Roanoke Times reporting the second string free safety is done for the season.
This reduces the safety room from 8 scholarship safeties at the beginning of August to 5
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Worrying about academics can't fault a guy.
Oh hell no I can't fault the guy for focusing on academics. I'm just pointing out that he's not going to be available for the rest of the year
He will always be a dude in my book because of the North Carolina game last year.
Wasn't that Khalil Ladler?
I think Rodgers made the recovery
My bad: That was 2018
Proud of any of our guys that make decision honestly
I have 1/2 year of eligibility left. Put me in coach.
Next man up ... please!
*Looks around the room*, *shrugs*
Sign me up, bro! I led MD high schools in INTs as a safety my sophomore year.........in 1978, so I may have lost a step or two. We do need a playmaker in the secondary, right?
Well, damn.
Getting the wheel of excuses churning already I see.
He is taking time to worry about his academics get out of here with this trash.
Totally support the guy pursuing his academics. Not an issue.
However when the experienced front 7 of this defense is run off the field and Fu/staff inevitably points to losses in the secondary as the cause, he can get out of here with that trash.
I get that everyone on this site supports the Hokies, and wants to see the best out of them, but these guys don't owe anything to you. If he wants to opt for academics he can. If he wants to opt out for other reasons, he can do that too.
Obviously we'd probably be better if he stays, but he's a person and we should respect his decision.
Was it not clear what I posted? I have no issues with his decision. I can already see how this will be spun when the defense struggles this year however.
I think there are much bigger problems (and better excuses frankly) than the backup safety opting out mid season. And I think you do have a problem with the decision.
Dude? Come on.
I literally don't know how I can make this more clear. I do not have a problem with the player making a decision, that is 100% fine.
I can already see how the staff, not the player, will use losses/lack of depth at safety to excuse poor overall defensive performance this year, even with a veteran front 7. "He can get out of here with that trash" = Fu. Not the player.
I'm just not going to buy it when we give up 400 rushing yards and say, Welp we were missing some guys in the back end.
You are legit making me lose IQ points trying to figure out what you're saying
It's really not hard. Idk why yall are having such a difficult time with this. He is saying that this will be used as an excuse for our defense if they shit the bed again.
Does the staff really make excuses? You are assuming something that hasn't happened and already angry about it.
This - bingo! Negative predictions based on false assumptions.
Was it Fuente or messageboard posters who were blaming the performance on the secondary though? 🤔
I mean, this is from this Monday's presser:
Thank you for quoting this so we didn't have to. Fuente's got his faults, but he's never been one to make excuses
Yeah none of that was mentioned in this thread before you spoke up
I wish I believed that but there are many people who want the team to fail so Fuente will be fired.
Isn't this news a few days old? Surprised there's so much discussion here.
After careful consideration and discussions with my family, we have decided, if offered, I respectfully will decline a position as Safety, for the VT football team.
Go Hokies.
Geez, even Egbert doesn't want to play for us. Another recruiting miss Fuente & co.
Be honest, it's the COVID, isn't it?
Ask me again in 14 days.
I think this is especially smart of him considering what happened with Adonis Alexander. Don't want to get in a pit so deep that you can't get out and lose eligibility because of academics.
I am assuming he is scholarship player (I really don't know) and that remains his, until he leaves?
I would not want to penalize a guy for focusing on his academics but I am equally sure there are a few guys without scholarships that are putting the training time, game time, and keeping up with the class work. At what point does that deserving guy get a chance at having some of the financial burden lifted from his family/himself? Is there a Cliff-notes version of the VT/ACC/NCAA rules on this?
I don't fault a guy for worrying about academics, like every student should. What I don't like is doing this in the middle of a season when your teammates depend on you. I mean, this academics thing doesn't come out of nowhere and bite you in the ass. You should know before the season, or better yet, after the season, that you can't play ball and be successful in your academics at the same time. I don't mean to sound like the hard ass or old skooler (that I am), but when you commit to playing out a season, you should make every effort to complete it, barring some kind of debilitating injury or personal tragedy. I mean, if his grades didn't meet the minimum requirements, he'd be ineligible to play anyway, right? He's also been in the program for a few years, and should know what is required to balance academics and athletics, so I just don't get the timing of this. Just my take.
You never took a class that you thought would be easy but half way though realized it wasn't and now you're spending all your time just trying to get a C- so you can move on?
Or maybe with the extended eligibility he realized he can go to grad school and needs all As to bring up his GPA for grad school.
Who knows the situation, but as long as the NCAA insists on calling them student-athletes, then their number 1 prior is to be a student, with the team coming in 2nd.
It was just now stated officially from Fuente. There have been rumors that he hasn't been available to play all semester so I don't think this decision was necessarily made in the middle of the season.
So not to be the excuse police, but basically it sounds like he was never eligible, or on very thin ice academically - but it was never publicly acknowledged or announced. People see us basically playing walk ons and linebackers in safety spots and ask "why not play the 5th year senior?"
In this scenario the team allows the player to make the decision to opt-out without necessarily having the embarrassment of saying he's ineligible. But people can't accept that which cause Fuente to have to basically say outright that he isn't eligible.
It could also be that he had COVID and missed class time in addition to football time and now needs to catch up. He may have thought it would be easier to catch up, but he may be finding that difficult and has decided to focus on his studies instead of trying to catch up on the field and in the classroom.