This tweet, which appears to be from Tahj's dad, seems to indicate that his time is coming soon. As long as he is physically ready, I hope he gets to take the reigns. At this point there are zero other reasons not to let him take over
Young king locked and loaded π―π― its gonna be upβ¬οΈ real soon for the ACC/ CFB frfr they dont even no itπ€£π€£ #bighokie π¦π pick a side or die in the middle noβ double backin neither keep it there #almosttime β³β³β³ #beatGT pic.twitter.com/qYD9Ei4tEBβ Mr. everyday is gameday a.k.a #Bighokie π¦π¦π¦ (@6HunnitHussla) October 27, 2021
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It's about damn time.
Didnt clemsons domination of the ACC start with a Tahj at the helm? FULL STEAM AHEAD ON THE HYPE TRAIN
Disappointing that these coaches are so poor at development that playing a true freshman would be the move over someone that has had 3 years in the program (Kadum).
That being said, it would be exciting to see what Bullock is capable of.
Desperate times call for desperate measures
Kadum was screwed when BB3 got the starting position this year, and Bullock came to campus. He's not going to outplay Orji or Ferrell either. GA state title QB, but can't break the depth chart at a .500 VT program. I don't think he wasn't going to break the depth chart at JMU either.
Fuente & co(rn) have certainly failed at development, but this is on recruiting imo. Kadum had no other big offers and was gonna go to jmu if we didn't offer. I'm not sure he was ever gonna be acc material.
Bullock didn't have many big offers, but at least a couple acc schools
If this happens, I imagine it would involve a loss this weekend at GT. Then we have 4 games left to play him without burning his redshirt
Burmeister's body might finally be done for the year. I got told after the ND game by a recruit's dad, BB3 was hanging by a thread. Then I was shocked to see him play against Pitt, and then Syracuse.
Or maybe BB needs a week or two off. Just running the option a couple of times early vs Syr opened up the run game, so a healthier BB might be seen as a necessity.
They're not going to burn Bullock's shirt. But if he plays this week, it doesn't mean he'll play against, say, UVa.
Regardless, I'm not convinced the tweet means much more than Bullock will get some PT going forward. And that's not a huge news flash.
not to come across as an asshole, but why does Fu care if he burns his shirt? Fu see's the writing on the wall and prob is now just trying everything to win.
With all due respect, Fu should've been trying everything to win from day one....actual day one, not last year's day one
Fuente's exiting act will be playing Tajh in 5 games to burn his RS.
That's what I'm worried about. My other concern is that we win out (however unlikely) with Tahj. Maybe an 8-4 regular season saves Fuente, but it would have shown me yet again that CornFu don't know/understand what they need to succeed, and rather than developing a QB or even a RB, they rotate players through until they find one that works.
If Fu tried that, and I was Tahj, I would simply not suit up for the final game
Eeesh. I don't know about that. If he's playing significant minutes at QB, you would advise him not to suit up for the UVA game?
Not the way to get the fans on your side.
I'm not advising him, I'm saying what I would do, unless I knew Fuente was coming back next year.
We've likely got a lame duck coach, and I could either play on one more meaningless game and lose a year of eligibility...or not play in that one more game and retain that full year.
I'd likely "opt out", and if Tahj did that, I, as a fan, would support him 100% because it'd be just plain stupid to burn his redshirt at this point of this season
Would you opt out of the UVA game if you were the starting QB going into it? Just a backup? Maybe two different answers there, but if you're the starter, no way should you opt out just to preserve your redshirt. I don't think you'd get as many fans behind you as you think, for that decision.
Just my $.02, though.
Fair enough, I can see both sides of it, and respect your $.02.
It would be a tough call, but if it were a forgone conclusion that Fu was out, no way I'd play, cause no way I'd know if I'd be back at VT next year. If I decided ti transfer based on whomever we hired, I'd want 4 years at my next stop
Isn't this what Khalil Herbert did, refused to play to preserve a year of eligibility?
No - that was Blackshear at Rutgers
It was Herbert
I didn't remember that Herbert did that. Blackshear did the same thing. I think I remember Blackshear more because his was more of a straight transfer and he required a waiver to play, and, as usual for us, was denied at first. So there was a big deal about how he'd sat out most of the previous season and they were going to make him sit out another season (before the waiver appeal granted him the ability to play). Probably wasn't much of a deal since Herbert was a grad transfer and was therefore eligible anyway (I guess because he'd redshirted the year before).
That would be incredibly petty for a man who has been compensated extremely well and who has had multiple opportunities to secure his own future here.
Something like that would color my opinion of CJF which is that while he may not be up to the job he is generally a good guy.
I dont seem him playing this weekend, we have 5 games left right? I seriously hope they dont burn his redshirt in a season like this. honestly if it were me, I'd play these 2 road games status quo and then play him at home vs Duke, I wouldnt want a true freshman's first start to be on the road.
But then again, if this were me, I wouldnt have Corn as my OC so we might not have even been in this situationΒ―\_(γ)_/Β―
... Devonte for HC?
*ahem* ok first order of business we're bringing back the 2005 maroon jerseys with orange threading, possibly the orange sleeve for big games. Second we're kicking Liberty off the schedule and pretending they dont even exist. Third and most importantly, VT has to supply me with turkey legs while I'm coaching the game. Every camera shot of me during the game has to include me eating turkey legs.
I am smelling what you're cooking..... continue.....
I know we don't discuss Liberty on these boards, but I will say given some recent news there is definitely cause to cancel all future games with Liberty indefinitely...
Should have never scheduled them to begin with
Just googled them and looked at News. Good grief. I guess it's no wonder they'd hire someone like Freeze.
Me too. Wow. The school is huge too, biggest in the US in fact. This should threaten their 501c3 status.... but it won't.
Size doesn't affect it at all. It's based on the type of organization you are, there are multiple, but education and religious are two types that qualify. As long as you don't deviate from your stated mission, you remain in the category forever, regardless of how big you get. As part of that, financial information is FOIA-able. And they have to pay fair market wages too apparently.
Tbf, the majority of those "students" are enrolled exclusively online. The entire university is practically a scam imo, kinda like Grand Canyon and other similar schools.
How do they have so many articles about so many different issues all from the past couple of days.
EDIT: this was rhetorical.
I'd answer that, but tough without getting into details and that school elicits all kinds of stuff on here. I think everyone is trying to tread lightly while simultaneously recognizing stuff about the school and its administration. Hope that was tactful enough lol
I'll put it plainly: fuck Liberty and anyone who defends them.
Oh, I'm not defending them. Just don't want to start in on a long hate Liberty thread that usually spirals out of control, politics get involved and the thread has to get locked. Don't want to add any fuel that would get that fire started.
100% understood, we're on the same page.
"I know we don't discuss Liberty on these boards"
>>15 comments discussing Liberty
lol
also, fuck Liberty
I mean given the news this week, I think we've done a pretty good job of banging the 'Fuck Liberty' drum without taking it to violations.
just pointing out the irony
Irony and Liberty University
Couldn't think of a better duo
Its in their nature.
I highly suspect there is far, far more dirt behind the scenes that is waiting for its time to come to light.
In 'Murica, religion is a great, tax free way to launder money, hide wealth, and peddle influence. Liberty it seems has take full advantage. Here's hoping we can get them off the schedule and that whole institution collapses in on itself like a dwarf star.
This doesn't belong here.
I mean..... just look at who they brought in as the A.D. before Freeze was hired...or the shit the former president got into, so on and so forth. I could go on and on.
... give this man lifetime HC status!
road games are probably a friendlier environment right now than Lane. although, the crowd would cheer for him when he first comes in, i am sure
I agree. BC is on a short week anyway (Friday). My guess is Tahj's first start (assuming there is fire to this smoke) would be Duke. It would be a MUCH easier first game and acclimation for him.
They put KK in the game close to our end zone, why not throw Tahj in whenever? /s
And then what convert BB to WR or RB since he is the fastest dude on the team? Color me intrigued. Also concur with with everyone else has said, wait at least one game do not burn the redshirt
Maybe BB is back in time for the Duke game.
You don't have to wait - he can play 4 games, they don't have to be in a row or anything. They could play him the next 4 hoping to have BB healthy by UVA?
lots of takes on here about burning the redshirt -- in the transfer portal age does that even really matter that much? I don't think you'll see too many r-Sr QBs around starting at the same program they initially signed for.
I mean at the end of the day, I don't much care about the redshirt anymore. I more think its a sign of desperation that we're possibly going this route at this point in the season. Especially after a few days of the national perception shifting toward Fuente being a dead man walking in the coaching circles.
I think you're giving them too much credit...I think they saw how great Malachi Thomas played and just thought..."hey...he's a freshman. Tahj is a freshman too. Jackpot!"
I was thinking the same thing.
How often do QBs start for one college team for four years? Not very often.
If he's ready, and the best option, play him. Maybe Burmeister is back in the mix after a couple of games off.
One would hope that the transfer portal is used only by QBs (and other players) who are unhappy at their current program, like, if they aren't being evaluated and developed well, or aren't getting a fair shake. Ahem.
It possible that Tahj will get the start in every game except Duke since that is Senior Day. Also, maybe BB is banged up enough that he shouldn't go the next couple of weeks.
Is BB3 graduating? If not, we don't have any senior QBs blocking Tahj from starting.
We'll have him one more year, unless he grad transfers.
I would be surprised if BB starts next year. He will either transfer or be passed on the depth chart. My $$ is on transfer.
I honestly think BB hangs it up. Dude is hanging on by a thread out there now, he won't start next year under a new staff, and he doesn't have any real pro aspirations.
It would be amusing if a new staff kept him and developed him just in the offseason to where his production and effectiveness drastically improved next year. Not saying it will happen that way, but it would amuse me.
THAT. WOULD. BE. FUCKING. PRICELESS. π€£π€£π€£
Exactly. What we need in a coach is a quarterback whisperer.
No we need a quarterback shouter. We have a quarterback whisperer and apparently Lane is too loud for our QBs to hear him.
I feel like a broken record here, but maaaybe Fuente should have just kept HH on board?
I get it but maybe HH didn't want to stick around? He stayed for another year after initially entering the portal the year before. HH did what he felt was best for him, and it seems to have been the right move for him. VT wasn't going to change this year so why stay where you know you can't perform to your best. Same goes for QP.
That's no less an indictment of Fuente.
I totally get it when people are passed over on the depth chart and transfer out. When people who are starters are transferring away that's a really bad look. Doubly so when it's at the position that should have the closest relationship with the coaching staff.
Not much Fuente can do about cold weather
/s
Given HH's health issues, BB was an easy choice. Could have been a chance HH's last game ever was Clemson.
I mean, why not at this point? We literally don't have a functional passing game with BB at QB. He was 10-20 passing vs Cuse and only completed one pass between I think the 2nd and 4th qtr according to TSL on the podcast. We can't do much worse. If we focus on the run game and give Tahj some easy throws/play action opportunities, he should be able to hold his own.
I will say it was nice to see the run game have some life Saturday, and apparently Fu spent more time with the offense instead of the scout team last week. You could see an emphasis on the run and it worked. Sad we have gotten to this point though that it took this long for him to get more involved, and even still our offense/player development is so poor that we don't even have a functional passing game.
Sorry but I'm not interested in this move right now and his dad needs to stop hyping him. Finish the season and let Tahj develop the rest of the way. Right now at a critical juncture of the season is not the time to introduce a new qb let alone a true freshman and don't compare him to Malachi Thomas who at least had a few looks a running back.
What do we have to lose? If he is good, we have a QB. If he isn't what we needed, he can sit 1 of the last 5 games and redshirt. BB isn't the answer so give him a look. Scout team wasn't going to develop him better than game experience.
Who has this program developed up to this point? Let him get some reps on film so if we end up with a new coaching situation he'll have something for them (and other coaches) to look at in the coming year. This season is busted at this point anyways.
We really should get guys playing time their freshman season. Ideally, it's in games we're winning big and you can put in those guys for the experience, because game experience is better than practice. I don't fault them for doing it, it's a question of why they're doing it that bothers me. They've burned through so many QBs since they got here that they're left with a backup they apparently don't trust at all (KK) or a true freshman, or a starter that (apparently) either feels he has to keep going despite being beat all to hell, or just isn't as good as Fuente hyped him to be (what did he say - best passer he's had here?), or both.
I wonder what it's like to win big. Sounds awesome.
I swear, it's so frustrating. Fuente (with Corny) HAVE won big. I just wish they knew how to keep doing it. Since it appears to be a mystery to them, I look forward to doing it again under another coach.
FIFY
You want a dad to stop hyping his own son?
Yeah this was my thought: kind of in the job description if you're doing it right.
Now if it's the run-on petroglyph ridden god-forsaken format that is Twitter that they are unhappy with I can understand - but hate the platform not the sentiment.
BB's strength was he could escape the pocket and suck in defenses with his run threat. That disappeared when Blumrick got hurt. Put in Tahj because there is no reason not to. Forget the redshirt. If he wins for us, that's what matters. We need a shake up and there are limited options to shake it up.
Is BB out due to injury, or is he (allegedly) getting benched due to performance?
It's this simple...
You lose to GT and go 3-5 and 1-3 in Coastal, its time to play Tahj and see what you have in him for last 4 games of season without burning his redshirt.
I get what some people said above about transfer portal but with the inevitable coaching change, we could see A LOT of transfers and decommitments soon (what's new?), so you need to know what you have in house IF they stay after coaching change while buying yourseld an extra year with player... Ideally we have a coach that wants to develop/coach up our QB's in their early years so we aren't waiting until "year 3".
I am interested in this move. He is a big dude, and I think we will see a lot more quarterback keeps on the read option. I also think that this will, in limited fashion, open up the passing game a little bit since I would imagine we will run run run. We just watched a huge quarterback run all over us so why not join the party? Don't see any downside. Additionally, maybe throw Kenji back there as well since we are going with an all freshman lineup. He is a big fast man. Just go Kentucky bowlgame triple option run mode and punch some people in the mouth. (see what I did there?)
He isn't a great runner. More Byron Leftwich than Logan Thomas
I'm so excited for this Orji next year. I'm just hoping Fuente's departure won't impact his commitment.
Pull out the π₯ throwbacks.
Possibly burning Tahj's redshirt.
What's next on the Fuente desperation tour?
he'll probably win this weekend lmao how pathetic can you even imagine
FTFY!
He'll bring back stick it in but wont have Enter Sandman entrance
I'm guessing the coaches saw what Malachi did and are going to run with the idea that if they look good in practice maybe they can play in a game?
If Fuente is really donezo, I'm assuming we lose Orji which means Tajh will be our starting QB next year (unless he transfers too). The game time would do him good.
I keep seeing references to Orji and next year. Does anyone really think that Orji will be successful as a freshman? He's a 3 star QB whose skill set is raw.
Well, we certainly hope so.
Who hasn't dreamed of having a successful Or
gyji?What are the odds that Orji even stays if Fu goes?
Because he's a fucking monster.
There are some big schools still pressuring him to flip, and he is still, STILL, coming to Blacksburg in January. For now.
Especially with Corn as primary recruiter, i'm not counting on it
I've been looking forward to a successful Orji my entire life.
if you watch his film, the best thing he does is he ALWAYS keeps his eyes scanning downfield, especially when he is scrambling.
Replying to most of the comments above in this one.
Don't get me wrong, he has the potential to be a very good QB down the line, but I don't see it happening his freshman year.
Can he accurately throw the ball?
He might not be the QB we deserve, but he might be the QB we need right now.
At the college level, no one knows. But there is a lot more to playing QB than accurately throwing the ball. I am skeptical that a 3* QB with a raw skill set will not struggle his freshman year.
Don't get me wrong, I would expect some hiccups.
Then again, aren't we used to those?
Would be optimal to ease him in.
With all due respect to his decision, I don't know why anyone with his skillset would want to be coached by the ones that have produced the last 5 years of Hokie football
This staff doesn't know what they have. All the RB's and we just see Malachi Thomas last game and supposedly Kenji Christian is the best RB? What if our best players have not been playing all along because our staff doesn't realize who is more talented at any given position?
... can someone decipher that tweet for me? I feel like this is just like trying to find the real meaning in any alternative rock song.
... Basically, get ready - the acc doesn't even know what's coming.
and soon
All I know is that if he's playing this week, they better limit the number of designed QB runs. I don't how many QB's Fu and Corn are trying to physically break, but clearly their plan is working. It boggled my mind last season when Kadum came in to the Clemson game and they still had him run the ball a whole bunch.
Mobile QBs are great, as long as they stay mobile, and right now our coaches haven't shown that they can keep a QB healthy for more then about 4 games.
what we need to do is fire Cornelson
I hope the gameplan isn't to just use him as a battering ram until he struggles through games with injuries.
I mean, would it really be a Fuente offense if that wasn't the game plan?
No, it would not.
An ancient proverb says-"if you never expect true freshmen to play, you will never be disappointed."
If you think either of Ferrell or Orji is a quality P5 QB, you shouldn't be at all concerned about burning Tajh's redshirt because it provides adequate separation in their time at Tech. Gives two years for them to learn while Tajh is the QB, and then one of them has two years as the starter. It's sound roster management.
This is not in any way saying Tajh is ready or not. But if he is, burning the shirt shouldn't be a concern.
I'm not concerned about having a QB around long term - assuming we have a good coach come in, I want Tahj to have as many seasons to have a successful career as possible. If there's any potential that he could get drafted, I would want him to have as much time with a coach who will develop his skills to get him as ready as possible. At this point, not sure how many fans expect to win more than one game the rest of the season, but I don't want him to squander his eligibility. I want the school to do well, but also want the players to do well.
As has been pointed out, it's very very rare that a QB stays for 5 years at one school, so I wouldn't decide based on that. If they think Tahj can be good enough compete for the job next year, definitely let him get some starter reps now IMO.
If he's good, I'd like him to stay, but it's not about that, I want the kid to have as much opportunity to succeed as possible, and I think burning a year of eligibility does him a disservice, especially with as little actual quarterback development as our coaches, or more specifically, Cornelson, appear able to provide.
Edit for clarity: And I'm definitely not saying to not give him snaps - I think the experience would be very valuable, just don't play him 5 games and burn the year of eligibility, keep him to the 4 game limit.
For everyone biting their nails over whether or not the redshirt gets burned, don't worry!
He'll just have one less year to contribute at wherever he transfers.
This ain't checkers, it's chess y'all.
/ssssorta
Got thinking this morning...if Tahj comes in, and just tears it up, lights up opposing D's reels off a few wins to finish out the season and the offense looks competent and capable....i'll be even more convinced that Fu needs to go. He'll have driven HH and QP away in favor of BB, who he rode, bruised, broken and battered all the while he had the best QB (left on the roster) sitting on the bench.
I have a feeling that Fuente is going off the recommendation of his OC and his QB coach, who happen to be the same person. Which we all know is someone who he will practically ignore the world for. We also know that this coach is not a P5 level coordinator.
If Fuente has been running the ship as a CEO, then he is probably going off what he has been told by his OC/QB coach, which isn't going to give VT the best chance of success. Yes Fuente is ultimately responsible for the product on the field(all aspects of it), however I feel most of the issues are stemming from a coach that is in over his head and Fuente doesn't want to hurt his feelings by firing him. Let me also point out that I'm not saying keep Fuente, but he could have made a change and had more leash than just this year.
We don't even know if this will happen but if it does I would assume it was Fuente who identified it after becoming more involved on the offensive side of the ball
While I won't disagree that Fu has to go, Tahj in week 8 is not the same as Tahj in week 1 (assuming Tahj is any good in week 8). We start Tahj in week 1 we are probably still 3-4 (trade UNC and Syracuse) and possibly worse.
With any other staff I'd agree...but how many QB's have we seen actually progress and develop under CornFu?
s/ish
Are you trying to bring logic to this? :)
They haven't stayed long enough for us to see
But is that because they realized they weren't being developed?
Exactamundo
If i were in Fu's shoes, you throw Tajh out there and see what he can do. Don't worry about the redshirt.
If Tajh blows it up and you win the next 5 (or 6) games, then Fu potentially saves his job. He would be able to show a winning record and demonstrate that he has a great QB to start with next year
Hate to say it, but as a coach, you can't worry about burning the redshirt in this situation. It's not just his job here, but also his future job if he still gets canned. If he ends the year favorably and VT still moves on, he then has a potential turn around to sell when he is out in the market.
I'd like to see what Tajh has myself. Not much to lose in the current situation. My only concern here is that we will hear the same sad story about he doesn't know the whole offense because he is young and they haven't been able to teach it to him. I think he could give a boost to the offense though and he should have some edge in the first game or two, as no one will have film on him.
And the QB either 1) enters the portal or 2) starts the year on the bench in favor of a 2nd-string transfer from UMass (and then enters the portal).
Not sure if you picked UMASS on purpose or not, but Andrew Ford left VT to go to UMASS. So kind of ironic...
I would just like to point out the hilarity of this thread: debating whether to burn a true freshman QB's redshirt under a staff that has started 6 QBs in 6 years.
I mean, given our experience in the portal
Let's just say needing that fifth year of eligibility hasn't been the biggest problem.
I don't know how relevant this comment is to the current discussion; but I find it interesting that the week CJF moves from the scout team to the first team offense we have our best offensive outing of the year. And we start calling plays French has been asking for all year.
It's probably too late; but does this open Fu's eyes to the problem with his best friend and OC.
Probably too little, too late. Although I don't think Fuente is a good coach, I'm sure he's better than his assistants.
It's kind of ironic though that last week was the first time that the whole stadium was cheering "fire Fuente" because I thought that was our best coached offensive game in a while. For the most part, we called plays that suited our offense (and lack of a passing game - granted that's on Fuente for having a bare QB room) and had some offensive success for the first time this year. We lost to Syracuse mostly because of the defense, not offense. Granted there were still a few terrible plays, like having only two route runners on the same side of the field on a key 3rd down. I also remember one sequence where after having run the ball successfully and just a couple simple pass plays, we ran three straight pass plays for a mind boggling three and out. Not sure what Cornelsen & co. were thinking on those.
But like I said, some decent adjustments but probably too little too late.