From the sidelines
Marty Gordon
Thirteen ACC teams are eligible for bowl games, and now it includes Virginia Tech. But this year has not gone as every Hokie fan had hoped.
National media say Hokies have been one of the nation’s bigger disappointments this season. It’s hard for fans to swallow this pill after the expectations were very high. There was even talk of an ACC championship game appearance. It simply did not happen.
The end result is a 6-6 record.
But Coach Brent Pry was optimistic after Saturday’s game. As a matter of fact, he said without a doubt they are a better team.
“There’s plenty of growth and development. We have so many first and second-year players that are making strides. That’s why I think this bowl prep is going to be really important for a bunch of them. We’re going to lose some old guys who have certainly made a lot of plays around here, but we’ve got a good group coming.”
“We’re very competitive in practice against one another, and I think it showed up each and every week. We’re a resilient bunch, a very coachable bunch. They’ve stuck together. They didn’t point fingers. A lot of good signs, a lot of good things that, to me, are important in building a foundation in a team that can sustain some success and remain humble and hungry and keep growing and pushing the thing forward,” he said.
Pry has become a television regular, posting commercials for the Motor Mile car dealership. Thus, he has learned to be that car salesman. The question is whether he is still trying to sell fans on an attractive used car or a completely new one.
So far, the choice has been difficult for Hokie fans, hoping for a major turnaround from what they have seen for the past 10 years since Frank Beamer stepped down.
All the bells and whistles are there. Pry has even stepped up and added air conditioning to the old version left sitting in the parking lot by former Coach Justin Fuente. The new tires add to the splash, but now it depends on what’s under the hood. An offseason tune up could be in the works.
Fans have been hearing it is a “little engine” that could. It just hasn’t happened as quickly as everyone had hoped.
Let’s put this into some perspective. Frank Beamer took over a wreck of a ship and in his first six years, the Hokies were 2-9, 3-8, 6-4, 6-5, 5-6 and 2-8. It took seven years before he would produce nine wins.
Then he retired things started to unravel. Fuente had a great first year, and the car start to sputter. Ongoing oil changes and a new paint job just could spark a new chapter in the Hokies novel.
Pry inherited a program that couldn’t get many high school coaches in the state of Virginia to return calls from Blacksburg.
That has all changed. Virgina Tech is now back in the fast lane of recruiting its home state.
All the positive talk has lent itself to a renewed shot in the arm for a program desperately needing it. The question remains: Are you buying or selling when it comes to the Hokies? How long will fans and the administration wait? Most used cars only have a few good years in them before needing to be replaced.
