I was fine with the Fuente hire, but I did not think it was a home run. I am also not ready to declare the hire a home run; however, I will say that I am completely impressed with what Coach Fuente has done to this point. Let's be honest without ourselves, Fuente did not inherit an overly ideal situation. He did get some good players left over from the Beamer era; however, everything else, including recruiting and the overall "brand" was trending downwards. There was zero spark left in the program and some new juice was needed. Thus far, the relatively soft spoken Fuente has provided that juice. I actually see an offense out on the field again (no matter the talent level or players filling the positions). I see a HUGE improvement in special teams! Beamerball is finally Beamerball again! I see a rising trend in recruiting that could have gotten worse before it got better. I also see discipline on and off the field, followed by a bunch of guys that seemingly have bought into the system/program.

All of this is to say, I think Fuente has a bright future in Blacksburg and has the chance to build upon all of the greatness that Coach Beamer gave us for so many years. I am legitimately excited for the future of the program, and much of that has to do with Coach Fuente.