Brenton James Pry (born April 1, 1970) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

coach and former player who is currently the

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...

. He previously served as the defensive coordinator at

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...

from 2016 to 2021. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for the

Buffalo Bulls The Buffalo Bulls are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University at Buffalo (UB) in Buffalo, New York. The Bulls compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I level as a member of Mid-Am ...

Early life

Pry was born in

Altoona, Pennsylvania Altoona is a city in Blair County, Pennsylvania. It is the principal city of the Altoona Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The population was 43,963 at the time of the 2020 Census, making it the eighteenth most populous city in Pennsylvania. ...

, the son of Altoona High graduates Jim and Kathy Pry. His father played college football at

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia * Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Islands * Marshall Islands, an i ...

and is a long-time college coach."Altoona ‘Pry’de: New PSU LBs coach has deep local roots"
''

Altoona Mirror The ''Altoona Mirror'' is a daily newspaper located in Altoona, Pennsylvania. It is the hometown newspaper for Altoona and serves all of Blair County as well as parts of surrounding counties. History The newspaper was founded on June 13, 1874 as ...

'', January 26, 2014, retrieved February 12, 2018. Pry, a 1988 graduate of Lexington High in Lexington, Va., was an all-region

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

and

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

.Western Carolina Profile
, ''catamountsports.com'', retrieved February 12, 2018.

College playing career

Pry started his college career as a

free safety Safety is a position in gridiron football on the defense. The safeties are defensive backs who line up ten to fifteen yards from the line of scrimmage. There are two variations of the position: the free safety and the strong safety. Their dut ...

Division III In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

Maryville College Maryville College is a private liberal arts college in Maryville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1819 by Presbyterian minister Isaac L. Anderson for the purpose of furthering education and enlightenment into the West. The college is one of the ...

in 1988, he later transferred to then-

University at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo, commonly called the University at Buffalo (UB) and sometimes called SUNY Buffalo, is a public research university with campuses in Buffalo and Amherst, New York. The university was founded in 1846 ...

where he lettered in 1990. Suffering a career-ending injury in 1991, he returned as a student coach for the 1992 season.Vanderbilt Profile
''vucommodores.com'', retrieved February 12, 2018.

Coaching career

Early coaching career

Pry began his coaching career in 1993 as the outside

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

and

s coach for the

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

East Stroudsburg Warriors The East Stroudsburg Warriors are the athletic teams that represent East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania, located in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. The Warriors are members of the Pennsylvania ...

. Pry spent two seasons with the Warriors where his father Jim served as the offensive coordinator and mentored future

head coach and All- PSAC quarterback James Franklin."Penn State Football: Brent Pry Promoted To Defensive Coordinator"
''Altoona.com'', retrieved February 13, 2018. From 1995 to 1997 Pry served as a

graduate assistant A graduate assistant serves in a support role at a university, usually while completing post-graduate education. The assistant typically helps professors with instructional responsibilities as teaching assistants or with academic research respons ...

with

under defensive coordinator

Bud Foster Robert Eugene "Bud" Foster Jr. (born July 28, 1959) is a retired American college football coach and former player. He currently serves as a Special Assistant to Athletics Director Whit Babcock. Following the 2006 season, he received the Frank Br ...

, where he helped the Hokies to three

bowl game In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivis ...

s. Pry spent his next four seasons at FCS

Western Carolina University Western Carolina University (WCU) is a public university in Cullowhee, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina system. The fifth oldest institution of the sixteen four-year universities in the UNC system, WCU was founded t ...

. He coached the

defensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

in 1998 and 1999, and defensive backs and

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

in 2000 and 2001. He also served as the

Fellowship of Christian Athletes The Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) is an international non-profit Christian sports ministry founded in 1954 and based in Kansas City, Missouri. It has staff offices located throughout the United States and abroad. History FCA was found ...

(FCA) liaison. Serving as the

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator is a coach responsible for a gridiron football (American football) team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, the offensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's c ...

Louisiana-Lafayette The University of Louisiana at Lafayette (UL Lafayette, University of Louisiana, ULL, or UL) is a public research university in Lafayette, Louisiana. It has the largest enrollment within the nine-campus University of Louisiana System and the s ...

from 2002 to 2006, helping the Ragin' Cajuns to their first

Sun Belt Conference The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football conference, the Sun Belt began sponsoring football in 2001. Its football teams participa ...

championship in

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

. As the defensive line coach for the

Memphis Tigers The Memphis Tigers are the Sport, athletic teams that represent the University of Memphis, located in Memphis, Tennessee. The teams compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level as a member of ...

from 2007 to 2009, he molded a defensive line in 2008 into one of the

Conference USA Conference USA (C-USA or CUSA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose current member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. C-USA's offices are l ...

's best.

Georgia Southern

While serving as

Georgia Southern Georgia Southern University (GS or Georgia Southern) is a public research university in the U.S. state of Georgia. The flagship campus is in Statesboro, and other locations include the Armstrong Campus in Savannah and the Liberty Campus in Hin ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, Pry's Eagles finished ninth in total defense (286.93), 11th in scoring defense (18.47) and 11th in passing defense (159.93). His defensive unit helped the Eagles to a 10-5 overall record, that included a win over No. 1

Appalachian State Appalachian State University (; Appalachian, App State, App, or ASU) is a public university in Boone, North Carolina. It was founded as a teachers college in 1899 by brothers B. B. and D. D. Dougherty and the latter's wife, Lillie Shull Dough ...

and an appearance in the NCAA FCS semifinals. It also included a 31–15 victory over William & Mary in the second round of playoffs, that pitted Pry against future coaching mates Bob Shoop ( DC) and David Corley Jr.( QBs).

Vanderbilt

On January 31, 2011, Pry was announced as the Co-Defensive Coordinator and Linebackers coach at Vanderbilt. In his first season, Pry helped coach Senior linebacker

Chris Marve Christopher Ryan Marve (born March 1, 1989) is an American football coach and former player. He is the defensive coordinator and Inside Linebackers coach at Virginia Tech. He formerly was the linebackers coach at Florida State and at Vanderbilt. ...

to a place on the Second Team All-SEC squad as Vanderbilt finished the regular season 6-6. Against Tennessee, linebacker Archie Barnes returned a Tyler Bray interception 100 yards for a touchdown. The 2012 season saw Vanderbilt finish with 9 wins, including a 7 game winning streak to end the season. Standout defensive performances included a 40-0 victory at Kentucky and 23 point victory over Tennessee. Other SEC wins in 2012 included Auburn, at Missouri, and at Ole Miss, finishing with a 5-3 record in conference and #23 national ranking. Vanderbilt won the

2012 Music City Bowl The 2012 Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game held on December 31, 2012, at LP Field in Nashville, Tennessee. The fifteenth edition of the Music City Bowl began at 11:05 a.m. CST ...

over NC State 38-24. The 2013 team finished with another 9-4 record, including wins over #15 Georgia, at Florida, and at Tennessee. Despite a 8-4 regular season record, Vanderbilt was placed in the

2014 BBVA Compass Bowl The 2014 BBVA Compass Bowl was an American college football bowl game that was played on January 4, 2014 at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama. The eighth edition of the BBVA Compass Bowl (which was originally called the Birmingham Bowl), it fea ...

where they defeated Houston 41-24. Once again, Vanderbilt finished the season ranked at #24. While at Vanderbilt, Pry was instrumental in recruiting future NFL linebacker standouts

Stephen Weatherly Stephen Dian Weatherly (born March 19, 1994) is an American football defensive end for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Vanderbilt. Having nearly completed his degree, Weatherly declared ...

Oren Burks Oren Spencer Burks (born March 21, 1995) is an American football linebacker for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Vanderbilt and was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the third round o ...

, and 2016 All American

Zach Cunningham Zachary Daniel Cunningham (born December 2, 1994) is an American football linebacker who is a free agent. He played college football at Vanderbilt and was selected in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft by the Houston Texans. He also played ...

to Nashville. Pry also joins former Vanderbilt defensive coaches

Bill Parcells Duane Charles "Bill" Parcells (born August 22, 1941) is an American former football coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 19 seasons. He rose to prominence as the head coach of the New York Giants from 1983 ...

Perry Fewell Perry Fewell (born September 7, 1962) is an American football coach. He currently serves as the senior vice president of officiating administration for the National Football League's officiating department. Previously, he served as the defensive ...

Phillip Fulmer Phillip Edward Fulmer Sr. (born September 1, 1950) is a former American football player, coach, and athletic director at the University of Tennessee. He served as head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers football team from 1992 to 2008, compiling ...

, and

Buddy Ryan James David "Buddy" Ryan (February 17, 1931 – June 28, 2016) was an American football coach in the National Football League (NFL) and American Football League (AFL). During his 35-season coaching career, Ryan served as the head coach of the ...

who served as head coaches at major NCAA programs or in the NFL after spending time at Vanderbilt.

Penn State

For his efforts, Pry was a finalist for 2014 Football Scoop's Linebackers Coach of the Year. He helped Mike Hull earn the

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

Butkus-Fitzgerald Award, given to the conference's best linebacker and eight

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

honors in 2014. Hull's 140 tackles ranked 7th in the country, led the Big Ten Conference, and tied for fourth-most for a Nittany Lion in a single season."Penn State Promotes Pry to Defensive Coordinator"
''gopsusports.com'', January 10, 2016, retrieved February 14, 2018. After the departure of defensive coordinator Bob Shoop, Pry was promoted to associate head coach and defensive coordinator on January 10, 2016. In

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

, the defense finished the regular season seventh in the nation and second in the Big Ten in scoring defense, averaging 15.5 points per game. Pry's defense also finished with a pair of shutout victories and only allowed more than 20 points in a game just three times. Seven times he saw his defense hold opponents scoreless in at least one half the game (

Akron Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city prop ...

Georgia State Georgia state or ''variation'', may refer to: Primarily * Georgia State University ("State", "Georgia State"), a state university * Georgia (U.S. state) ("Georgia state"), a state of the United States of America Sports * sports teams of Georgia St ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, Northwestern,

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

Rutgers Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was a ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

). Penn State finished with an 11–2 record capped off by a

Fiesta Bowl The Fiesta Bowl is an American college football bowl game played annually in the Phoenix metropolitan area. From its beginning in 1971 until 2006, the game was hosted at the Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. Since 2007, the game has been playe ...

victory over the

Washington Huskies The Washington Huskies are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Washington, located in Seattle. The school competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Pac- ...

. Three players were selected from the defense in the

2018 NFL Draft The 2018 NFL Draft was the 83rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2018 NFL season. The draft was held on April 26–28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas; it was the first draft ...

, safety

Troy Apke Troy Steven Apke (born April 11, 1995) is an American football cornerback for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Penn State and was drafted by the Washington in the fourth round of the ...

in the fourth round (109th overall), safety

Marcus Allen Marcus LeMarr Allen (born March 26, 1960) is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons, primarily with the Los Angeles Raiders. Considered one of the greatest goal line and short-y ...

in the fifth round (148th overall) and cornerback

Christian Campbell Christian Bethune Campbell (born May 12, 1972) is a Canadian actor. He is known for his roles as Gabriel in the film ''Trick'', Greg Ivey in the television series ''Big Love'' and on stage as Jimmy Harper in the musical ''Reefer Madness''. Ea ...

was selected by the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

in the sixth round (182nd overall). In

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

, Pry's defense lead the country in sacks per game with 3.62 and finished fourth in tackles for loss with 8.2. The Penn State secondary had one of its best seasons since 2014, finishing the season with 13 interceptions and allowing a 53.6 completion rate. The Nittany Lions also held three opponents to 60 or less yards through the air, this was the first time PSU had accomplished this feat since the 1976 season. Cornerback

Amani Oruwariye Amani Oruwariye (born February 9, 1996) is an American football cornerback for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Penn State. Early years Oruwariye lettered for three years at Gaither High ...

and defensive end

Yetur Gross-Matos Yetur Akkub Gross-Matos (born February 26, 1998) is an American football defensive end for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Penn State and was drafted by the Panthers in the second round ...

made the All-Big Ten first team. Six additional players, from the defense, received all-conference recognition. Defensive end

Shareef Miller Shareef Abdul Miller (born March 14, 1997) is an American football outside linebacker who is a free agent. He played college football at Penn State and was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft. Early y ...

, cornerback Amani Oruwariye and safety Nick Scott were selected in the

2019 NFL Draft The 2019 NFL Draft was the 84th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2019 NFL season. The draft was held on April 25–27 in Nashville, Tennessee. The first round was held on April 2 ...

. In

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, the Penn State defense finished the season ranked eighth nationally in scoring defense (16.0ppg), fifth nationally in rushing defense (95 ypg), first nationally in forced fumbles (22) and seventh nationally with 3.46 sacks per game (45 total). Linebacker

Micah Parsons Micah Aaron Parsons (born May 26, 1999) is an American football outside linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). Parsons played college football at Penn State Nittany Lions football, Penn State, where he was named ...

was named the

Butkus–Fitzgerald Linebacker of the Year and a consensus All-American. Parsons and Defensive End

received first team All-Big Ten honors. Gross-Matos was selected by the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

with the 38th overall pick in the second round of the

2020 NFL Draft The 2020 NFL Draft was the 85th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2020 NFL season. The first round was held on April 23, followed by the second and third rounds on April 24. The d ...

Virginia Tech

On November 30, 2021, Pry was named the 35th head coach at

, replacing

Justin Fuente Justin James Fuente (born July 30, 1976) is a former American football coach and player. He was the head football coach at Virginia Tech from 2016 to 2021. He was the 2016 ACC Coach of the Year. Fuente was the head football coach at the Universit ...

Head coaching record

References

External links

Penn State profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pry, Brent Living people 1970 births American football safeties Buffalo Bulls football coaches Buffalo Bulls football players East Stroudsburg Warriors football coaches Georgia Southern Eagles football coaches Maryville Scots football players Memphis Tigers football coaches Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns football coaches Penn State Nittany Lions football coaches Vanderbilt Commodores football coaches Virginia Tech Hokies football coaches Western Carolina Catamounts football coaches Sportspeople from Altoona, Pennsylvania Players of American football from Pennsylvania