It's no secret going into the 2025 season that it's one where results matter for Virginia Tech football coach Brent Pry than any of his first three years in Blacksburg. After a disappointing 6-6 2024 regular season that began with so much hype, the pressure is on to turn things around sooner rather than later for the former Penn State defensive coordinator.
One year after entering the season with a ton of hype, Virginia Tech enters with more questions than answers. One college football analyst didn't hold back on the mounting pressure on Pry early in the season, depending on the results, of course.
ESPN analyst puts Brent Pry on the hot seat if Virginia Tech starts 2025 on the wrong end of scores
Virginia Tech faces a daunting beginning to the 2025 season with a pair of SEC programs, South Carolina in Atlanta, and Vanderbilt at home. The Gamecocks are an up-and-coming SEC program, while the Commodores appear to be trending in the right direction after last season with Diego Paiva at QB. ESPN analyst Roddy Jones laid out some early-season pressure on the Hokies' head coach.
“I don’t think there’s a person on this Earth that needs or could use a win Week 1 more than Brent Pry,” Jones said via ACC Network. “He wins that game, and I think there will be a collective deep breath, a collective sigh for Virginia Tech. Because there’s a lot of consternation now around that program. Imagine the pressure on the Vanderbilt game if he loses to South Carolina in Week 1.”
Never mind the pressure on Pry and the Hokies facing Vanderbilt if they lose to the Gamecocks in Week 1, imagine the pressure on them if they win Week 1 over South Carolina? The Commodores will come rolling into Blacksburg looking for a second straight win over Virginia Tech in as many years after a stunning overtime win in Nashville last season in Week 1.
There is a lot of pressure on Pry going into the season, and maybe that's a good thing, and they end up surprising a lot of people, but regardless of winning or losing on the opening weekend in Georgia against Shane Beamer and the Gamecocks, the pressure is still going to remain on Pry. It's just the nature of the sport.