Pry: Difficult to leave Penn State for Virginia Tech
Becoming the head coach at Virginia Tech, where he had been a graduate assistant, fulfills a dream for Brent Pry.
But even after he accepted the offer from the Hokies, Pry made it clear Thursday at his introductory press conference that it wasn’t easy for him to leave Penn State and James Franklin, for whom he has worked the last 12 years.
“James is like a brother to me,” Pry said before choking back tears. “Twelve years … I wasn’t sure I’d ever step out and do my own thing, and it took this place to do it. And the right time. So I thank James Franklin and I thank Penn State.
“When you’re in a good place with good people, it’s hard to leave. I’m not gonna say it was easy to leave Penn State and to leave James, but this was the right opportunity.”
The 51-year-old Pry met Franklin in 1993 when he and his father, Jim, were assistant coaches at East Stroudsburg and Franklin was the Warriors’ quarterback.
When Franklin was hired to guide Vanderbilt in 2011, he named Pry as linebackers coach and kept him on his staff when he took the Penn State job in 2014. After Bob Shoop left for Tennessee following the 2015 season, Franklin promoted Pry to defensive coordinator.
At Penn State, Pry’s defenses consistently ranked among the Big Ten and national leaders. He was asked Thursday what he had learned from Franklin.
“Details, details, details,” Pry said. “When it comes to recruiting, he is relentless in the details. Following through, being thorough, building those relationships with the high school coach, with the trainer, with the parents, with the uncle, with the barber… I mean, it doesn’t matter.
“I think over 12 years with James, it’s just his relentless effort on the recruiting front and being actively involved as a head coach is very important to me.”
Pry played high school football in Virginia when his father was an offensive coordinator at VMI.
“Oh, believe me, it was my dream to play here,” he said about Virginia Tech. “And I did come to camp here. I know Coach [Frank] Beamer won’t remember, but I did. I just was never the player to be at Virginia Tech, but it was always just such a presence for me in my life.”
Pry left East Stroudsburg after two seasons to become a grad assistant at Virginia Tech for three seasons, working for Beamer, a Hall of Fame coach, and longtime defensive coordinator Bud Foster, who both attended Thursday’s press conference.
“I learned this from coach [Beamer],” he said. “We’re going to hire the right people. We’re going to recruit the right people that want to be at Virginia Tech. We’re not going to twist the truth. We’re not going to play games.
“We’re going to tell them what this place is all about and what’s so special about it. If it’s not for them, it’s not for them.”
Pry said his first job is to maintain Tech’s recruiting class, which has 24 commits and ranks 20th nationally. He plans to begin hiring assistant coaches in the next two weeks. He wants to call the defensive signals, at least to begin his head coaching career.
Virginia Tech has had one winning record since 2017, Justin Fuente’s second season. Fuente was fired last month when the Hokies were 5-5 on their way to a 6-6 regular season.
Pry would like to restore the success Virginia Tech had under Beamer, which included eight consecutive seasons (2004-11) with at least 10 wins.
“James [Franklin] and I talk a lot about people saying how tough it was to go to Vanderbilt, which had been to four bowl games in their history, and we went to three straight,” he said. “The challenge at Penn State was greater, the ability to embrace the past and the difficulties that Penn State went through, the challenge there, and move forward.
“There’s always tradition. We’re going to go back to that [at Virginia Tech]. We’re never going to lose that. That’s why I’m here today.”