. If Virginia Tech can start winning again – and I’m just talking about 8 wins, not 10-12 – the Hokies will be a better landing spot for higher quality transfer players. More players will want to come to Tech, and that lack of desirability is a significant obstacle to overcome right now.
Adjust Your Expectations and Perspectives
The Virginia Tech fanbase is a passionate one for sure, but they are also intelligent fans. Sure, some wear maroon tinted glasses and drink the Blacksburg Kool-Aid, and others are raising their pitchforks and torches at even the slightest stumbles of the coaches or players. But most of the fanbase is intelligent and rational.
Yet most of us – myself included – predicted, no, expected Virginia Tech to win six games and earn a bowl bid this year. That is part of the frustration of being 1-3.
So after such a disappointing start, it is only appropriate to adjust our expectations for the rest of the year. Failure to do so will only set one up for even more anger and frustration when the Hokies lose again – which is likely going to happen more times than not the rest of the way.
Yes, seeing regressions, watching penalties pile up, wondering why certain plays are called, these are indeed irritating and they stem from coaching, which is a legitimate concern to fans.
But instead of getting worked up about the big plays in the Marshall loss, look at the positives, such as the run defense that held the Thundering Herd to less than two and a half yards per carry on 42 of their 44 carries. Or note the comeback effort from players who did not quit, even when down 14 points in the final quarter.
Little things like this can keep a smidge of hope alive that maybe Tech will get a few calls or a few bounces in one of these games and pull off the win.
Yes, the losses are painful and the state of the program is embarrassing – but only if you allow it to be that way. Instead, see it for what it is – a multi-year rebuild – and accept that this is a difficult stretch that will eventually turn around.
Like my friend Scott said after Justin Fuente was fired: “It will get worse before it gets better.” We are experiencing that truth right now.
Also, consider why we watch Hokies football and why we go to games in the first place. Because we love the football team. Because we love the school. We are Hokies, and we live vicariously through this team and see it as an extension of ourselves.
Yes, we struggle together, but we still come together for the games. And we do that part to have fun with our families and friends. Isn’t that the biggest part of making memories at these games?
We go to games and watch them on TV in hopes of seeing a win. Of seeing the Hokies return to national prominence. But if we only go to games to see wins, then we are setting ourselves up for frustration. And we are missing the best part about being at a stadium with our closest family and friends, enjoying that time together.
Never lose that. Keep having fun at the tailgates and over the weekend road trips. Virginia Tech is special to so many of us, and that runs way deeper than a football team.
One of the worst stretches in virginia tech football history and we still sold out a home game against an awful opponent.
You can’t convince me we don’t have the best fans in sports.
— big virginia tech guy (@PryKnowsBall) September 28, 2023
Stay off Social Media
When things are not going well for Virginia Tech football, social media makes a bad situation worse. Hokie Twitter gets especially toxic, as people post emotional comments with little to no consequence. The negativity runs rampant.
Why subject yourself to that? It is bad enough to suffer through another difficult season, knowing that our once mighty team has fallen to the basement of the Power 5 conferences. So why go on social media and read other people’s rants (many of which are careless or have no basis other than emotion) and make yourself feel worse?
Stay off social media. And if you have to use it, filter what you actually read! It is just a healthy choice.
Final Thoughts After the Virginia Tech Marshall Game
Big plays are part of the game, so discounting them is not logical. That said, Virginia Tech has had too many big plays go against them this year. Specifically against Marshall, there were two big running plays for the Thundering Herd, then there were big penalties against the Hokies.
To be a winner, a team needs players to step up and make plays, not mistakes. The current freshmen class has a lot of former high school captains and state champions. The hope is that those guys will become the leaders of this program, and they will be the ones to step up a make plays. They will be the ones that know how to win and start being difference-makers in these close games.
Brent Pry is attempting to build something at Virginia Tech, and he only has one recruiting class under his belt. As he said to me in an interview over the summer, “We’ve got to stack good classes on top of good classes.” He is off to a good start with his first class, let’s see if he can continue that recruiting momentum and turn it into a winning product on the field.
For now, though, Pry and company have to work with what they have. Looking forward with that thin roster, there do not appear to be many “wins” left on this year’s schedule. 1-11, 2-10, or 3-9 are all very possible, very likely finishes.
However, this is football. “Any given Sunday” also applies to Saturdays. The Hokies can beat Pitt this weekend. The fan confidence index is extremely low, but the fans are not playing the game. The players could execute better and a few big plays could go for the Hokies instead of against them. If that happens and Virginia Tech wins, it will be an upset, but not earth-shattering news.
Keep the hope. That is part of being a fan.
Afterthoughts
Most of the social media reactions that are calling for coaches to be fired are made in the heat of the moment, within hours of the most recent loss. But think about this – when was the last time you made a significant life decision in the heat of the moment? Hopefully never, because it likely would not turn out well.
Tech fans should apply the same rational thinking process to the current situation with the football program. Let the season play out, see where Tech finishes and more importantly how they finish, then evaluate the staff and season.
One added point of interest is the fact that this is a reseating year for football season ticket holders. This adds a little urgency to the current situation. If Virginia Tech finishes the year with only one or two wins, can the program keep the trust of its fanbase if no changes are made? Will Tech lose season ticket renewals in the reseating year? I am sure this is on the radar of the administration and could be an interesting subplot development.
Now it is time for the Hokies to take on Pittsburgh, their greatest nemesis of the past decade. Pitt has won seven of the last ten meetings. The won three in a row and four of the last five, with all victories ending in three-score margins. Pitt basically has owned Virginia Tech lately.
However, taking out their 2021 ACC title year with super-senior Kenny Pickett at the helm, Pitt has struggled a little at Lane Stadium. In their four visits to Blacksburg prior to 2021, Pitt has averaged only ten points per game and has scored no more than 17 in a single game.
This year’s Panther team aligns more with those teams that have struggled at Lane. The 2023 Panthers are currently 1-3 with the 12th-ranked rushing offense in the ACC (one place ahead of Virginia Tech). Pitt will be without their All-ACC caliber left tackle Matt Goncalves, and sixth-year senior quarterback Phil Jurkovec is questionable. (and Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi is doing his best Brent Pry imitation in keeping us guessing who will start this week!) This is bad news for a team who has had difficulty scoring this year (sound familiar?)
Prior to the season, I had written this off as a loss for the Hokies. However, Pitt is in a funk right now. So is Tech. It is anyone’s ball game. One of these teams will break a three-game losing streak. It might as well be the team in maroon and orange (or, more accurately, all white for the White Effect)!
It is a prime time 8pm start on the ACC Network. Enjoy the game and Go Hokies!
To read more of my articles on Virginia Tech football, click here.