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Diaranson 17 november 2021

Fuente out after 6 seasons

as Virginia Tech head coach

(AP) - Virginia Tech and football coach Justin Fuente
have mutually agreed to part ways with two games left
in his sixth season with the Hokies.

In a statement released Tuesday morning, athletic director
Whit Babcock said co-defensive line coach and recruiting co-
ordinator J,C. Price will lead the Hokies through their final
two regular season games.

Fuente was 43-31 at Blacksburg, Virginia, school. The Hok-
ies (5-5) travel to Miami on Saturday and close the season at
Virginia.
“While it is never easy to make a change, I believe in order for
our football program to attain the type of sustained success
that is expected at Virginia Tech, the time was right for new
leadership of our football program,” Babcock said.

He said the program “is one of the most attractive football
jobs in America” and “I’m extremely confident that we’ll be
able to identify and hire a new head coach who can build on
our rich history and winning tradition.”

Fuente was heralded as creative offensive coach who spe-
cialized in developing quarterbacks when he was hired away
from Memphis.
He led the Hokies to a 10-4 record and the Atlantic Coast
Conference Coastal Division title in his first season and was
named the ACC’s coach of the year. But that proved to be the
high point of his tenure.

The program has been hurt by a rash of player transfers, and
the Hokies were 6-7 in 2018, their first losing season since
1992, and 5-6 last season when they were among the teams
hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The year also marked the end of Virginia Tech’s streak of 27
seasons ending in a bowl game when the team voted not to
participate in the postseason.

This season, former Hokies starting quarterback Hendon
Hooker is leading a resurgence of the program at Tennessee,
while Braxton Burmeister, who replaced Hooker last season,
has struggled with inconsistency and injuries.

“We leave Blacksburg with many great memories, but above
all else, our family cherishes the many relationships that have
been established and that will always endure,” Fuente said
in a statement released by the school. “To all of those play-
ers, coaches and staff who are still fighting on, know that the
Fuente family is always cheering for you.”

Per his contract, Fuente is due $10 million buyout.