Virginia Tech’s gonna try to score points now. Justin Fuente’s just the guy for the job

Justin Fuente’s last season at Memphis revealed the coach’s one potential weakness in the midst of what has been a brilliant career. It’s the classic failing of most offensive-minded coaches: a tendency to lack oversight on the defensive side of the ball.

After several starters left and Missouri poached DC Barry Odom ahead of 2015, Fuente’s defense plummeted from No. 23 to 72 in S&P+.

At his new stop in Blacksburg, Fuente won’t have to worry about making the right hires on defense for a while. He’s paired with longtime Hokie DC Bud Foster. His job is to finally bring consistent offense to defense-oriented Virginia Tech.

“I’m not interested in hanging the defense out to dry just to chuck it down the field,” he’s said. “I learned a valuable lesson. I worked for Gary Patterson for five years. Gary’s maybe the best defensive coach in all of America. When I was his offensive coordinator, not a single time did he come in and tell us what to do. [Head] coaches have a role for the coordinator of the other side, and that’s to hire a great staff. I believe in letting our coaches do their job.”

How soon can Fuente get this train rolling? What’s the upside for Virginia Tech in an emergent ACC? That will almost certainly come down to how quickly Fuente can do the thing that has brought him to this point.

Most know Fuente for what he did at Memphis, which is where he seized and invested the free money he found in Florida, otherwise known as soon-to-be NFL Draft QB Paxton Lynch. But it’s easy to forget that he got his opportunity in Memphis by doing something similar in Fort Worth.

Patterson’s TCU staff determined Andy Dalton might be more than just another product of multi-championship, Houston-based Katy High School. Then in the Mountain West, TCU won his recruitment over fellow mid-majors Memphis, San Diego State and UTEP. Much like with Lynch years later, Fuente played Dalton early and allowed him to develop over time. By the time he was a senior, he was throwing for nine yards per attempt and leading TCU to a Rose Bowl victory.

That patience and eye for overlooked talent at QB, then making the most of it, is pure gold in this era. QB play is often the primary determinant of success.

At Virginia Tech, that’s been sorely lacking. Virginia Tech QBs have been turnover machines; four years in a row, VT’s ranked in the 90s or worse in interceptions thrown. That should be completely anathema to a program that wants to win with toughness, special teams and defense. This is why the Hokies haven’t leveraged strong defenses into more wins recently.

Here’s what Virginia Tech has seen from its top player at the position over the last six years:

And here’s what Fuente’s QBs have done over the same period:

Fuente was able to get high-level play from three different QBs at two different schools. He only once got bad play from the position, when Lynch was a redshirt freshman. Virginia Tech only got one really good year of QB play during that stretch (2010), despite featuring a returning starter in four of six seasons.

One of the first things Fuente did at Virginia Tech was securing the commitment of JUCO QB Jerod Evans, whom he’d been recruiting to Memphis. You’ll see a familiar sight for Hokie fans: a big and powerful (6’4, 230) kid with a strong arm and the ability to run downhill.

Evans’ story is a classic example of how a talented QB gets overlooked.

He went to Mansfield High in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. He operated a “pro-style offense,” the sort scouts claim they want to see a kid operate. In reality, a high school running a pro-style system can usually only nail down either the run or the pass. They’re not putting tight ends and fullbacks on the field to feature the QB. Evans didn’t throw a ton in high school, and thus his talent wasn’t obvious.

Evans’ play in the pro-style O got him a scholarship to spread-option Air Force, where he tore his ACL and determined he’d prefer to go the JUCO route. He returned to Texas and enrolled at Trinity Valley C.C. In his second year, he threw for 3,164 yards with 38 TDs and three INTs, rushing for 414 more yards. He was effective in the power-read run game, a big part of the Fuente system, throwing quick passes and run/pass options. And he bought time with his legs to uncork deep bombs.

It’d be surprising if Fuente doesn’t choose Evans as his next eventual star.

Virginia Tech’s QB situation wasn’t looking hot before Fuente brought in Evans, but the rest of the roster includes some interesting pieces, and beyond just receiver Isaiah Ford, who in 2015 became the first Hokie since 2011 to make the All-ACC first-team offense.

Previous OC Scot Loeffler was trying to be an early adopter of the up-tempo spread/pro-style hybrid system that’s starting to take over major programs. As a result, the roster has some components Fuente didn’t see often at his previous stops.

Fuente is inheriting a possible future pro tight end in Bucky Hodges and a versatile fullback in Sam Rogers. Spread programs like Memphis are often lucky to have one or the other, much less both. It shouldn’t be hard to make the most of them.

The 6’7 Hodges was already more of a flex TE than a classic, in-line guy who’s going to base block a defensive lineman. In 2015, he caught 40 balls for 530 yards and six TDs, often as a slot receiver. With Fuente, he’ll probably spend most of his time flexed wide.

Rogers has been a steady part of the Hokie passing game for two years, with 36 catches for 423 yards and three TDs. These unique pieces, along with the more traditional skill players, should fit through alignments like this:

Hodges (7) is lined up in space as a slot receiver. Rogers (F) is playing a fullback/H-back role that could see him motion out to run quick routes or in to execute blocks. This emphasis on spread formations and quick concepts is going to create matchup problems.

If Rogers can learn to run a couple of key routes, it’ll open up this offense to Fuente favorites like this:

This has been a concept Fuente has taught all of his QB, a zone overload to the boundary (the side closer to the sideline) with the field (the wide side) receivers running in open space and punishing the defense if it tries to rotate to the boundary.

Evans’ ability as a runner also opens up some opportunities to use formations that put maximum stress on opponents.

To handle a formation with three receivers and a flex TE out wide, the defense will have to widen. But in the box, you have a 230-pound QB with wheels and a back who’s strong as a lead blocker, in pass protection and running routes. The defense has to pick its poison.

He can climb up the coaching ranks and build the case that he’s one of the best coaches in college football. He’s inheriting unique talent that fit his scheme to a T, he had a very intriguing JUCO QB lined up to lift the Hokie offense off its knees and he has one of the best assistants in the country covering his blind spot.