BLACKSBURG — A lot has happened inside the Virginia Tech football program since its 45-26 home loss to Old Dominion that led to the firing of Brent Pry and a whirlwind of reshuffling now that offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery has been named the interim head coach.
When he spoke to the media on Tuesday for the first time in his new role, Montgomery predicted that the Hokies were about to experience an emotional week like no other. Pry had a hand in getting almost every player on the current roster to Blacksburg and that tie is now gone.
And since this is not a bye week, all of these outside distractions also have to be put aside for several hours each day so Virginia Tech can address what school administrators and the fanbase expect.
They want to see the football team shake the 0-3 start and get a win Saturday at Lane Stadium against Football Championship Subdivision member Wofford. By midweek, Montgomery said the team was off to a good start.
“Their world got shocked, (the coaches’) world got shocked and so you have to deal with the emotional part of it,” Montgomery said on Wednesday. “… I think the best thing for us was to get back onto the practice field, and take the opportunity to come out here and work, put our focus and energy and emotion into what we like to do most, which is play this game.”
Like the Hokies, Wofford is also off to an 0-3 start. Unlike the Hokies, who have been outscored by a combined 46 points in losses to South Carolina, Vanderbilt and ODU, the Terriers lost its trio of games to South Carolina State, Richmond and Mercer and by a total of six points.
It’s a different kind of disappointment, Wofford coach Shawn Watson said. It has enabled him to control his players’ focus on what issues Virginia Tech poses on the field as opposed to worrying about what they were dealing with externally.
“It’s about us,” said Watson, who has served as an offensive coordinator at Louisville, Pittsburgh, Colorado and Nebraska. He inherited his current position in October 2022 when Wofford’s previous head coach, Josh Conklin, resigned. “We have to continue to get better. We’re raising a young group of football players — on both sides of the ball and on special teams. So our constant, continued improvement is what we’re focusing on.”
Montgomery did not indicate any drastic changes on the field, other than saying he will be calling plays from the sidelines now instead of from the coaches’ box.
As for his personal style as a head coach, Montgomery, who spent 2023 as offensive coordinator at Auburn and then coached under Skip Holtz for the Birmingham Stallions of the UFL in 2024, said he prefers to keep his expectations of his players general.
He said he wants to see his team play complementaryfootball, which has not been the case so far. The Hokies averaged just 339 total yards in the first three games, which ranks 101st in Football Bowl Subdivision, and No. 127 in the nation in both total yards surrendered (448) and against the rush (210).
Montgomery added he has addressed the team’s seemingly inability to play four full quarters this season. The Hokies came closest to this challenge in the season opener with South Carolina, but managed just three points in the second half after trailing by just two at halftime.
Against Vandy, Virginia Tech led by 10 points at halftime, but was outscored 34-0 the rest of the way. ODU kept the pressure on a week later, leading 31-0 before the Hokies finally broke through with their first touchdown drive with under five minutes to play in the third quarter.
“The effort has been there,” Montgomery said. “Even last week as you look at all of it, our guys were battling, they were grinding until the end. But I want to see us play a complete game and I want to see us feed off each other and learn how to do this together.”
Other than expressing doubt that offensive lineman Montavious Cunningham will play again this season due to injury, the only other position Montgomery spoke about was quarterback, and there was not much there either.
He gave support to starter Kyron Drones despite his slow start — 207 passing yards per game with four touchdowns, three interceptions and a 56.3 completion percentage.
“Maybe we haven’t lived up to some of the expectations offensively,” he said. “We’ve got to grow as a group. In my opinion, that doesn’t fall on one person. We have got to do it collectively as a group.
“We’ve got to continue to keep growing as an offense.”