So, here we are on the eve of another Hokie football season, although one quite different than we've had in almost 3 decades. Because for the first time in 30 years, there will be no Frank Beamer on the VT sideline. No need to rehash everything Coach Beamer has meant to Virginia Tech, the town of Blacksburg, the whole New River Valley region, or to me personally. Everyone knows his legacy, and the good man that he is. I've shed my tears over his departure, and he seems to be happy in his retirement, which he has richly earned.
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| Playing with the grandkids |
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| Pedicures and milkshakes! |
So with one more"Thank you, Frank", we'll turn the page to the Justin Fuente era.
Since arriving in Blacksburg, Athletic Director Whit Babcock has really had no missteps. From facility improvements to the hiring of Buzz Williams, he's been a superstar since his arrival. But one thing loomed large when he was hired: everyone knew Frank's retirement was impending, though no one knew exactly when, and this athletic director was going to have to handle the departure of a legend, and even more prickly was the fact that said legend's teams had been on the decline for a few years. When all was said and done, we really could not have asked for a more perfect scenario. Frank, with his usual grace, announced he would retire at the end of the 2015 season, and did so on November 1, in order to give Whit a headstart on the coaching carousel that happens at the end of every year. By the end of that month, Whit had landed one of the biggest fishes available in the pond: Justin Fuente, an offensive mastermind who had turned around a Memphis team that was at the bottom of the barrel. A guy who is so lowkey and down-to-earth in his demeanor, he's like Frank 2.0. Most experts ranked our hire as one of, if not THE, best hires of last year.
But, as if that coup wasn't enough, we got to keep Bud Foster too, something that rarely happens with a coaching change like this, especially when that coach is so closely tied to the outgoing big whistle. Needless to say, we Hokies should be thrilled and grateful to Frank & Whit for helping accomplish such a smooth transition.
So here we are, ready to kick it off against Liberty tomorrow - Game 1 of the Fuente era. Coach Fu is a tad more secretive than the Beamer regime, so there has been very little seen or heard of practices, scrimmages, etc. We know he runs an up-tempo spread offense. We know Bud will take care of business on D. But other than that, there's a lot of unknowns, and some big question marks at important positions. Here's my preview of what to expect:
The Quarterbacks
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| The QBs: Jack Click, Jerod Evans, Brenden Motley, and Josh Jackson |
The Running Backs
We have quite a stable in the RB corps this year, even given the departure of former starter Trey Edmunds to Maryland. Ironically, Fuente's spread will probably lean heavily towards the passing game just when we have a fully stocked RB cupboard to draw from, but these guys will still get their moments. We'll start with Sam Rogers, a former walk-on who is just everything you love about a football player. Hard worker, tremendous leader, does anything and everything on the field. I love it when guys like this get their shot and work their ass off and make the most of it. Plus, he's not beneath playing with Coach Fuente's adorable daughter, Charlotte, and her dolls.
Surprisingly, last year's breakout star, 1000-yard rusher redshirt sophomore Travon McMillian was not listed as the starter. Coach Fuente seemed a bit disappointed with him in spring, but it sounds as if he's had a much better fall camp so I expect he'll be a factor. We have Marshawn Williams and Shai McKenzie (doesn't it seem like these guys have been around forever at this point?) both returning from ACL tears (in Shai's case, his 2nd). But one name I think is also going to make some noise this year is redshirt freshman Deshawn McClease. The buzz around that one is strong. In any event, we seem to be in good position here.
The Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
| Isaiah Ford |
| Bucky Hodges |
With respect to tight ends not named Bucky, our #2 guy Kalvin Cline departed to Texas A&M so those who remain are unknown quantities. Redshirt freshman Chris Cunningham was listed as #1 on the depth chart. In Fuente's scheme, this position may play more like an H-back role so it could be an interesting one to watch develop.
Bottom line: pray everyone stays healthy.
The Offensive Line
It's been a very long time since Hokie fans could say this, but folks, it seems we actually have ourselves a decent line. Big, experienced, TALENTED. This could actually be one of our strengths this year, when, for far too long, it's been our weakest link. And Fuente, not one to give a lot of high praise, has been very complimentary of how this whole unit has gone about its business so far. We have 2 talented seniors anchoring the right side, Augie Conte at guard and Jonathan McLaughlin at tackle. Former defensive lineman Yosuah Nijman has successfully made the transition to offense and is holding down the left tackle spot, and junior Eric Gallo mans center. The one big surprise on the depth chart is that arguably our most talented offensive lineman, redshirt junior left guard Wyatt Teller, has fallen to 2nd-string behind redshirt sophomore Colt Pettit. Teller seems to be in Coach Fuente's doghouse for some reason (a similar situation occurred last year). It appears sometimes Mr. Teller may need a little extra motivation so hopefully this demotion will light his fire, because we need him out there. When he is on, he is by far our best offensive lineman. Bottom line: should be one of our strongest units.
DEFENSE
Bud always seems to find a way to just reload rather than rebuild. But last year's D struggled more than any in recent memory. Injuries and inexperience led to some uncharacteristic torchings by opposing offenses. That youth may still be a factor, and depth is an issue. So once again... stop me if you've heard this before... pray everyone stays healthy.
The Defensive Front
Some good talent graduated - Dadi Nicholas, Luther Maddy, Corey Marshall - but yet we still have a potentially strong defensive line unit in place, as long as everyone can stay healthy. Senior Ken Ekanem is back at defensive end, and he'll be joined on the other side by redshirt sophomore Vinny Mihota. Where we really have some talent stacked up is at the defensive tackle position. Senior Woody Baron has. waited his turn, and by all accounts, is ready to take full advantage of his last year. He's been very impressive and I think he will have a breakout year. He'll be joined at the defensive tackle spot by another senior, Nigel Williams. But the name everyone is most intrigued by is redshirt freshman Tim Settle. He came in overweight as a true freshman last year, but a year in the strength and conditioning program has him ready to roll. He is a HUGE athlete - 6'3", 328 lbs - but freakishly quick for someone his size.
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| Tim Settle could be terrorizing a lot of QBs like this |
The Middle
If the QBs were the question mark of the offense, then without a doubt the linebackers are the question mark of the D. The days of Xavier Adibi and Vince Hall seem like a lifetime ago. Last year Andrew Motuapuaka was thrust into a starting role last year probably before he was ready, struggled with an MCL sprain that he most likely returned too early from, and, based on a recent interview, was partying pretty hard in his off-time. All that added up to some seriously bad run defense, where at times he looked completely out of his element. Bud seems to have a lot of faith in him though, and he has apparently straightened out some of his off-field partying. If he can step up his level of play from last year, it will be a huge plus for the Hokie D. Bud's defense works best with hard-nosed backers roaming the middle. Hopefully we'll see that from Motu this year. There's also a potential breakout star in this position - Tremaine Edmunds. He's another player getting a lot of positive buzz, and he just could be the breakout linebacker we've been looking for.
The Secondary
DBU wasn't very DBU-like last season. We lost superstar Kendall Fuller for pretty much the entire season to injury, and he's off to the Redskins this year. The remaining backs struggled with youth and inexperience. This is another unit that has some question marks. If redshirt junior Brandon Facyson can stay healthy, he's as good as anyone in coverage, but he seems to have been snakebitten by injuries for most of his career. Senior Chuck Clark has proven to be a dependable DB so no worries with him. Greg Stroman made the move over from offense, and has made it to first string on the CB depth chart. He was burned badly and repeatedly in last year's East Carolina debacle, so hopefully we'll see some improvement there. Another intriguing name is Adonis Alexander, who showed some flashes of great playmaking ability last year, but got himself into some trouble after the spring game and is currently suspended from the Liberty game. When he returns, however, he may be another name to watch. There's a lot of youth and inexperience though in this secondary, and virtually no depth, so how quickly we can develop the young guys here may be key.
The Specialists
Kick returner Greg Stroman has shown an explosive ability to take kicks to the house, but he has also had a tendency at times to dance around too much and not just go forward with the ball. He can be a gamebreaker though. Joey Slye has turned into a pretty darn reliable placekicker. He's been pretty much perfect on field goals under 50 yards, but has yet to make one over 50....strange because we know from practice footage he's been known to boot them over 70. But we can feel pretty good with Joey should we need a field goal at a crucial time. The real question mark here is punter. With the departure of AJ Hughes, one of the best we've had and we had him for 4 years, we were left with a huge void here. This one remains a real question mark - Mitchell Ludwig was named the starter but no one seems to feel real confident about this one. Hopefully with Coach Fuente's high-flying offense, punting won't be needed as often!
Fearless Prediction
So where does Coach Fuente end up after year 1? As much as I want to think everything will magically fall into place, it takes time to install a whole new offensive scheme. I think we may see some struggles early, and things will start to gell a bit more as the season progresses, but we have to be realistic. It could be a year or two before he is really able to get the personnel he needs and really get the offense running on all cylinders. Still, the offense has been so bad for so long, there is really no where to go but up. Our non-conference schedule is really tough, with the Battle of Bristol looming against #9 Tennessee (although they didn't exactly light the world on fire in their fluky overtime win over Appalachian State) and a trip to see Touchdown Jesus and play #10 Notre Dame. Road trips to Pitt and UNC will be no picnic either; Pitt in particular always seems to have our number and they are a team on the rise. But all that said, I will firmly put on my orange and maroon glasses and predict a 9-3 season, with victories over Liberty, Tennessee, Boston College, East Carolina, Duke, Georgia Tech, Miami, Syracuse, and, of course, Virginia, and losses to North Carolina, Pitt, and Notre Dame. That's probably aggressive, given a new offense and some of our depth issues, and the Tennessee and/or Miami games could easily go the other way. But I'm going to stay positive and stick with 9-3, which just might be good enough for a return to the ACC Championship as winner of the Coastal division.
The Fighting Fuentes are ready to roll! Go Hokies! Beat Liberty! And if nothing else, for God's sake, please beat Tennessee!
