Virginia, Virginia Tech and James Madison kicked off fall practices Wednesday

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Wednesday marked the start of fall camp for three Virginia FBS schools. Virginia, Virginia Tech, and JMU all kicked off their 2024 seasons with different expectations.

For Virginia Tech, the first day of fall practice represents the start of Year 3 under head coach Brent Pry. The Hokies are aiming to make significant progress this season. Last year, the Hokies finished with a 7-6 record, ending their campaign with a victory in the Military Bowl. The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) recently projected Virginia Tech to finish 6th in the conference, with the Hokies even earning five first-place votes from ACC media. Head coach Brent Pry expressed his excitement as fall camp got underway.

“Yeah, I’m gonna tell you, the guys came out and worked real maturely, good energy. I thought it was a quality practice. Pointed out some things that we needed to do better on each side of the ball, but at the same time, even though it was good work, we gotta have a better day tomorrow, and that was the message that I said to them,” said Brent Pry.

At the University of Virginia, fall camp begins in Year 3 of the Tony Elliott era. The Cavaliers are looking to bounce back from a disappointing 3-9 season and exceed their projected 16th-place finish in the ACC. Despite the rain disrupting practice and the low expectations from the ACC media, Coach Elliott was enthusiastic about the opportunity to work with his team.

“You gotta love it as football guys; this is when you build your team. But it was fun to get out and see the guys move around and see what these guys have been working on over the summer. Now we are going to really test them because tomorrow is more install. So pretty much every day this week and next week it’s new install that they have to manage,” said Tony Elliott.

In Harrisonburg, JMU is entering the first year of the Bob Chesney era. The former Holy Cross coach aims to continue the success the Dukes experienced in their initial two years of FBS football. Although maintaining the Dukes’ high standards may be challenging, Chesney was pleased with the progress after the first practice, especially regarding the defense.

“What habits have they developed and what do we have to break? That’s what happens when the football comes out. A couple things forced in there today. Defense did a good job flying around. I thought there were obviously some guys in the secondary that we didn’t see in the spring making a bunch of plays. I thought our D-line—those two areas were areas that we knew we needed to bulk up a little bit—and I think those two certainly showed up today,” said new head coach Bob Chesney.

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