What Virginia Tech AD Whit Babcock said in his 'State of the Hokies' like address
Click the above link for the full transcript. I'll highlight some talking points that have been brought up via Twitter to highlight the full quote
Yesterday, spent four hours yesterday morning with Justin. Saw and heard what I wanted to see and it energized me. And again, Justin and I had been meeting throughout the season and had planned to meet first thing on Monday morning, win or lose vs. UVa.
With Justin, we covered recruiting extensively, the depth chart, strength and conditioning, coaches, coaching, community outreach, fan donor engagement, his media appearances, former player involvement, that this is a results-driven business, what the identity to our team is and needs to be, where we need help and support, is he committed, does he want to be here and do right here? And his answers were honest and sincere and genuine and, again, certainly energized me. Any past misunderstandings that Justin and I may have had are greatly, greatly exaggerated. Please keep in mind any leak that is put out there is always with a motive. We get along just fine and yesterday was a great example. So no issues on that front.
About what was already said, and a fair representation on Twitter.
Certainly one thing I want to start with, because some of it is just about removing incorrect information, the decision on Justin's future here was never made about money.
Yes, we are in a bind financially and yes, there's buyouts, but we were determined to make the right decision either way, because I cannot imagine a working relationship where you have to have somebody around you don't believe in that you just keep for money. So that was absolutely not the case. If it was the right thing to keep Justin, we could do that. If it wasn't, we could have done that. So you can lose, risk money no matter which way you go. So make the right decision and the rest will take care of itself.
Throw out any thought that money played a part in this.
This is something I also wanted to share transparently. I will enjoy some of this. Here is the scouting report on our team that matters the most to me, and where I got it was not from my eyes, it was not from any coaches here, it wasn't from any message boards, that's for sure. I talked to a very small number of people, coaches, perhaps scouts, others who have played against us, watched our films, studied it and really drilled down. Because I wanted an outside perspective on what we bring, how people prepare against us, what our scouting report is. And in general, I'll give what we found, which leads to the reason that Justin we feel like can certainly do it. I will enjoy this one the most.
Our offense, from people that you would know, incredibly talented people, the offensive scheme is very well thought of, it is adaptable, it is hard to prepare for, we didn't always execute how we needed on third down, we have a quarterback you can win with, we've now regained some of the identity on offense that we want. What we have not done a good job of is dehumanizing Brad Cornelsen. So you will see him tomorrow. Maybe we'll start our own talk show. Hokies are kind of trained to love defense, question offense. And even to the average fan, me and most of you watching, if a play doesn't work it's pretty easy to blame that. So our offensive coaching and philosophy is really well respected and not very easy to prepare for.
Yeah, ok this part was about as bad as it was portrayed on Twitter.
Furthermore, this is now away from those opinions and now mine. For Justin, this was Year 1 in some respects. And please let me explain it like that. We are not going to look at it like Year 1. We know it's Year 5. What I mean is this, that this is Year 1 of being totally Justin's program, all of his players. I believe that the transition from Coach Beamer and Bud Foster was harder than anticipated, not because of Bud or Coach Beamer. Awesome. Justin and I couldn't be more complimentary. But those are two legends to follow. There is always this thing for a reason that it's hard to be the guy that follows the guy, and I now feel like Justin is getting his feet under him and getting his own group, so in some way it's Year 1. And again, I want to reiterate, Coach Beamer and Coach Foster could not have been better. It is absolutely nothing against them. I think most of you understand what I mean by that, but please don't get me in a bind with that. Justin handled that transition great, as well as anybody could. We did not gut the house down to the foundations at that time. We kept a few wings and renovated it while living in it. Now, that renovation on that house analogy is complete and we're very pleased with it.
The full quote doesn't make me feel any better about this. It even looks like they're trying to still blame Beamer and now Bud for all the issues that are present now. I don't like that at all.
Finally, last what we would ask from Hokie nation if you can do it when we play again in nine to 10 months if you are up to this. Don't tear it down. Some will continue to try to tear and never stop just to justify their previous position of thinking that we needed to make a change. As Buzz Williams used to say, 'are you a fountain or are you a drain.' Are you putting out things consumed and helpful to others, or are you just a drain.
If you can be involved, please do. It hurts us when you pull your support. You are really hurting all 22 sports, scholarships, all of that. If you are able to participate, we now need you more than ever. We have 20,000 donors strong and working our way up. Those that threaten publicly usually don't give that much, but we do know some of you feel that you can't invest in us. It is a gift, we will receive it when you are ready to give it.
Maybe a little bit better than was originally said, but why invoke a coach who left us for greener pastures 2 years ago? Why even take that pot shot at small money donors? Even if its not as bad, its still bad.
Comments
After this season and reading this from Whit, If you asked me right now would I rather donate ~$80 to VT or TKP, it would be TKP by a mile
It's hard to reconcile the "I won't donate" with the "VT needs more money for recruiting and better coaches".
I don't really care what the intent is with what Whit said, dismissing the possibility of people pulling donations because Fuente is still coach because of their small donation amounts is... Just not good. Especially when we've been berated for the past 12+ months with the fact that we don't give enough.
That line might have been delivered with the best of intentions, but it blew up like Chernobyl.
The reality is what he said is true and the people most offended are the ones that look for reasons not to give. People went in to that press conference looking to be offended so it's not surprising they found something.
We don't give enough. Not even close to the programs we want to be like. I don't think Whit meant it at all the way it is being made out, but regardless it is true. People usually get the most defensive when something is true. How dare Whit call us a mob...i will now focus my pitchfork on him and run him out of town with Fuente. But we are no mob.
From where I'm standing, I have a hard time believing it is a lack of funding that is causing our recruiting rankings to drop. I can't speak for others, but for myself personally, if you want me to donate I need a reason. It can either be A. a really good, fun to watch football team, B. A down to earth staff with players who I can relate to and want to root for (aka Mike Young). There might be a C or D but I cant think of it right now
So right now we have a team isnt good and hasnt been fun to watch and a staff that I can't relate to and, at least earlier this year, seemed to want to keep me, the fan, disconnected from the program
And before you ask, I do not donate directly under my name. I contribute to a pool in my family and we all donate under one family name. One day I, theoretically, will branch off and donate on my own (with more money), thus increasing the total donated amount from my family. However after the 2018 failures, the 2019 bad publicity, the 2020 embarrasments, and now this press conference, I am unlikely to change what I'm doing anytime in the near future.
In the fact the ONLY thing that will keep me going to games in 2021 is because I have longtime family friends that I only get to see at football games. And me not going to games would mean I likely would not see them all year. The on field product does not make me want to watch the game. If it's raining/windy/too hot/too cold I am unlikely to sit through any game.
And to tie this all up, I dont think VT necessarily needs more money to field a better product. We lost to Liberty, who's athletic revenue is 1/3 of ours, so to me there are other issues that arent revenue related.
I'll be ready to give it when Fuente is shown the door.
Reading and watching it live - much better received than reading twitter notes
I actually think a lot of what was said I thought was tonedeaf reading the tweets was actually better said reading it in context of the whole statement
IdK. still inWhitITrust I guess
I'm done with Whit and Justin BabFu
For what it's worth, watch it for yourself. VT transcripts are more often than not inaccurate.
[Edit: I didn't realize that transcription was via Roanoke Times. I was speaking more to the ones released by the VT athletic department, but still it's good to watch the whole thing for context.]
Not sure its worth noting, but these are Whit's two most recent tweets
and
I do find it interesting that he would go on the attack like that only 40 mins before then thanking that same person for releasing a transcript. I wonder if a phone call or two were made.
He thanked Mike Niziolek (Roanoke Times), not Mike Barber (Richmond Times Dispatch). Whit's comments were at 21:26, judge for yourself whether they were out of context.
Gotcha. Thanks!
Too many Mikes out there, (coming from someone whose father is Mike, BIL is Mike, and FIL is Mike) and not enough Grills
It is worth noting, because its another example of how poor VT is at PR.
Different Mike's
Edit: I'll drink. I need it anyways
Based on Whit's clarifying tweet (a horrible platform considering he just said screw social media), this quote:
Would actually read as
He said you can't give less than zero.
For what it's worth
I guess I'm drinking tonight after all.
Why the fuck even have a press conference if they are keeping Fuente
Because they suck at PR, as has been evidenced for a few years now. Several posters have pointed it out and everyone of them is exactly right; they would have been better off cancelling the event, putting out a press release and/or saying nothing at all. No one made them do this. Texas was suppose to have a similar event but backtracked when they decided to keep Herman.
All Whit Babcock did today was take a brush fire in the backyard and let it spread over an entire mountain side. He and the administration made this situation SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much worse today and none of it was even remotely necessary. Congrats VT Athletics, you played yourself.
Which one? And with the obvious caveat that as long as they aren't counted on to throw the ball consistently
Riiight..probably some of the same coaches who lambasted us in those anonymous comments from ACC media days....now all of a sudden, they think our coaching is great? They know they have a 45 minute film study to prepare for our Offense---thats what they appreciate.
This is meaningless nonsense. Ludicrous crap, if you will. Regardless of how Cornelson and Fuente are as people, they have been failures as football coaches. Neither is going to magically transform into a magnanimous charmer who weaves through media, the fanbase, and recruits. Its not in either of their personalities and pretending like its going to be different is totally disingenuous. Moreso, a charming coach who runs QB draw on 3rd and 16 is still a crappy coach.
"just need to execute on 3rd down" .... execute a qb power....
I woke up optimistic about yesterday's press conference. He tried something different by being transparent about everything going on. Yet, he had so little recent practice that he botched it a bit. Hopefully that doesn't mean it's back to silence again.
But I'm optimistic by this quote because even with the right coach this will be handcuffing the program until it is fixed:
"We're close to having a final plan with the university and donors to take our budget from the middle or the bottom third of the ACC to the top third of the ACC."
In the end it's these kind of things that will help the program regardless of who the coach is
As someone who only got hot takes on specific quotes both here and on social media yesterday, watching the full presser this morning made me feel a lot better about the whole thing.
Seriously. It should have been made available for all to watch live and it would have lessened the misconstrued bullet points being released on Twitter and the like.
People wonder why programs become guarded. We get one glimpse into Whit's behind the scenes and it immediately turns into a flurry of negative headlines. I am embarrassed, not because of Whit or Fuente, but because a fanbase that once considered itself one of the most football smart and loyal fanbases in the country can't control its insecurities long enough to at least consider the other side on this one.
A friend of mine and I watched it streamed live on Facebook via VT Athletics
I am also one who felt a bit better watching the whole presser after seeing all of the social media negativity. But it was more of a movement in my mind from "Holy crap, VT is going to be a huge dumpster fire" to "Well, maybe bronzing the turd before they polish it WILL pay dividends in the long run." Seriously, I feel like there is a lot of commitment to trying to make things work...but there were still a lot of weird takes, head-scratching comments, and a lot of unanswered questions.
"Preparing for immediate transfers, name, image and likeness and more...college sports as we know it is no more"
Whit answer us, are we getting NCAA football back or nah?
Haha. Nice, got a good laugh from that meme.
I may be in the minority, but I have no problem with anything said. Do I think it was necessary? Perhaps not. However, had nothing been said, there would be rampant speculation.
Go Hokies!
This doesn't necessarily have to do with Whit's presser, but since his presser was kind of a "state of the program" type address, I felt this to be the appropriate spot.
Side by side headlines on the front page of the sports section in todays Va Pilot:
"UVA's '21 class could land in ACCs top five"
"Hokies: 75% of players had covid"
I noticed Whit said 75% of the players "had contact with COVID"...he didn't say they contracted COVID. I wasn't sure if he said what he meant...but in hindsight if 75% had actually had COVID, I think we'd have actually cancelled a few games.
According to Norm wood, 75% of the players and 80% of the coaches "contracted" it, dating back to March. So it's likely the majority of them contracted it and recovered prior to games getting played (aside from the two weeks in the beginning that had to be rescheduled)
See September.
We only postponed one, right? The other was delayed by request of NC State.
Correct, but seeing as we cancelled the following week, my guess is NC State just made the request first, we probably woulda had to do it if they hadn't
Correct. The better question is could we have played prior to Sep 26? And even at that point, we had what 23 out the first game (2 weeks after we should have played our first game) and 21 out the second game the following week.
Somebody get Whit to a Toastmasters meeting. Watching that presser was like watching some college freshmen read aloud from his diary to the girl who just dumped him.
None of it gives the impression VT is ready for primetime.
Who is our Recruiting Coordinator? When Fuente was hired, I thought he put James Shibest in that role. Recently, I was told those responsibilities were give to an "office boy". Basically, a kid who isn't a coach or even former football player. Is this true? Does this kid make direct contact with high school players and recruit them like a coach should? Or is he just assisting our coaches with administrative details?
The director of on campus recriting is actually an office "girl".. not that there is anything wrong with that.
Thanks. I'm actually looking for our "Recruiting Coordinator". This used to be Stinestring, Cavanaugh, or Shibest. I can no longer find that title on anyone's profile. When I asked about it, I was told Fuente took those responsibilities from a coach and gave it to an office person (he or she). Is this true?
That's like hi welcome to campus type work, if I'm not mistaken. I think he's talking more like a strategic position
On Campus recruiting is Alex White
Watching that presser and listening to Whit doesn't alleviate all of my concerns and heartburn, but it's a lot better than the tweets we were getting yesterday. The one about the small donors really chapped my ass but hearing it in context I understand the intent. My "issues" are:
At the end of the day I'm still a Hokie and I'll make my donation and buy my season tickets because we enjoy watching VT football. Last year we decided to put on our big boy pants and donated enough to step well up to Silver Hokie level but I'm gonna be thinking that over between now and March 31st on whether we'll stay there or drop back to the lower level.
I might have to argue your point 3. Under Beamer, our dual threat QB's passed the ball both more and more effectively. Under Fuente for the last year, our QB's are only really a threat to run. I don't think we had a 300 yard passing game this YEAR.
Agreed. What I meant was that even though Whit may consider this to be "Year 1" for Fuente, Cornelson has been calling the same plays since he got here. It isn't like he FINALLY got the pro-style QB he was lusting after and was able to make a change. It's been the same thing...for 5 years.
It was more an indictment on Cornelson's predictability.
Hypothetical: Is Fuente going into year 6 in significantly better shape than Geoff Collins going into year 3 reshaping a triple option team? That was mediocre when he took over? I'd argue no
Beat us in recruiting 2020 and 2021
While I will say that should not be happening, again we are losing in recruiting to a TON of programs, but recruiting to Atlanta vs Blacksburg will always give them an advantage.