Godfrey/WaPo on the Pry Hire

Great read by Steven Godfrey in the WaPo on VT/Fuente/Pry.

Nothing ground breaking here, but there are some very honest quotes about the past administration - Whit admits to making a "$9 million mistake" with Fuente, and Pry described Fuente as "a good Midwestern guy that didn't have in his plan and vision all the things that I think most people believe and now fully realize are really important to Tech's success."

This morning, Steven Godfrey released a podcast (on the Split Zone Dou paid feed, hence why no link) with the last half focused on VT. He talks about quotes, context, and opinions that weren't included in the WaPo piece. It's a must listen for any VT fan - he just did a great job of summarizing (1) the VT/Fuente problem (which, anecdotally, many non-hokies in SEC country appear to be mystified by), (2) why Pry is a great fit (and why fit matters/why VT is a unique place), and (3) what VT means to the sport at large.

Notable quotes/conversation that got edited out of the WaPo piece:

• Pry called VT "Clemson before Clemson was Clemson"
• Pry saying "the narrative in Virginia was Penn State and North Carolina, I didn't understand how until I got here"
• More talk about Pry not hiring talented assistants who weren't a fit for VT - Godfrey got him to expand on that, and Pry offered a quote that basically said 'I know a lot of good coaches, but I don't think they would do well if a local tried to strike up conversation on the sidewalk with a local.' Just shows the amount of thought that Pry put into assembling his staff

Godfrey on what VT means to the sport:

I want to offer you the tiniest bit of hope that we're not all just turning into uniform war machines that are using television money to... ...fill their team with the best personnel possible. Sadly and inarguably, that's the only way to win a national title.

But that's not what I need from this sport... ...I need Virginia Tech to keep its identity and its soul. I need Kansas State to do the same thing. And I need Texas Tech to be a little off-kilter... ...I need these things to exist to make it interesting for me personally... ...I need those things to stay in tact, and I don't know about you... ...But my thought, and my hope, and my prayer is that we can't lose that little bit of facade that is hanging over the reality of this sport, because it means a lot to us, because it's coming an heirloom. This idea that things are weird and whacky up there in the hills of southwest Virginia, and it's a scary place to play at night. And how different that is than Kansas State. But, it's also the same.

I don't think I've ever listened to anyone in the media explain tie these themes together in such a succinct and eloquent manner. I feel like Godfrey just took the entire VT fanbase to therapy, and gave us breakthrough.