Brent Pry brought up Clemson while making some interesting comments in an interview with national college football analyst Josh Pate.

Virginia Tech’s head coach mentioned Clemson when discussing what he tells recruits about the history and potential of Hokies football.

“I tell recruits and families all the time that this place was Clemson before Clemson was Clemson. Truly,” Pry said in the interview with Pate. “And in the same breath, seven conference championships in about 15 years. Seven conference championships in 15 years. Who does that sound like? Ohio State, Alabama – like, who’s winning those kind of league championships that frequently, and that was Virginia Tech.

“And then the second piece of it is, I was here for a Sugar Bowl championship, I was here for an Orange Bowl, I was here for two conference championships. So were several members of my staff. We know what it looks like to win championships here. I would never have left Penn State and James Franklin if I didn’t believe we could do it here, if alignment wasn’t here, if administration and the powers to be didn’t recognize what I recognized about things we needed to do to get this program headed back in the right direction.”

Pry is entering his third season as Virginia Tech’s head coach and has a 10-14 overall record entering the 2024 season. He joined the Hokies after serving eight seasons as defensive coordinator/linebackers coach at Penn State.

Pry returned to Blacksburg after working as a defensive graduate assistant for the Hokies from 1995-97 under head coach Frank Beamer and defensive coordinator Bud Foster.

Since joining the ACC in 2004, Virginia Tech has won four conference football titles, most recently in 2010.

Clemson has won eight ACC Championships since 2011 under Dabo Swinney, who has led the Tigers to conference titles in seven of the last nine years, including six straight from 2015-20.

Clemson beat Virginia Tech in the ACC Championship Game in 2011 and 2016.

Clemson will face Virginia Tech during the upcoming season on Saturday, Nov. 9 in Blacksburg. Swinney is 6-0 all-time against the Hokies, including a 3-0 mark against both Frank Beamer and Justin Fuente in advance of his first meeting with Pry.

–Photo courtesy of Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports

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