Before the start of the 2015 regular season, Memphis head coach Justin Fuente was a bit of a mystery to the majority of the casual college football fan base.
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Frank Beamer and his staff did not coach their last game as the Hokies picked up the 23-20 win and became bowl eligible.
Fuente is coming to Blacksburg from Memphis, where he is credited with turning around the Tigers’ football program. Fuente and Virginia Tech’s athletic director call the reports “premature”.
“I think we just had some mental mishaps”, defensive tackle David Dean said. The facilities, the support, the league changes. “He’s a proven coach and a proven victor”. Fuente was awarded AAC coach of the year distinction.
“This is absolutely the job I was interested in”. “I’d love to be the head coach of this team if the opportunity is afforded”. “I thought we got down, found a way to come back, got down, found a way to come back”. But as Florida State and Clemson have risen, Virginia Tech has fallen.
“I enjoyed working with n him every single day to build Memphis football”, Bowen said. Beamer led the team to national prominence and 22 straight bowl games.
The Hokies trailed 71-69 with 17 seconds remaining in regulation, but Zach LeDay made both free throws and Tech’s defense held UAB on their final possession of the second half to send the game to overtime.
In addition to Fuente’s hiring, Tech also announced Fuente will retain defensive coordinator Bud Foster on Tech’s staff. There were no details of Fuente’s contract with Tech revealed in a release from the athletic department.
The 39-year old Fuente has a career coaching record of 26-23 since taking over the Memphis Head Coach position in 2012. During Fuente’s time there the Horned Frogs were the only school in the country with two different quarterbacks ranked in the top 10 in the nation for passing efficiency. He’s been one of the nation’s most efficient quarterbacks this season, completing 280 of 406 passes (69 percent) for 3,670 yards, 28 touchdowns and three interceptions. At Murray State, he set 11 school records before graduating in 1999. And then in 2013 they went 2-10 and were winless in league play, easily the worst season in decades at Virginia.
Virginia Tech hired Memphis’ Justin Fuente as its next football coach Sunday, bringing a quick end to its search for a successor to Frank Beamer.
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WDBJ7’s Travis Wells will have more on the announcement tonight.
