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Buffalo Bills Pro Bowl QB Tyrod Taylor and Seattle Seahawks Pro Bowl
S Kam Chancellor caught up with Coach Fuente at the 2016 Spring Game.
The Fuente family enjoyed a practice visit from
great Hokies’ QBs Michael Vick and Bryan
Randall in 2016.
2016 ACC COACH OF THE YEAR
• Fuente and his entire staff return for their second season at Virginia Tech after a
remarkable debut campaign in Blacksburg.
• The consensus 2016 ACC Coach of the Year, Fuente was also named the top first-year
FBS head coach in the nation by the Football Writers Assocation of America, sharing that
honor with USC’s Clay Helton.
• Tech finished the 2016 season ranked No. 16 in both the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll,
marking the highest final mark for the Hokies since 2010 (No. 16 AP, No. 15 Coaches).
• Virginia Tech, Penn State, Colorado, West Virginia and Western Michigan all finished in
the AP Top 25 after getting zero votes in the AP Preseason Poll.
• Tech’s 10 wins were the team’s most since 2011 and the most ever by a first-year
Virginia Tech head coach, surpassing the previous mark of nine wins by C.P. Miles in
1905.
• Fuente led Tech to its sixth ACC Coastal Division Title and its first since 2010, sending
the Hokies to the ACC Championship Game where Tech lost a narrow 42-35 decision to
eventual national champion Clemson.
• The Hokies did not lose consecutive games under Fuente in 2016 as the Hokies
extended the nation’s longest active bowl streak with their 24th straight appearance.
• Under Fuente, the Hokies also extending their winning streak against Virginia to 13
straight games.
• Virginia Tech’s 35-24 victory over Arkansas in the Belk Bowl marked the largest
comeback in school history. The Hokies were down 24-0 at halftime before scoring 35
unanswered points en route to victory, making Fuente the initial coach to guide the Hokies
to a bowl victory in his debut season.
• The Hokies broke 10 offensive single-season records in 2016, most notably registering
school marks for points (490), total first downs (330), TD passes (31), passing yards
(3,660) and yards of total offense (6,223).
• Among ACC squads, only Clemson (26.9) averaged more first downs per game than
Virginia Tech (23.6) in 2016.
• The Hokies also returned to their dominant defensive ways in Fuente’s debut campaign
as Tech ranked second in the nation in third-down defense (27.5%), while ranking fourth
among Power Five squads in tackles for loss (113.0) and fifth in opponent completion
percentage (50.1).
• Virginia Tech also experienced a special teams’ resurgence as the Hokies returned to its
Beamer Ball roots, blocking four kicks (three FGs, one punt), while registering TDs on a
punt return and a blocked FG return.
WELCOME TO HOKIE NATION
• Named Virginia Tech’s head coach on Nov. 29, 2015 after orchestrating one of the
more dramatic program resurrections in recent college football history at Memphis.
• Considered one of the hottest coaching commodities in a market filled with high-profile
openings, Fuente later indicated that Virginia Tech was a program he had long admired
from afar, and was the only job he truly coveted, thanks in large part to the rich football
tradition, a great environment to raise his family in Blacksburg and campus leaders
committed to winning with integrity.
• While following in the footsteps of a bona fide legend like Frank Beamer would be a
daunting task for any individual, Fuente immediately embraced the lofty expectations
associated with inheriting the nation’s longest active bowl streak and a fanbase hungry
for a return to championship contention.
• Perhaps the perfect touch for Fuente incorporating the best of Beamer Ball into his
own program came when he and longtime defensive coordinator Bud Foster forged an
immediate connection and he promoted Foster to associate head coach, while retaining
one of college football’s most respected defensive minds.