VIRUS PUTS ACC TEAMS ON EDGE
Fuente doesn’t expect his full roster but hopes to get year going
Perhaps the most distinctive sign of the times for a college football coach in 2020 is being played out in Blacksburg by Virginia Tech’s Justin Fuente.
As he prepares his team for its long-awaited — and still hopeful — season opener Saturday night at home against North Carolina State (1-0, 1-0 ACC), which defeated Wake Forest 45-42 Saturday, he waits a few times a week to hear two words about his coaches and players that dictate his life: Negative or positive.
After the game against N.C. State was postponed two weeks because of coronavirus positives late last month in the Wolfpack’s athletic program, then seeing No. 20 Virginia Tech have to postpone a game against Virginia until December because of Tech’s own coronavirus issues, Fuente is making no guarantees.
He plans for Tech to finally get on the field this weekend after the Hokies had to place several players in quarantine who had either contracted the coronavirus or because of contact tracing, but he’s holding his breath until he actually gets his team to kick off at 8. Fuente already concedes many of his players won’t make it to the game.
“We will not have a full roster,” Fuente said Monday morning. “I hope we are able to play. We still have three more tests this week. I mean, we have one (Monday), we got one Wednesday and we got one Friday. Taking it day by day.
“I think we’re all living in a test-by-test world right now. So, we’ll see as they come, and hopefully everything works out fine. … I’m not trying to raise alarm. … I’m just being honest with the situation we’re in. We’re trying to make it each day to see where it’s at and, hopefully, we’re on the right side of where this thing’s trending. I’m not positive one way or the other where we’re at, and I’ll know a little bit more as the week goes on.”
Virginia Tech released a depth chart Monday, but of course, the status of quarantined players will directly impact the Hokies’ depth.
With Indian River High alum Devon Hunter indefinitely suspended from the team after he was arrested and charged Sept. 13 with a felony and a misdemeanor by Christiansburg Police, Tech might be forced to go very young at its strong safety position. True freshmen Keonta Jenkins and Lakeem Rudolph, a graduate of Green Run High in Virginia Beach, are listed as the first- and second-team options, respectively, at the position.
Armani Chatman, an alum of Virginia Beach’s Catholic High, is slotted as a starting cornerback along with Jermaine Waller. Among transfers, seventh-year graduate transfer Justus Reed is a firstteam defensive end, Brock Hoffman is the starting center after sitting out last season, and Khalil Herbert is atop the depth chart at running back, with Raheem Blackshear immediately behind him.
“I’ll feel really good about a large portion of our football team and what they can do,” Fuente said. “It’s just getting them all together at the same time has been a little bit of an issue. So, ultimately, I don’t know if I’ve been this close to a game and felt as uneasy about who we would actually have in the game as I do feel right now, and I think that’s probably the biggest part of not knowing how it’s going to look.”
“So, ultimately, I don’t know if I’ve been this close to a game and felt as uneasy about who we would actually have in the game as I do feel right now, and I think that’s probably the biggest part of not knowing how it’s going to look.”
— Hokies coach Justin Fuente