September has come, and every Hokie knows what that means — college football is back! The Marching Virginians are no exception to the excitement of our 2022 season, with our very first game being tonight at Old Dominion University with kickoff at 7:00 pm EST. This upcoming season is sure to be one to remember, as we introduce our new head coach, Brent Pry.
From Altoona, Pennsylvania, Pry spent time at Virginia Tech from 1995-97 as a graduate assistant to Hokie football legends Frank Beamer and Bud Foster and helped lead the Hokies to two consecutive New Years’ Day bowl games. Since 2016, Pry served as the defensive coordinator for Penn State, but was thrilled to return to Virginia Tech as our new head coach. Pry, upon returning to Virginia Tech, has fostered a “Ground Up” approach of building the team up to their full potential. The “Ground Up” initiative has also brought back a beloved piece of Hokie football tradition — the Lunch Pail.
Brent Pry speaking to The Marching Virginians (Source: Dave Knachel)
Coach Pry visited The Marching Virginians at one of our rehearsals and took the opportunity to speak with the band as a whole about his vision for the Spirit of Tech’s important role in game-day tradition. Pry voiced his appreciation of the band and the relationship that the band and football team have formed over the years. To reciprocate our appreciation, a small band visited the football team and surprised them by performing game day favorites! We also taught the football team the lyrics to Tech Triumph!
The Marching Virginians surprising the football team (source: Emily Saintsing)
Ahead of our opening game of the season, Pry will be facing off against a former colleague from Penn State, Old Dominion’s head coach Ricky Rahne. With many fresh faces on both the coaching staff and the team, the coaching staff was excited to announce our new starting quarterback, Grant Wells. The 6’2” junior transferred from Marshall and will be wearing #6. The Hokie’s record against ODU currently stands at 2-1, with ESPN giving the Hokies a 66.3% chance of victory over ODU.
The full band with Coach Brent Pry (source: Dave Knachel)
As we taught the football team during our surprise visit, “Win or lose, we'll greet you with a glad returning. You're the pride of V. P. I.”!
All information found in this post is from hokiesports.com and ESPN.