Virginia Tech reached unprecedented heights under former coach Frank Beamer but suffered its worst season in 30 years in 2022. A look at how the Hokies got there and whether they can get back.
Instead, several sources said Fuente and Ballein clashed from the start."I don't think he was a big Justin Fuente fan," said one former staff member."John never really got a great feel for him initially. I don't think he went out of his way to be great with Justin, but I don't know if Justin really wanted John to do that."
The two rarely agreed and often butted heads in terms of what players needed and how the football program should be run, according to multiple former and current staff members. "I've never seen any evidence, heard it secondhand, no examples, never any proof of John ever undercutting anything that Justin Fuente did."
Frank Beamer went 238-121-2 during his 29 years as head coach at Virginia Tech."It's a lot harder to follow a legend than I anticipated," athletic director Whit Babcock said,"and that has nothing to do with Coach Beamer." took over was no longer a championship-caliber contender. In 2014 and 2015, Beamer's final two seasons, Virginia Tech needed wins over Virginia in the regular-season finale just to keep its 23-year bowl streak alive.
"Justin was being asked to compete against Clemson, which isn't realistic because their budget was so much larger," one fundraising source said."I was taken aback how there wasn't any sort of being proactive, raising money for Justin. Think if that money had been invested in football." "Say you needed new gloves, they would fight you and not try to give you another pair of gloves for practice," another former player said."So you get one of each and everything, and if you lose it, it's over with, you can't get another."
From a facilities standpoint, Fuente was able to get support from Babcock and the administration to make some much-needed upgrades. Virginia Tech spent more than $120 million to upgrade its facilities and resources while Fuente was there -- including a weight room and a dining and nutrition hall in addition to the new athletics dorm.
"You could point the finger, but at the end of the day, it's a little bit on everybody," said defensive lineman Houshun Gaines, who played at Virginia Tech from 2016 to '18."Everybody has to do a better job -- players have to do a better job of trying to get the coach to trust them, and then the coaches have to be more trusting."
Quincy Patterson II, who transferred from Virginia Tech after the 2020 season, played at North Dakota State and Temple after he left the Hokies.Upgrade to a Disney Bundle plan"I always thought it was strange the amount of hate Fuente got, even from the people on the team," Patterson said.
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