When you go 0-5 in one-score games, it's usually little things that are holding you back from winning those games and having a much better season. One of those areas that has specifically been spotlighted is situational football, which the Hokies have had their issues with during Brent Pry's tenure.
Some of that has been on coaching decisions with the pinnacle of that seeming to come at Miami where Brent Pry wasted a timeout too early near the end of the first half before a long field goal, leaving Miami with time. Add in an odd squib kick that Miami returns to near midfield and a couple plays later, the Hurricanes had an unexpected field goal right before halftime. Take away that field goal and VT only needs a field goal instead of a touchdown to win on the final drive that ended in the infamous overturned hail mary.
There were mistakes made by both coaches and players on that front last season, with Brent Pry recognizing that as an area that must improve this offseason. That's led to the Hokies' head coach prioritizing what VT does in that area during the summer and into fall camp.
"I think the way you build practice, whether it’s approach at halftime, two-minute, the finish of a game, fourth quarter, we’re diving into situational football more than we ever have here. It’s intentional. And there’s some aspect of game situation on offense, defense or special teams in every single practice we do right now. It will stay that way moving forward," Pry said.
One person who has played a notable role in that is new defensive coordinator Sam Siefkes given his NFL background as Pry shared.
"We’ve taken a deep dive. I think the group that Sam’s been around in the NFL, at that level, situational football is about a section that big in the playbook. And so we’ve taken a deep dive, we’ve brought a lot of them into our planning and preparation," Pry said.
