Virginia Tech Ready For Offseason To End
For the most part, through two seasons at Virginia Tech, Justin Fuente has lived up to expectations, which were always going to be difficult with him replacing legendary head coach Frank Beamer.
“People have often asked me about how to follow a Hall of Fame coach, and my answer is pretty simple, is be really careful about the Hall of Fame coach you choose to follow,” Fuente said from the ACC Kickoff event in Charlotte on Wednesday.
“Coach has been incredibly supportive of us. I think part of the reason we've had success is we've been able to devote our time and our energy on our team, to the development of our team, and not to some of the things that may happen in either corporations or schools across the country when there is a transition. We haven't had to expend energy on some of the distractions you may have when you go through a transition.”
The Hokies may not have had to spend energy on distractions with the transition from Beamer to Fuente, but there have been plenty of distractions this offseason, including the loss of three frontline defensive backs – Mook Reynolds (dismissed following suspension), Adonis Alexander (academically ineligible) and Jeremy Webb Jr. (injury) – and the resignation of co-defensive coordinator Galen Scott after accusations of being involved in an extramarital affair while on recruiting trips.
Fortunately for Fuente, longtime Hokie defensive coordinator Bud Foster remains in Blacksburg.
“Coach Foster is definitely one of the best to ever do it,” fifth-year Virginia Tech defensive tackle Ricky Walker said. “He was really one of the main reasons why I came to Virginia Tech, knowing that he has a history and that he's been there for a while and that he will always put me in the best position to win games and to make plays.
“This is going on year five, and just the longer I've been around him and played for him, the more and more I just realize how thankful I am for him.”
Notre Dame plays Virginia Tech in Blacksburg on Oct. 6th.
Virginia Tech has to replace eight starters from last year’s defense, but with Foster engineering it all, Walker is confident.
“I guess for the fans it matters, but for us it really doesn't matter,” he said of the turnover on the defensive depth chart. “As long as Bud Foster is in Blacksburg, I think we're going to be just fine.”
Walker pointed to sophomore linebackers Dylan Rivers and Rayshard Ashby as players who could step up.
“I'm excited for those two guys,” said Walker. “Those guys, they had great leaders in the room last year in front of them, so I'm excited to see how they come to work and how they come to business.”
He also mentioned sophomore defensive backs Bryce Watts and Devon Hunter.
On the other side of the ball, Virginia Tech seemed to dodge disaster when rumblings about quarterback Josh Jackson potentially being academically ineligible as well turned out to be premature. As a redshirt freshman in 2017, Jackson threw for 2,991 yards and 20 touchdowns while scoring another six and gaining 324 more yards on the ground.
“It's definitely great to have the experience from last year, but I don't think no years are the same,” said Jackson. “We'll have different challenges and different teams we will play, and that past experience will hopefully have me a little bit more ready.”
Jackson pointed to his growth in the mental aspect of the game as where he could continue improving.
“Knowing defenses and knowing our offense in and out is definitely something I've focused on, along with getting the ball out quicker, working on RPOs and throwing on the run and everything like that,” he said.
He’ll be missing last year’s leading receiver in Cam Phillips, but said he has “a lot of confidence” in this year’s corps and specifically mentioned Sean Savoy, Hezekiah Grimsley, Phil Patterson, Eric Kumah and Damon Hazelton.
Fuente is certainly hoping for more production.
“I'd like to see us be a more efficient offense, be a more explosive offense,” he said. “I'd like us to have more chunk plays. We've got to continue to create that competitiveness amongst the skill players and the offensive line for playing time, and that comes through depth. And we're in the process of getting that done. I'm pretty excited about that.
“We're not quite there yet, but it's coming…I think we've got to find a way to manufacture some more big plays or chunk plays, either through the running game and the passing game.”
Fuente led the Hokies to the ACC Championship Game in his first year in 2016, when they lost to eventual national champion Clemson, 42-35.
His goal is to get Virginia Tech to the College Football Playoff, but doesn’t want to put a timeline on accomplishing the feat.
“Are we aspiring to that? Is that what we're working for every single day? Is that where we're headed? Absolutely. The time and when those things happen, I'm not certain on.”