Soundbites: Week Ten Press Conference (Syracuse)

BLACKSBURG – Virginia Tech football is set for an ACC matchup on the road against Syracuse on Saturday, Nov. 2. With plenty of momentum from a three-game win streak, the Hokies have a pivotal contest against the Orange to move up the conference rankings. Head coach Brent Pry opened his weekly press conference by acknowledging the home game against Georgia Tech and the challenges of playing in a dome. Student-athletes Jaylin Lane and Aeneas Peebles followed Pry at the podium to highlight opportunities available for the offense and production of the defensive unit. Read and watch below to see what else they had to say:

Head coach Brent Pry

On the red zone defense so far this season:
"Yeah, I think, first of all, it's the mindset that Coach Chris Marve and those guys have created with our unit. I've been around, unfortunately, defenses that stumble out there on those occasions. But our group really bows up. Somebody can drive the field. And then we get very stingy right there. And you gotta force a field goal or a takeaway. That's the mindset. And we've been fortunate. We've played pretty well down there right now."

On Wilfried Pene's development and recent production:
"I'd say I'm a little bit surprised. He's always had a lot of determination. He's had a variety of things set him back. But he's been able to stack consistent weeks this fall, during camp this fall, that I think is really allowing him to reach his potential. He's smart. He's got good change of direction. He can run. He's pretty athletic. And he's got incredible determination right now. I think several of those plays were great examples of that."

Wide receiver Jaylin Lane

On playing on the road at Syracuse:
"Yeah, it's still early in the week, but we've already talked about how the crowd noise is gonna be a little different in the dome. And getting back used to playing on turf, stuff like that. But you know, it's just like every week, it's always the history, especially just in the ACC and how many times they played each other. The main talk was about crowd noise and communication is gonna be vital this week and just making sure we're all on the same page."

Defensive lineman Aeneas Peebles

On disrupting Syracuse's quick passing game:
"Yeah, we just got to make sure we're able to get pressure before. And I feel like that's what we've been done best this season. So we just got to continue to do that, continue to rush the passer like we have all year. It should be a good game."