Virginia Tech football: Brent Pry says no VT coach stepped foot in Michael Vick’s old high school in 6 years

If you’ve been following Virginia Tech football over the last few months, you’d know head coach Brent Pry is on a hot streak. No, the season is still weeks away, but the Hokies are sizzling on the recruiting trail.

On Thursday, Tech landed prized wide receiver Keylen “Brodie” Adams from Virginia Beach. The consensus four-star recruit is one of the nation’s top receivers in 2024 and picked VT over SEC schools, including Alabama.

Adams is commitment No. 15 for Virginia Tech’s 2024 recruiting class and the fourth four-star recruit, depending on which recruiting service you trust.

This week, Pry was a guest on the Next Up with Adam Breneman podcast, where he discussed recruiting, relationships, James Franklin, family, Blacksburg and a lot more. It’s really a terrific listen. Breneman played three years as a tight end at Penn State when Pry was the defensive coordinator for Franklin.

However, one soundbite stood out the most to me. In discussing his recruiting philosophy since coming to Virginia Tech, Pry spoke of how important Virginia high schools were to the success of the Hokies. Pry said no one should know Virginia players better than Virginia Tech, the “flagship program” in the Commonwealth.

Oh, that soundbite:

“I went in Michael Vick’s high school, and they hadn’t seen a Tech coach in six years,” Pry said. “Don’t you just go in and take a picture with his jersey.........There are a bunch of good players in this state.”

Six years, of course, is the length of former head coach Justin Fuente’s tenure as head coach of the Hokies. Vick played high school football at Warwick in Newport News. And while Warwick may not be putting a ton of top-tier players into college football recently, it’s the alma mater of perhaps the greatest player in school history.

Pry’s point is it’s all about relationships. Whether or not you are recruiting a current kid at this school or not, you plant the seeds of trust. It takes years. Pry made it a point for his staff to hit every high school in the state — something he continues to do. So, whether your favorite school has a college football prospect or not, someone from Virginia Tech will be checking in whenever possible to keep that relationship strong and learn of anyone the Hokies should be keeping an eye on.

While we aren’t planning on rehashing any of Fuente’s failures again here, it’s startling to hear Pry say no former Virginia Tech coach at least checked in.

Pry discussed the current state of recruiting and expressed confidence in where the Hokies are headed, as they’ve been able to start recruiting these players at a younger age.

Give it a listen. You can watch the entire episode here: