Nothing but love ❤️ pic.twitter.com/F4FGJJMZNA— Hendon Hooker (@henhook2) December 17, 2020
The end of 2020 hits keep coming.
Forums:
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Nothing but love ❤️ pic.twitter.com/F4FGJJMZNA— Hendon Hooker (@henhook2) December 17, 2020
The end of 2020 hits keep coming.
Comments
I really liked Hendon. I enjoyed watching him play. Hopefully he goes somewhere he can start and win a lot of games.
He was at a place where he could start and win a lot of games.
Hopefully somewhere warm. Miami.
Your comment led to a lot of soul searching for me. If HH started for Miami next year, I think I would cheer for Miami. I threw up typing that but that's honestly how I feel at this point.
I wouldn't!
I would root for Hendon, but not Miami.
Oooof. Tough times. I could never and would never cheer for Miami.
Well, in a win over us I wouldn't, but I'd root for them over FSU.
Never cheer for Miami. Thank you for coming to my TED talk.
Saw this one coming a mile away. Sucks.
Hope he lands somewhere that the coaches can help him develop into a great QB
Am I missing something, wouldn't he be in line to be the starter next year?
?
He wasn't even the starter for our last game.
Yes, but he did start a considerable number of games this year (when not injured) and with QP transferring and BB's play (outside of the UVA game) being less than ideal...
Likely something happened that caused a rift between Hendon and CJF. Likely why he didn't start UVA and likely why he is transferring. Sometimes it doesn't work out and no one is at fault.
Don't really think this is one of those times...
Maybe being told "get back out there or you'll never see the field again" while you're seizing rubbed him the wrong way
1. This isn't verified
2. Your starting quarterback says he is too cold to go in the game and Knox Kadum is the only qb left. If you are the coach, what would you think?
3. By all accounts, the trainer is the one that said he was a no go. Nothing about that situation makes sense at all.
Him saying that he was cold wasn't verified either. It sounds like a story to me.
It was verified by his father and directly from the coach.
We have different definitions of verified
This is just speculation. It's *really* hard for me to believe that HH gets denied a start vs. UVA due to some argument between him and CJF.
I don't doubt that reasoning for a second. CJF has proven multiple times that any perceived disloyalty or disobedience is a punishable offense.
coming from the coach who openly went for the Baylor job last year. Gotta love a great double standard.
I actually think that it had a lot more to do with Fuente's comments about Hooker during the Clemson game. He said that he was having issues executing the game plan and taking the play clock all of the way down. I think that Fuente saw that as Hooker wasn't willing to follow direction, so BB got the nod (and didn't look bad doing it).
As any coach would/should. If a player isn't following your direction, then they should sit, no matter how talented they are.
I wonder if BB would've seen a lot more playing time if his toes weren't broken. Fuente seems to really like BB and Fu tries to play "his guy" as much as possible (see: resistance to switch from Ryan Willis to Hendon Hooker last season).
It's been an interesting year...to be honest, I feel like HH was better than first 3 games BB, but end of season BB was much better than late season HH. Burmeister (to my untrained eye) played with a great feel for the offense in both the Clemson and UVA games, and seemed to have a much better sense for evading rushes and making the right read and completing the pass than HH did in the losses leading up to the Clemson game. He and Hooker were both a little limited in the passing game early, but it felt like Burmeister grew a TON between his first 3 starts and his last 2 games (one sub in, one start).
I think Hooker would've taken over from Burmeister once he was healthy after those first few games no matter what, because BB looked like he was struggling in the passing game and we all thought Hooker could fix that...but I do think BB earned his start in the UVA game, and played like he meant to keep it. I think it was less of a "I'm playing my guy" thing and more of a "I'm playing the guy with a spark" thing from Fuente. Maybe he had some breakthrough after starting a few games and then having to watch, who knows.
I'm not writing this a staunch Fuente supporter or anything, just the POV of someone who though Burmeister looked a lot more in sync with the offense than Hooker once he was brought back in.
Well said. BB just appears to have more drive while he was out there the last couple games. Really makes me wonder what could have happened throughout the year if he hadn't broken his toes. Maybe the Wake and Miami games are wins. Maybe that extra spark and experience produce a much closer outcome at Pitt...all of a sudden we are 8-3 and a season easily defensible given a new defensive system being installed and absolutely no off-season to put it in place.
Outside of any possible reasoning which is family related.
Do we think this is him realizing he lost the starting job permanently and doesn't want to put the effort in to try to win it back?
Or do we think this is unhappiness with coaching staff/school?
Or do we want to play into the thought that he was having a severe anxiety attack in the clemson game and the coaching staff berated him for it and he took it personal?
*puts down tinfoil hat
I'd think he'd absolutely have a shot at being starter next year, unless Fu told him he's out of the running.
That doesn't really seem like a Fuente thing to do - just sayin'. I think he knows that the job is not his for sure, and he'd have to bust ass to get it - not that he wasn't up for the challenge. Perhaps he felt another team may be a better fit and offer him a new life at QB.
Speculation will just make me mad again. Whatever his reasons are we need to wish him well, but also recognize we shouldn't be taking any kind of step backwards assuming BB is the guy now.
Maybe, I mean, you saw what the coaches did this year
I don't think so. Something happened vs Clemson. Love the guy.
Is this part of "building our identity", Whit?
Yes. Establish ourselves as the premier school for not developing talent and having them transfer out. We have our identity!
I think is exactly what he was referencing when he made his comments about the portal. The landscape is permanently changed and we need to forget any notion of having kids stick around for their entire eligibility. I hate this, but Whit was/is being a realist and the sooner we can all come to terms with it the better off we will be mentally.
Yep. The TP is a double-edged sword. It sucks when your favorite players leave, but no one complains about solid new talent showing up outside of normal recruiting time.
It kinda ruins one of my favorite things about CFB: the consistency on the roster over the years. But the TP is good for the players, and they already get shafted enough by NCAA.
The portal giveth, and the portal taketh away.
We have struck gold with the portal (Herbert) so its not like we haven't also had positive experiences. Like every other team we have to deal with the shock of all the negative upfront, and slowly have a trickle of positives once we land transfer commits. Its a process that is front-loaded with a kick in the groin, and tiny sips of bourbon the rest of the way.
Burmeister has another year and apparently outplayed him this year when healthy. He probably had a chance at earning it, but decided that this wasn't home anymore.
Neat, our QB room is now
Burmeister
Kadum
Bullock
*maybe...
Still time for them to leave too!
/s
/hopefully...........
I have my concerns
Now do OL room. And check back on WR room in a couple days.
I dunno fellas...I've been hearing pretty good things about this Ike Whittaker guy...lets see what happens
Wait did we lose Mark Leal?
In the meantime while we were waiting for Dwayne Lawson.
Think he's serious this time?
I thought he'd done this before as well, but someone corrected me - QP had entered before but decided to stay.
Really? That's not how I remember it. Roanoke Times Article about him changing his mind.
Then maybe I'm just confused and thought QP had done it before but it was really HH? Ugh. Too many people transferring out to keep track of apparently.
To tag off this, my question is did he have a nicely put together graphic like this last time? I don't think he tweeted it out or announced it publicly at all last time but I could be wrong. Plus the other players wishing him well. Seems pretty serious.
According to our AD, this is all normal year 1 stuff.
We're rolling
We're rollingWyatt, I am rolling.
FTFY
Our AD admitting he made a mistake with his comments and stepped up by making some donations. Someone let him know its ok to admit his other mistake and that its not too late to #makethemove
Pretty typical for players to transfer with a new scheme being implemented under the new regime /s
sigh
best of luck to HH, hope he lands somewhere that utilizes him to the best of his abilities and develops them even further. sorry to see him go
Ok, so at what point did Fuente refuse to let Tom Riddle be QB so he cursed the position so that no QB would start two seasons in a row for CJF?
Aside from Evans, have we had one QB start one full season under CJF?
Didn't Jackson start all of 2017?
Josh Jackson, who, like all Fuente QB's outside of Jerod Evans, only regressed further and further with more playing time instead of improving.
JJ played very well to begin 2018, and then ODU happened, and we didn't see him again.
He played the latter half of 2017 injured. This is my bigger gripe. Why are our QBs always playing injured? Which then leads people to start asking questions about Hilgart....
being a battering ram tends to cause injuries
3rd and 11 has now entered the conversation
Not sure that was just Fuente. Did you see how he played at MD? And he's in the portal again.
So you're saying there is a QB with experience from multiple P5 schools in the portal? Anyone thinking what I am thinking? #Year1
I'd rather be stabbed to death with a spoon or stomp on my own nards. No thanks. Pass from me.
Edit: is it more on topic if I had said I'd rather have been stabbed to death with a Spurtle?
I have no insight into the situation, other than to say it could have way more to do with Burmeister than any member of the staff. Burmeister seems to my uneducated eye to be a little more ahead of the curve at making multiple reads once the ball in snapped, and still has a good amount of speed to execute what the offense is calling. Hooker may be looking at the situation and thinking about how he can get more consistent reps on tape for scouts to look at. A decision like that would be difficult, and would have nothing to do with him (Hooker) not wanting to try to win a job back, and a great deal of an understanding that he has limited eligibility left to show that he can play at the next level...if that is what he wants to do.
My worry with BB is how defenses can load up on the run. UVA was playing so much disguised cover three with 7-8 basically on the line of scrimmage. Yet, there wasn't a single throw between the hashes all game long. The quick out timing was excellent- however the throws didn't have smoke to beat tighter coverage. His one vertical non-play pass read was a bad read. No way he should have thrown the deep post to Turner versus that coverage, and it should have been a very easy read.
French just replied to one of my posts...about football! I feel like I could run through a brick wall now, however I lack the physicality to do so.
Christmas came early this year!
In case there is any question, there is absolutely no sarcasm in this post. Just honest 100 % joy.
I once made a tweet about how Sean Glennon gets a bad rap, and Bud Foster liked it. I was in a meeting at work, and about lost my shit.
Much obliged.
What I can't wrap my head around- does BC mitigate risk because he doesn't trust his QBs to make the right decision, or do the QBs not show they can handle the responsibility and hence he mitigates the risk? Either way, you are either targeting the wrong kids, or you have a system which a QB who wants to "run the show" as a team leader isn't going to be real excited about playing in. I don't know which is better.
Paxton Lynch got 87 carries in Fuente's last year. Many of them were tough carries with heavy contact (goal line, short yardage on IVR.) Hooker had 120 carries in 8 games. (BB had another 46.) I have said that in an option based offense, the defense can dictate if the tailback or QB gets the touches. But, a defense doesn't want the QB to have the ball in his hands if the QB can hurt them in the RPO game. They need to revisit the passing game so much to take some of the wear and tear off the QBs.
Until one of the guys that left start throwing the ball around, I am going to assume they haven't shown the ability. And, the thing is, a qb with just a little better arm talent would excel in this offense (my opinion).
A little more arm talent and can check into better throws when coverage takes away the original call would put up huge numbers. Watch any passing play- look for areas of undefended and open space. If you can find it, there is opportunity
I completely agree and I think this goes all the way back to Jerod Evans. I am of the opinion that his choice to leave early for the NFL threw the development of our QB room into a little chaos, and we have been catching up ever since. But I also believe part of his choice to leave for the NFL was that he may have believed another year of being the battering ram for our offense was going to do him no favors in the long run. By adapting our passing scheme to what our quarterbacks do well, rather than what we philosophically believe makes for a great offense, the wear and tear on our QBs would definitely be less.
Touchdown throw on the slant against Duke showed me he has the armstrength for those throws over the middle into tight spots. I was actually really encouraged by what I saw against UVA from BB. His ability to not take drive killing sacks is crucial to our offense and something HH struggled with. BB also showed ability to extend plays, stretch the pocket, and hit secondary options. Our offense with Hooker a majority of the time seemed to be waiting for a long developing first option to come open and if he doesn't, try to tuck and run into the middle of the pocket and more times than not, take a sack. I'm looking forward to him getting a full season. Get a guy like Payoute back, a receiver that can threaten to take the top off the defense, and that helps opening up more mid/underneath routes. We really didn't have that threat this year.
Say, just wondering. Have you ever considered changing you name to CorneyDraw? Guessing the name is from the Miami game years ago.
CorneyJetsweep*
Very disappointed. I still believe he had the most upside in the quarterback room. I don't have any insight as to why things didn't work out, especially given how much promise he showed at times. I hope he has success at his next stop.
Hope he has success wherever he goes. Seems like a great young man but he wasn't the same this year and the Clemson game was a complete head scratcher. Most importantly hope he is healthy.
I know Hooker took a beating because of all the QB runs, but I feel like many of those runs came because he was too afraid to make the tough throws, and opted instead to try and make the play with his legs. I saw many plays throughout the course of the year where opportunities were there to be made in the passing game, where a confident QB with the arm strength and accuracy to back it up would have made those throws. They certainly weren't necessarily easy throws, but you can't wait for guys to just be wide open. And sometimes you have to throw guys open or make that throw into a tight window. I have no idea if that's because of coaching (either lack of developing the QB or instilling a fear of making mistakes) or lack of confidence on his end, but either way things just weren't happening. None of that is to say that I agreed with all of the play calling, because I don't, but I also believe there were plays there to be made that just weren't.
Nothing to see here folks......no issues in our program at all.
Best of luck to Hendon at his next stop. Hopefully he can put a monster season together and get himself drafted!
Find this comment hilarious...because of your avatar. I'm imagining Shane saying it to us.
Of all of our players to enter the portal, and there have been a shit ton, he is the first to do it twice.
Best of luck HH. Hope you end up somewhere you can ball out.
I'm numb to bad news now. Luckily I am bad ass at tailgating so our football team being trash won't effect my performance on the asphalt.
Good luck Hendon. I hope you break records at your next stop.
Winning the tailgate is very important, especially if you dont win the game.
We're rollin!
Its absolutely worth mentioning that every QB that Fuente and Cornelson have recruited out of high school to play at VT has elected to transfer out. Each one. And not a single one of them were able to develop their passing skills while here.
But its fine. Totally fine. Glad we have this grand plan to make everything better.
QB WHISPERER........
maybe this is what he's whispering:
I was (and I guess still am) fully on the fire Fuente train, however I just want to point out that Knox Kadum was recruited out of HS and has not transferred out.
Yet
Unless you have knowledge of it, or it's been reported elsewhere, "Yet" is speculation and really noise.
Edit: This one was probably a joke, but your last comments have been:
I might've picked the wrong one to reply to, but it's feedback in the aggregate.
This was a joke but I will personally be surprised if Tre Turner stays.
Knox Kadum is here still...for now.
You say that like there were a ton. There were two (not counting those who switched positions like DeJuan Ellis).
Jackson, Patterson & Hooker is three, not two.
And being that two were starters for significant time... I can't think of another program that could handle that kind of attrition and not be knocked back significantly. And that's not even including the attrition the rest of the team has gone through every off-season
Jackson was recruited by Loeffler out of HS, not Fuente or Cornelsen.
This was posted on another thread on this site somewhere, but I'd recommend reading this twitter thread
I have no source, just a theory, that Fuente openly encourages his players to consider all their options, portal included. You wonder if their is no guilt to the decision, whether that is why so many more hit the road.
I am not ready to defend this type of mindset, especially since I am just speculating. But, if Fuente thinks he can ultimately be in a net positive position using the portal, what is the downside? I hate losing quality depth, but I honestly don't think there is a good way to prevent it either.
Regardless, we need more bluechippers on the front end of the recruiting process.
Best of luck to him. Thank you for the memories HH. I will miss the hooker jokes though.
We clearly do not have enough money to score with a Hooker
Fuente is gonna have a great chance to prove we are the "best developmental team in football" when he enters the 2021 season with (at this rate) literally zero four-star recruits on the roster.
He most definitely would have started next season.
I'm not even sure Burmeister will stick around, and if all 3 QBs transfer in one offseason? Try spinning that.
I beg to disagree- it is clear that hh and bb have been pretty much neck and neck. Hh May have won the job but personally I doubt it at this point. In fact, I think it may have been a large part of his decision to enter the portal.
Totally agree. BB looked like the better QB in his time against Clemson and his start against UVA, and looked much improved from his first 3 starts before HH came back in. The main difference to me is that BB seems to have better awareness and timing in/out of the pocket while Hooker often waited too long and took dumb drive-killing sacks. BB also (for the most part) had a better take on reads, and seemed to have developed as a passer in the stretch of games where HH started. He looked completely in charge in the last two games.
Obviously there are still some issues to work out, but give him a full offseason and more time with the team and see where that goes.
Seriously? I find this take baffling. Sure Braxton played fine vs UVA but that was actually his first good game all season.
Go back and watch the UNC game and tell me Braxton is as good as Hooker. Tell me Braxton can throw a ball further than 35 yards downfield accurately. No way Hooker transferred because he felt he lost his job the last two games of the season, hell no.
Not surprising news after watching BB take the reigns and win the UVA game after 4 straight losses. I hope he finds somewhere where he can ball out.
Might as well start Bullock on day 1 because it's pretty obvious he won't grow under this staff. Letting him ride the bench isn't gonna add anything.
Unless we bring in a transfer, he will have a real opportunity to compete. Do you know if he is enrolling early?
Our history getting waivers (if needed) hasn't really panned out well in the past.
No waivers needed this coming season fortunately.
So torn. I think we have seen what Hooker can be. I worry about BBs durability with little depth behind him. But, at the end of the day, I think BB may be able to provide a little more variety to the passing game and he definitely moves in the pocket and rolls out better than Hooker. Godspeed Hooker, I have greatly enjoyed cheering for you.
I will try not to look too far into the cold Clemson game. But, I still can't wrap my head around how you get too cold to play.
The transfer portal has definitely changed the landscape for roster management. However, Tech's had 4 former 4-stars (Bryan Hudson, Doug Nester, Hendon Hooker, Quincy Patterson) put their name in the portal this cycle, and 3 were starters. These aren't guys devoid of playing time looking for a better option. These are the guys that the best developmental program in the country should have a shot to put into the NFL.
At the very least hopefully Hudson and Nester return.
Looks like its our players that took #makethemove to heart
Well said. And there's the head scratching part - Whit addressed this preemptively in his press conference so he was okay with this happening.
This is NOT okay!!!
Just because he was aware of what was going to happen doesn't necessarily mean he was okay with it.
Not that we're ever going to get the full story.
Definitely more 4-stars going out than coming in by a wide margin at the moment. Hard not to be pretty concerned by that.
-We are going to put a lot more people into the NFL this year though than we have in a while.
-By and large I would say that the people who transfer into the program have found success and it has elevated their visibility.
-To date it doesn't seem like the guys who have transferred out have been picked up by bigger P5 schools or gone on to significantly greater success with other coaching staffs.
I think all of those things are important positives to keep in mind when considering the staff's development abilities. However, any (or all) of these guys could buck the trend on that last point. Hudson and Nester are pretty puzzling
The player who has had the best success imo is Kalil Pimpleton at Central Michigan. He has been a do it all player with receiving, rushing, passing and punt returns and has had a few ESPN top 10 plays.
Well, I knew attrition was coming, but this one is a surprise to me. Better sign another QB in February.
It seems like Tre Turner has to leave, right? I mean I don't want him to but I believe he and Hooker are tight. Also, it appears he's not really going to get to put up numbers under this staff.
Although yesterday, pre-HH portaling, Tre did post some tweets that made it seem like he would return. Today's news may change things.
He was tweeting at Tapp about getting back to work soooo take that for what it's worth
I think Tre was one of the supporters of Fuente that would have left if he was fired.
Dear Transfer Portal,
I hate you. Please fucking die.
Thank you for listening.
It's not the portal pushing them out
#BlameCaveJohnson
...and take 2020 and COVID-19 with you!
Well, it did give us Herbert, so there is that. But yeah, I know. Sigh.
The portal giveth, and the portal taketh away.
Why should the portal die?
The portal entrance door is fine. Screw the exit door.
After once again conferring with my wife and family, should it be offered, I will respectfully decline the position as backup QB for the VT Hokies.
* respect my decision
Can QP come back?
Instead of beating a dead horse, I will simply state that it is not normal for programs to lose this much talent this frequently.
I'm not suggesting that what VT is experiencing is 'normal' (aka mean/median), but I'd be interested to know how common transfers are.
You can break it down by year and team
https://247sports.com/Season/2020-Football/TransferPortal/
Thanks! If I can scrape the data to a spreadsheet, might do an analysis and share here. I'm curious...
And really, at the end of the day, this is the big issue with Fuente - getting and keeping good players on the team. WTF?! I truly believe the guy can coach (yea I know, crazy) - but what the hell is the problem at least keeping our good players that are getting PT to stay? I hear about his love for the players, and many of them appear to feel the same way about him, but SOMETHING is off.
It almost sunk his ship this year. At this rate, he is tostitos next year. You just can't win without players.
I want data. I know it appears we're getting shafted with the exodus every year, but every team is having this challenge. I want the data that proves we are on the losing end of the portal.
I don't think we have been in the past, but this year is definitely looking like we'll be on the losing end of the portal.
First year of the portal we had second most transfers of any school in FBS
I'm not talking about numbers, I'm talking quality of the players that left. If all those guys that left didn't even start at G5 schools, do we really care that they left? The Roanoke Times had been tracking guys that left Tech, and the results of the guys that left was underwhelming to say the least. So unless someone shows me that some of the players went on to be all-conference type players (preferably in the P5), I'm not going to cry over them leaving. This year, however, is where I think we will be on the losing end of the talent give and take through the portal considering who has already declared. If Hudson and Nester return, that may not be the case. I don't think HH or QP will return though.
Yes all teams have people transfer every year, but how many of them are players who start/contribute? This year we have our starting QB, our back-up QB, our starting RG, and backup RG (who was the starting C last year) a back-up lineman (2 starts last year). The 2 receivers I can see why they would look to transfer, with how depleted our wr room was this year, they still didn't find playing time.
This basically means we have to go after a QB in the transfer portal again this off season, right?
Would it really be Fuente football if we didn't?
To be fair it's not Fu that kills them, he leaves that to Corny.
i.e. run them up the middle on 3rd and long when everyone knows it coming
Hey Hendon:
Fourth QB in five years to TRANSFER - not graduate, not medically retire - from the program that both started a game and had eligibility remaining.
Actually, Hooker is graduating too. Read his post.
Imagine if we had redshirted Tyrod in 2007. And then he graduated and could either declare for the draft or stay for his redshirt senior year, and he decided to grad transfer instead.
It's impossible to imagine that scenario playing out.
Technically, Hooker is graduating. But, does have eligibility left with (apparently) the intent to play somewhere else. But overall agree- not a good trend.
Who are the four? JJ, QP, HH...who am I forgetting?
JE left (not transferring) with eligibility remaining. It was JE, JJ, RW, HH, QP, and BB that got playing time (and a little of KK). So don't think there's anybody else that even could have transferred, unless they never played in a game.
When BB started the UVa game I felt this was inevitable...looking back on the season as a whole, if BB had played better against UNC (combined with the foot injury) I bet we wouldn't have seen Hooker at all this year. To be fair though, our best games this year were with BB as a starter for whatever that's worth. I'd bet that Clemson game wasn't the only issue, but it was the one that ended it for Hooker. Again with the secrecy around the program we'll prob never know all the facts, but I wish him well and hope he finds a new home and opportunity.
As for the program...more of the same. It's not even about recruiting or wins and losses for me anymore, it's the culture and no one can tell me it's good. Hell, the team was even divided on whether or not to play a bowl game, so that tells me all I need to know. The portal entries just compound it.
*To clarify: I don't have an issue actually if they played a bowl game or not (I see both sides), it was the fact that some did and some didn't and how they went about it. For me it gave me the opinion that the team as a whole isn't on the same page.
To be fair, there was the same torn spillage on social media from other ACC teams that opted out. There are always going to be two sides at a minimum to controversial decisions. I cant fault the players for wanting to just go home or the ones that wanted one more game. I also cant fault the coaches for respecting the decision if it was made by the players.
Maybe ten years from now one of these guys can write a book about the inner workings of the Fuente era.
I would love to know how the vote was tallied though (my political science background itching for the process)
Yeah, perhaps I'm reading too much into that aspect of it as far as the bowl game. Just seemed weird, but I haven't been paying attention outside of VT tbh either.
Possibly the most damning thing of the Fuente Era so far.* Brings in two 4 star QBs as a recruit and neither of them finish their college career at VT.
*Losses to ODU, Liberty, blown out by Duke also worth mentioning.
I disagree, and here is why. Since Fuente has been hired, Ohio State has lost four 4 star QBs. Joe Burrow, Tate Martell, Torrance Gibson, and Matthew Baldwin. Sometimes QBs don't get the starting spot and they transfer out. That's especially the case since the Transfer Portal was created.
OSU loses talented QB's because there is always a more successful QB ahead of them. Fuente is losing QB's because he can't get a single one to succeed for more than 2 games at a time.
So you don't think Hendon and QP transferred because BB started the UVA game and more than likely won the job for next year?
I know you are mad at Fuente, but blaming him for their performance is a stretch. BB came in and ran the offense just fine.
You're right, Burmeister will win the Heisman next year. Fuente's history with QB's at VT indicates nothing but success for the guy with the starting job, or the guys behind him.
Especially with a hugely diminished offensive line.
Jerod Evans had a pretty good year. Didn't Paxton Lynch go first round? Hopefully he found his guy again.
Burmeister looked good vs. Uva and Clemson but couldn't move the team vs Duke.
He's limited as a thrower.
Losing 2/3 of your QBs is never a good thing.
Comparing VT and Ohio State in terms of talent and depth is quite honestly ridiculous at this point.
QP and HH are better off. At the end of the day, they realized they have a much better shot of reaching their goals somewhere else.
Fuente and Cornelson have done absolutely nothing well in terms of QB development since arriving at VT.
This Staff is a joke and its absolutely ridiculous that they were retained.
Yes BB has his limits as a thrower. But you left out HH and QP - serious limits throwing there.
Bottom line is we haven't had a well-rounded QB yet (JE had serious passing limits but was able to bullrush through it and get us wins).
Again most of it comes down to recruiting. Also, what was Dwayne Lawson's rating out of high school? I think it was 4 star as well. QP showed flashes, but did not have the total QB package.
Funny how Joe Burrow left Ohio State because he couldn't beat out Justin Fields who transferred from Georgia because he couldn't beat out Jake Fromm.
Sometimes system makes all the difference
Ohio State has the luxury of being stacked with talent at their skill positions, so yes, transfers in the portal era are definitely going to be the status quo for them. But for having a coach brought in who was touted as a "QB whisperer" and offensive guru who was going to take the immense pressure off the VT defense to win games, I really agree that this is a damning sign. If we had QBs transferring out because we had a starter or two during the course of the season who were developing into NFL-level talent, and thus they didn't see a chance at playing time, then I'd be in agreement.
I appreciate the level headed response. I just don't see the need to hit the panic button when clearly Fuente will be starting Burmeister next year. QBs transfer to get playing time. It's happening all over the country. I chose Ohio State because my parents are alum and I watch most of their games.
In his presser Whit stated:
Apparently HH found out that Whit wasn't talking about him?
It really breaks my heart that his last play was a fumble return for touchdown
I take back what I said about feeling any better after yesterday's presser. I do believe that the decision to keep Fu, whether it was Whit's or Sands'...it was the death knell for VT football as we all once knew it and loved it.
Chuck Brewer has entered the chat
From the day Fu said "Braxton has earned the right to play" and talked about a 2 QB system, I think we knew this was going to be fumbled and surprise it was fumbled.
To be fair, I was impressed with BB against UVA so I'm not saying he wouldn't have been QB1 next year anyway, just seems like losing 2 of your top 3 QBs in a year that didn't count against eligibility probably wasn't the dream scenario
Hoping Hooker lands on his feet and balls out. Watching him turn the season around in 2019 was a lot of fun
Hey, do you guys remember when we lost to Liberty? Man I thought that was the worst.....
We're almost straight back to the Beamer error with QBs. What is JuJu up to now? Does he have a year left?
I am sure Fu will get a mediocre pro-style QB from the portal and say we killed it, i.e., this is totally better than loosing HH and QP (two guys that have been in the system forever).
You can't spin the optics of these current transfers in a good way, like was tried somewhat successfully in previous years. 1, 2, or 3rd QBs depending and two very good linemen for 95% of any past VT seasons. Add it all up with everything else and Tre Turner somewhat melting down on Twitter now and this is not a good look.
Didn't the NCAA say they would approve all waivers this year? I mean why would you not put your name out there? Maybe a school takes a flier on you and show cases your skills better for NFL scouts.
Man - after Whit's presser, I felt totally deflated. Next day I was like, okay, need to try for a positive spin. Then Hudson and Nester put in for the portal. And QP. I was thinking again today I'd try to look for something positive, and now HH enters the portal. Good grief, I feel like I'd like to get all the bad news at once so we can see what we've got left and move on.
It definitely isnt good news. But I felt that BB was selected to start against UVA and as soon as I heard Whit's comment about finding a quarterback I thought this was coming.
After QP, Hudson, Nester, and now HH, I don't want to be doom and gloom, but it's hard to not feel like there's more coming too. And these guys were major contributors, not some of the guys from past years that didn't even see the field at the G5 schools they went to.
Hendon Hooker to Richmond and returns next year to extend our Virginia Comedy Tour
Make A Wish U
Richmond probably doesnt need him to beat us. ODU certainly didnt.
I get that these are sketchy times for VT football, but the scenarios above are all likely incorrect... His dad last year told me that the plan all along is that he wants to get his MBA. He's graduating this month and will likely transfer to a program that has on-campus MBA (ours is in Alexandria)
Perhaps I'm getting us off topic, but getting an MBA immediately after graduation is a complete waste of the degree, and not at all how it is designed to be used.
There are a decent number of people that do it though, and not many of them have the opportunity to get it paid for.
That doesn't mean it's wise. It over-qualifies you on paper but under-qualifies you in experience. Result being you don't get that great of a job.
The thing is, it's actually (relatively) easy to get a scholarship to a decent (top 40) full-time program. When I got my MBA, fellowships and graduate assistanceships covered half the class's tuition. This was pretty common at all of the programs I applied to, the big difference was how that money was spread throughout the class.
I wasn't advocating for it. I also don't know HH's family's income situation or who may be advising him. If he doesn't have anybody with the experience you do to suggest these things, he may not be getting great advice. Or, he may be transferring for reasons wholly unrelated to an MBA.
Bar1990's advice to not get an MBA right after undergrad as it makes you over-qualified on paper and is (at least) as likely to hurt your career as help is excellent. I'll add that it also applies to Ph.D. programs. For anyone out there still in school and considering these types of degrees because the job market is iffy now, please be very careful about continuing for years and years of education. I have been reasonably successful career-wise, but I will argue that whatever career success has been achieved is in spite of my degree and not because of it.
Just curious, what is your definition of "success?"
This isnt entirely true, the Professional level MBA is based in Richmond, Roanoke and Newport News. The Evening and Executive MBA programs are in Falls Church and Alexandria. The Professional program likely meshes best with someone also looking to continue to play football, and most of the program is online based.
Not that he owes us any explanation, but an explanation like this makes his transfer significantly more understandable. I dont like it, but its also hard to see why Pamplin would want an MBA program in Blacksburg as well, so I get his reasoning.
We went from strengths in the qb and OL rooms to concerning lack of depth quickly. I guess that means BB wont be entering the portal or least we hope he is going to stay now.
Man, we must be really be in a bad financial place if we brought Fuente back.
Trust me, the majority of colleges and universities in this country are scrambling...and their employees are anxiously awaiting to find out if they will still have jobs by the end of next year! If not sooner.
I hope he is fine medically. He just didn't seem right all year. This guy with a full season is the guy.
Last year I had a post about whether we should go after some more qb s and I was about to start one for this year.
I would recommend getting 2 qb s.
First, from the portal an immediate eligible qb who can compete with BB maybe will be here for a year or two.
Second, I would get a long term guy out of the portal who has to sit one year like the MS state guy who is from Charlotte (Garret Scherder I think)
What a disaster but hey Whit is okay with all of this
Joes explanation makes sense. FU has turned our program into a cluster fuck. Tanking a once proud program while making millions!
Sucks but wishing HH well. Dude was a quality character guy. Let's go BB! VanillaVick!
One thing I have a question on is:
Do Fuente and Corn actually want to run with a PRO style recruit but have an issue because VT naturally recruits DUEL style much more easily?
And this question gets really interesting when you look at our QB room for next year. If you tailor the scheme to BB, you would think Bullock might be able to run it, but can Kadum? My guess is you MUST pick up a veteran dual threat QB in the portal to feel anything close to comfortable. In all seriousness, they should be in QP's ear about staying!
Well ain't this a pisser! Best of luck to Hendon.
The Hokies are going to need some luck going forward as the loses just keep coming. The roster churn in my opinion tells much and much of it stinks!
Read this thread
Does this mean we may not, in fact, be rollin?
Joke's on him, Knox has thrown six college passes.
Wait what happened to BB?
We didn't sign BB out of HS. He transferred from Oregon.
I believe that they aren't counting him because he was a transfer.
Edit: I'll drink... more
He's not wrong. Pretty damning IMO
This following Henrik Ludquist announcing he couldn't play for the Capitals this season is a big double nut shot
Wishing the best to HH wherever he lands. I thought he was clearly our best QB coming into this year, but he never really showed that well for whatever reason. Was never too impressed with BB, but starting BB against UVA was totally understandable, and BB's play against UVA was the best QB play I saw all year. It should have been an open completion going into next year. Have to respect HH's decision but I don't really see how it benefits him much on the field. If you have the inside track and don't nail down the starting QB job at VT, where do you go from there. The Portal activity is pretty pervasive beyond just VT, and I think it's just an unfortunate extension of the youth, travel sports mentality where if things don't go your way, there's always another travel team to move on to.
You speak the hard truths.
Maybe Josh Jackson transfers back in since he opted out at Maryland this year, would keep the Double Initial QB room at a 3-1 ratio for Year 2....BB, KK,
QP, TB,HH, JJ....otherwise check the initials in the portal. Have to keep Cornelsen's letter retention to a minimum.I hope this situation ended positively between VT and HH otherwise you can kiss getting anyone out of the Triad goodbye for a long time.
So what's that 70% of our offense from this year gone now? Yeesh
#MakeTheMove
Chatman just posted on Twitter with a waving hand emoji
He ain't even on offense.
In my best dj khaled voice, "another one"
Not a loss 🤷🏻♂️
Looks like Lakeem Rudolph at least thinks that was a joke
I think he caught a bunch of us with that one. (He has clarified that he was joking around.)
Just to clarify
My question is, why would current players troll the fanbase when they know times are sensitive?
It's not been easy on them either...
Cause they see how ridiculous people are
Because it's fucking college football, lighten up.
Much love to Hendon, he was a quintessential team player for us and I'm proud to call myself a Hokie with guys like that in the community. Best of luck to him wherever he goes.
As long as it isn't Maryland.
edit: drinking
Hate to see Hooker leave. IMO Fuente never gave him a fair shake here. Played Willis over him last season, and then Burmeister again this year. I'm rooting for HH wherever he goes. Best of luck.
Also, I can't be for certain, but I'm starting to think more and more Whit has something up his sleeve. I don't think he's that out of touch to stand behind what he did in the press conference. This team is going to be bad next year. I feel like we may be biting the bullet for one more year in order to make a splash. Just my opinion, but we will see how it plays out.
Maybe Whit is secretly planning on selling the team and has convinced Alabama to relocate to Blacksburg. You know, kind of like the college version of Cleveland to Baltimore.
Did the concession stands replace turkey legs with hot dogs topped with mesquite-grilled onions, jalapeno relish, and mango salsa?! They're trying to move the team to Albuquerque!
Jalapeno relish is legit.
I guess whatever helps you get sleep at night but the truth is likely he's got nothing up his sleeve. What you saw is what we're getting. There's no aces up his sleeve and he's not playing 4D chess. The reason he acted the way he did at the press conference was he knew it wasn't going to be a popular decision, but it was his decision and he came in defensive right from the get go. It was basically ego at play. Everyone was taken back because they've never seen Whit behave like that but that's all it was. He threw his chips behind Fuente and he wants to be right, and like many people in power that make decisions, they will often get defensive and chippy if you question them on it.
You may be right. This is either going to be a great success (doubtful), or end very badly in a few years. Time will tell.
Is it to late to fire Fuente?
Two years ago I thought we should have fired cornelson. Now it's too late. I thought we should have fired Fuente this year. In two years, after successive recruiting disasters and losing seasons it will probably be too late to fire Fuente
Assuming we get a new coach next year (which is a big if) that new coach will arrive to a much more difficult situation than Fuente was met with in 2015. We argue if Fuente was given a fair shot with Beamer's rough last years preceding him, but what's it going to look like with one blue-chip recruit on the entire roster?
I think given the situation Fuente came into most people generally agreed that he should get 5 years to rebuild. In that time VT has only done two things consistently: Play inconsistent football and regress. The next coach is absolutely coming into a worse situation than Fuente did 5 years ago. How much worse will depend on how much longer Fuente survives.
That said, we, as a fan base, need to understand that the next coach will need, at the very least, 5+ years to rebuild. However, we should be able to see evidence of progress through the first few years. Those first few years will likely be very tough and it's unlikely VT will win many games but if the coach can demonstrate improvements on the recruiting trail and the field that should be enough, even with losing records.
The problem with Fuente is that recruiting and on field performance has gotten steadily worse over his tenure. Though the offense is marginally improved its come at a cost to the defense. Overall there hadn't been enough progress through 5 years to justify keeping him. And as I'm sure we will find out over the next year or two, things are only going to get worse.
I absolutely think the next HC job is going to be harder and everyday that Fuente is here only digs the hole deeper.
Its why I didn't agree with letting Frank stay as long as he wanted and "go out on his own terms," because it was clear towards the end that things were heading in the wrong direction both in Recruiting and on the field.
Yet this year, in the face of overwhelming underachievement both on the field and off, we have chosen to leave the Staff intact for reasons that are beyond rational comprehension. Add to that that we have lost Four 4* players in barely a month and more attrition is expected. And then, the cherry on the top, our AD calls a Presser ostensibly to bolster support for the current staff and commences drop a multitude of borderline unhinged statements essentially chastising portions of the Fanbase.
So yeah, whoever is coming in after this is going to have their hands full. We will need to be realistic and patient. Not acting like a standoffish buffoon would certainly help the next coaches' chance for success.
Have to disagree on one point - Frank Beamer earned every right to retire when he wanted. There have been others who held on longer. It seemed like Frank really wanted to go out with a championship and realized he wasn't edging closer in his waning years. I respect his decision to bow out when he did, with class.
That's if you believe he wasn't pushed out
This.
If you want to not be accused of bait-and-switching the Early signees, yes.
It's not too late, IMO, until we're within a couple weeks before National Signing Day (but that's only if the next hire is lined up and introduced within the following 24 hours). If a search is needed, then make it a month prior.
It's not too late to fire a guy imo if the situation is untenable (which it clearly is to everyone outside VT Athletic Department). Just don't do what Jim Weaver did and fire Greenberg (right move) and halfass the replacement hire.
TJ JACKSON in transfer portal (backup o lineman)
Did Vice tell his guys he is getting a better job and get out while they can?
Since he is currently making $280k (up for renewal in summer) and seems way underpaid compared to the product he is putting on the field (Wiles making $400k), the fact that one would think OL prospects would be lining up to play for him and we got ZERO on signing day, that current OL guys are flooding into the portal, and he is working for a school that is really tight budget wise this year and on and on, I have the feeling that Fu is gonna fumble another one here......
But hey, as a fan, what is one more total gut punch when you are unconscious on the floor?
?
Bryce Goodner and Danijel Miletic signed.
Hopefully some of that money Whit talked about for upgrades will go to giving Vice a raise.
It certainly seems like something is up with Vice.
He is either leaving for greener pastures or he is really not connecting well and or pissing off guys (2 of whom he won significant Recruiting battles for)---it definitely doesn't add up.
I'd bet on the former, with him waiting a few days post ESD to announce.
Or the other option is that Vice isn't enough to overcome playing for Fuente and Corn
Bright side is we have room to sign up some more 2 and 3 stars in the late signing period.
My guess is that Hooker is stoking several irons in the fire already. It won't take long to learn this outcome.
So much confidence in the future of VT Football. /s
At least Army is doing well. Maybe I'll jump on the Bison Bandwagon, too.
Much speculation as to what happened with HH and JF but when he got pulled on the second possession after his fumble they showed a brief shot of HH on the bench looking very angry...I told my wife right there that HH was going to transfer probably within a week..he was asked to go back in when BB got hurt and fumbled again. I think he was so upset about being pulled on national TV against the biggest team of the Decade for making that mistake and then he did it again. Afterwords when confronted about the play he said he was "cold". Cold as in he had been sitting on the bench all game Instead of playing...it was all over at that
Point. It's true he did look cold and shivery but I think at that point he had fumbled twice it was a bad look and he was a likely A little shell shocked
Grimsley retweeting all of the transfer tweets including this by pimpleton:
Tweet
Pimp is one player I never understood leaving or not getting on the field. He's had a solid season this year in a few games, and last season.
Denmark commented on that tweet. He's at Coastal and might get to play in the NY6
It's also probably less than ideal that Holston retweeted that...
I don't get it. Back in October everyone scream Braxton wasn't it. Now we are saying Hendon ain't it?
It's almost like these coaches have no clue who the best QB is.
When you have 4 runners who can't throw, do you really have a QB?
Hey, now! Let's not bring 4Runners into this
lol
I guess you could call our QB stable the Land Cruisers as well
Perhaps we should just say the heck with it and adopt Kentucky's offense from last year. Hey, it worked okay for them. (somewhat s)
Oh god. We're going to the triple option, aren't we
It might have worked better for us. Maybe?
Looking like VT has #MadetheMove. From Dumpster Fire to Shit Show.
Don't worry---Whit talked to multiple opposing Coaches and ADs and they assured him that losing multiple 4* players in the course of 48 hours will make us much leaner and thus even tougher to prepare for.
This, of course, followed them telling him that they are hiring a team of Analysts to study our QB Draw "concepts."
Can we use some of that 12.5 mil to hire an On-Campus Recruit Retaining Coordinator.
Need to learn how to not just find them, but find a way to keep them.
I can solve this problem.
Fire Fuente.
Keep your $12.5 million.
To say this is simply a "portal giveth and portal taketh away" situation is disingenuous. The portal taketh away from VT at a rate that is not normal. It is not normal for 2 starting-level OL to leave your program particularly when you have one high-round Draft pick (Darrisaw) and another probable NFL player (Tenuta) playing alongside you.
Look at our company in the ACC--are similar players leaving NCSU? UNC? Uva? The answer is no.
The culture here is bad and has been for a long time. Nothing will improve until Fuente is gone.
FWIW UVA's highest rated (and only 4 star) recruit from 2019 is transferring.
So, when we finish 5-7 or worse..."Well ya know, we were rolling, then we lost Hendon, Nester, and a some other significant contributors, rebuilding is a process that most fans don't understand"
Boom. Fuente and Corn are safe through 2022
I know this is sarcasm...but lets get real, you dont have a big press conference by the AD that you are retaining the coach if his job is anywhere near safe...
It feels like we can just go ahead and pencil in hes fired next year unless theirs some massive turnaround next year
This is the way. I hope.
I think the opposite. I think he was fireable this year. I don't see why hang on to him this year if you're considering firing him next year. I think you commit one way or the other
Replacement options.
Time to gather more info on potential suitors
Interesting to see a prediction for QP at NDSU. Maybe he'll go get himself a championship.
That would be awesome. Go get that ring QP!
If they play in the spring can we ship him back in for the fall.
...this is odd.
Why is it odd?
Felt like Northwestern was the play for him, I guess it's not a real option from a depth chart perspective.