Philip Montgomery couldn’t have asked for a better start as Virginia Tech’s interim coach, as the Hokies cruised to a 38-6 win over Wofford at Lane Stadium on Saturday. After the game, Montgomery addressed the media, sharing his thoughts on the team’s performance. Here’s a breakdown of what he said, along with some context.
Montgomery on the defensive game plan from coordinator Sam Siefkes
“Yeah, I don’t know if he really made it simpler, or any of that part of it,” Montgomery said. “I thought our defensive coaches and Sam had a good defensive game plan. I thought our guys did a really good job of going out and executing that game plan.”
To be fair, executing against a 0-3, undermanned FCS team wasn’t exactly a monumental task. The Hokies’ defense racked up four sacks, 12 tackles for loss, and held Wofford to minus-1 yard rushing—numbers that mostly serve as a confidence boost.
Montgomery on a balanced offense against the Terriers
“I thought our offense was more balanced,” he said. “I thought we did a nice job in the run game. I thought we were trying to take our shots when we could. Knew it was going to be difficult in their style of defense, but I thought we did a nice job of checking things down, staying ahead of the chains, and doing those things.”
Virginia Tech executed its game plan well, with Kyron Drones avoiding risky throws and turnovers. When the offense takes care of the football, the game becomes a lot more manageable.
Montgomery on Terion Stewart’s absence
“Yeah, he’s working through some stuff,” Montgomery said. “He’s in a good spot. I would foresee him to be back next week, but as he continues to kind of progress, we’ll see how that goes. But I know he wanted to be out there today, just wasn’t available, and the other guys stepped up and did a nice job.”
Stewart, a Bowling Green transfer, has had a rough start health-wise, but the hope is that he can rejoin the offense next week.
Montgomery on other key players sitting out
“No, I mean, we’re going through all of that with all of them,” he said. “As we continue to keep evaluating in those conversations, that’s kind of as we work. But as we kind of get through that part of it, that right now is going to be kind of us talking about it and us working through it. There’s some injury things in that. There’s some other things, so we’ll be fine. They just weren’t available today, OK.”
He was referring to Caleb Woodson, James Djonkam, Quentin Reddish, and Caleb Brown. Some of these absences may present redshirt opportunities, and more details are likely to emerge this week about why they were sidelined against Wofford.
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