Brent Pry says his fourth Virginia Tech football team had a “great” training camp. Player development, scheme command, situational understanding.
Taking Pry at his word, those are encouraging signs for Hokies faithful scarred by years of mediocrity, wondering how new coordinators on both sides of the ball will affect the product and baffled by the program’s failings in one-score games under Pry.
“Our team is in a good place right now,” Pry said amid preparations for Sunday’s Aflac Kickoff Game against No. 13 South Carolina in Atlanta.
On the field, perhaps. Off the field, not so much.
Last Saturday, four days after Tech announced him as one of the team’s five captains, junior linebacker Caleb Woodson was arrested for DWI in Blacksburg, a troubling charge for anyone, let alone a well-compensated athlete with access to myriad ride services.
Now as quarterback and fellow captain Kyron Drones reminded media, “Everybody makes a bad decision here and there.” But this wasn’t an isolated lapse in judgment.
Indeed, Saturday marked the third time in less than 15 months that Woodson has been accused of imperiling himself — and others.
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In June, 2024, police clocked Woodson driving 96 mph in a 65-mph zone in Montgomery County. He paid a $186 fine and $74 in court costs.
Last month in Warren County, police charged Woodson with reckless driving — 96 mph in a 70-mph zone. He faces a Sept. 16 court date on that matter.
Woodson is the Hokies’ best linebacker. They need him to be right, physically and mentally, if they’re to effectively defend dynamic quarterbacks such as South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers on Sunday and Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia the following Saturday.
But should Tech officials permit Woodson to play Sunday? Or should they suspend him before this latest charge is heard in court Nov. 13 (delayed from the Sept. 9 original date)?
Pry and Hokies athletic director Whit Babcock have far more information than we outsiders. But the optics here, to be charitable, are suboptimal, and if they know that Woodson, yet again, was in the wrong, then it’s time for one of those “hard conversations” Pry so often references.
Besides, if there’s a plausible defense for Woodson, why did Pry revoke his captaincy?
Woodson and Temple transfer Antwone Santiago have the “or” designation on Tech’s depth chart, and Pry said that Woodson’s status for Sunday has “yet to be determined.”
But a Tuesday statement from the athletic department may have tipped officials’ intent: “We are aware of an incident involving Caleb Woodson. We take this matter seriously and will handle it according to athletic department policy and university policy. As this is a legal matter, we will have no further comment until the process is complete.”
Those last five words — until the process is complete — were calculated.
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Regardless of Woodson’s status, Sunday’s clash with Shane Beamer’s Gamecocks will start, emphasis on start, to answer the many questions swirling around Pry’s Hokies.
Is the offensive line markedly improved? How capable are transfer running backs Marcellous Hawkins (Central Missouri) and Terrion Stewart (Bowling Green)?
Will receiver Donavon Greene, an exceptional athlete, stay healthy after an injury-plagued career at Wake Forest? Is defensive tackle Kemari Copeland from Kellam High poised to emerge? How in sync are Drones and offensive coordinator Phillip Montgomery?
Tech has won its past three openers versus ranked opponents, defeating No. 22 West Virginia in 2017, No. 19 Florida State the following season and No. 10 North Carolina four years ago. But none of those victims was sniffing the polls by season’s end.
With quality talent surrounding Sellers, a former Virginia and Syracuse pledge, this South Carolina group feels different than those other disappointing squads.
“I’ve coached against a bunch of SEC teams in my time,” said Pry, a former Vanderbilt assistant under James Franklin, “and they appear to be one of the more talented ones.”
The Hokies are 0-13 versus Power Four nonconference foes since their conquest of West Virginia eight years ago, a mark as jarring as their 1-12 record in one-score games under Pry — the lone success was a 23-22 win at Liberty to close Pry’s first season.
That latter record, a product of clock-management errors and what Pry believed was poor conditioning and coaching, includes overtime setbacks last season at Vanderbilt and Syracuse, OTs in which Tech’s defense yielded a combined 14 points without so much as forcing a third down, and the offense did not score.
Those were among the reasons Pry fired defensive coordinator Chris Marve, offensive line coach Ron Crook and strength and conditioning coordinator Dwight Galt and replaced them with Sam Siefkes, Matt Moore and Jarrett Ferguson. Plus, after offensive coordinator Tyler Bowen exited for the O-line job at Ohio State, Pry hired Montgomery to run the offense.
As he prepares for a season-opener against the #Hokies dripping with family connections, Shane Beamer has @GamecockFB ascending. I went to Columbia to learn why.
“I don’t think you’re ever comfortable. Nor do I want to be."https://t.co/bkRfN0xulv
— David Teel (@ByDavidTeel) August 23, 2025
Individually and collectively, the quartet appears to be an upgrade, and from his time with the Arizona Cardinals, Siefkes brought an insatiable appetite for situational football, as did Montgomery from his tenure as Tulsa’s head coach.
“We’ve doubled down on red zone,” Pry said. “We’ve doubled down on two-minute before the half and before the (end-game). And we’ve doubled down on clock management, clock/timeout management. We’ve had a lot of situations throughout spring, throughout camp. A lot of discussions.
“When you think about how important red zone is and you think about how important two-minute is, to spend more time there, invest more time there, create more situations, more learning opportunities for our staff and our players, it made too much sense. I do feel like we’re in a better place that way.”
Will the Hokies look the part Sunday?
David Teel: [email protected]