Teel: Brent Pry ‘modernizing’ Hokies football with ‘genuine’ flair | Virginia Tech

Hoping to get Pry on your podcast or talk show? Just ask.

Traditional media? Social media? Coaching clinic? Count Pry in.

Indeed, Virginia Tech’s rookie head football coach is selling the program with a flair and energy not seen in Blacksburg since …

Well, his predecessor, Justin Fuente, was reserved, stoic even. Frank Beamer, the quintessential Hokie and de facto mayor of Blacksburg, was low-key, late-career dabbing in the locker room aside.

Bill Dooley was as vanilla as his offense in the 1980s, and though wildly successful and engaging, retired Hokies defensive coordinator Bud Foster wasn’t the front man.

Perhaps the best comparison to Pry is Seth Greenberg, a two-time ACC basketball Coach of the Year in nine seasons at Tech. He was, and remains, a natural performer, witness his seamless transition to a television career.

So fast was Pry out of the blocks that even his boss, Hokies athletic director Whit Babcock, wondered if he should slow down. Pry declined.

Oh, he understands that his pace would be unsustainable in-season. But until then, Pry is always ready to preach Tech football, whether at the office, in his SUV or vacationing on Florida’s Gulf Coast.

None of this surprises Derek Jones and Shawn Quinn.

The Hokies’ cornerback coach, Jones first worked with Pry in 2007, when both were Memphis assistants. He has long known of Pry’s reverence for Virginia Tech, where Pry served as a graduate assistant during the 1995 and ’96 seasons.

“He doesn’t have to pretend he’s somebody he’s not to fit in here,” Jones said, “and he understands the culture here. He understands it’s necessary to walk into the local businesses and say hello. His wife understands that.”

Quinn has known Pry for 20 years and resigned as Savannah State’s head coach to become Tech’s Sam linebackers and nickel backs coach.

“As a head coach, you’ve got to be ‘on’ all the time,” Quinn said. “But it’s genuine with him. This is who he is all the time. … He’s got a natural charisma. … He walks into a room and turns the temperature up.”

Pry did exactly that at the ACC’s preseason gathering last month in Charlotte, N.C.

His tailored suit was maroon, complete with a Tech-themed jacket liner. His phone, by sheer coincidence of course, rang during his televised podium session with news of a recruiting commitment.

“I don’t know that I would call it showmanship,” Pry said. “You could look back over my career and I think any player or staff member I’ve been around — this is fun for me. And just becoming a head coach wasn’t going to take that away. I wasn’t going to let it. I want this to be fun.”

Fun for everyone, mind you.

“It’s going to be fun with you guys, with our fans, with our team, with our staff,” Pry said. “That’s one of the reasons that I do this, is that it’s fun, and the minute it’s not, I’m not sure I’m going to want to do it anymore.

“I want the guys to have fun. As hard as they work, and as hard as our staff works, I want to keep it fun for everybody. It can’t just be a grind, grind, grind. Then all of a sudden nobody wants to come to work. Nobody wants to come to practice. Nobody wants to meet.”

Wins compound the fun, and after three losing seasons in the last four years, Hokies faithful are pining for the national relevance that once defined the program. But for now, Pry’s approach is resonating.

For example, Babcock expects two of Tech’s three September home dates, versus Boston College and West Virginia, to sell out. Moreover, while the Hokies aren’t suddenly landing five-star prospects, they have returned to the recruiting doctrine that fueled Beamer’s program, securing class of 2023 commitments from nine in-state players.

Recruit, develop, motivate. Can Pry mesh those essentials into a complete coaching package?

We’re years away from an answer, but veteran linebacker Dax Hollifield calls Pry’s enthusiasm “infectious,” and Quinn said Pry “has an innate ability of getting guys to work above what they’ve done and to believe in themselves. … He’s got a Pied Piper quality about him where you want to follow him.”

Babcock sensed the sheer force of Pry’s personality during the interview process. Both men are 52, and Babcock appreciates that Pry hasn’t attempted to skew too young.

“I think he’s done a good job threading that needle,” Babcock said. “You can’t be the players’ brother. You’ve got to be the dad. But yeah, bringing a little style and flash and attention to Virginia Tech, I do believe you have to be a little bit of a salesman and showman in recruiting and all that. So I think he’s modernizing Virginia Tech. …

“He has exceeded my expectations in every way on that front.”