NEW ERA PINSTRIPE BOWL: VIRGINIA TECH VS MARYLAND

December 29, 2021

Peter Moore

Yankee Stadium

Virginia Tech Hokies

Press Conference

Maryland 54, Virginia Tech 10

Q. Peter, I guess about the fake punt, what is running through your mind when they call that early on?

PETER MOORE: I practiced it enough all season, and I was just thinking I'm going to execute, just go out there and do what I can, get the first down, and a lot of those guys out there helped me out, so ended up working out.

Q. Is it a different mindset when you are running it like that versus when you have the pass earlier in the season and you can just get rid of the ball real quick as a punter in that situation?

PETER MOORE: Not really. It's kind of the same thing. Just go out and do your job. Just execute how you did at practice.

Q. What has Coach Shibest meant to you this year and helped you grow as a freshman? New staff coming in. He is not going to be one of the guys that's retained, but I'm curious to know what he has meant for your development?

PETER MOORE: He has helped me so much mentally. I would say that's the biggest part of it. He has helped me get ready for the game ever since I got here, and he has done such a good job at that, and I'm so thankful for that really. He has helped me take my game to the next level mentally for sure.

Q. Peter, how much freedom do you have when you are back there as to whether you are going to run it or not? Could you have called it off if it wasn't looking good? Even if it's not called, can you take off if you see an opening?

PETER MOORE: I wouldn't just take off. I'm going to do the call that Coach Shibest gives us before we run out there. If we see a look that we don't think we can run the fake in, we'll call it off, but that's up to Tyrell. He makes the call on that whether or not to call it off or not.

Q. I know it didn't end up the right way today. You guys played in a tough game against Maryland. What did you take from this whole experience up there in New York for you as a freshman that is going to help you down the road?

PETER MOORE: It was a really cool experience. I've been looking forward to it ever since we beat Virginia, and I have wanted to play in a bowl game my whole life, and it was just kind of a dream come true even though we lost the game. Just the experience with my teammates and just the brotherhood that came out of it was really special.

Q. I know, obviously, today didn't go the way you wanted, but you were a freshman All-American coming into this game. What enabled you to have that type of success this season, and what do you take away to continue your development looking into 2022?

PETER MOORE: I would say preparation every week, showing up every day. Kind of thinking have it like a job, and just coming to work every day and doing what I can to improve. Whether I had a bad game the week before, what can I do to improve on? Into the offseason there are some things I can work on. I want to be more consistent next year. Just stuff like that I'm going to take into the offseason and try to improve on. I think that's all I can do really.