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Fuller, Chiefs to face New England in AFC Championship Game

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Here's a look at all the latest news on Virginia Tech alums in the National Football League.  
 
Sunday, January 20
 
New England at Kansas City – 6:40 p.m. ET
CB Kendall Fuller and the Kansas City Chiefs will host the New England Patriots in the first-ever AFC Championship Game played at Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs are coming off a 31-13 win against the Colts, while the Patriots are coming off a 41-28 win against the Chargers. The winner of this game will travel to Atlanta to play in the Super Bowl LII.
 
Fuller had three tackles and one pass defended in the win against Indianapolis. During the regular season he tallied 82 tackles, 12 passes defended, one forced fumble and two interceptions.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
With Virginia Tech alum Bruce Arians serving as Tampa Bay's new head coach, it was no surprise that he added someone with deep Tech ties to his coaching staff. On Wednesday, Cody Grimm accepted a position on Bruce Arians' coaching staff as a defensive/special teams assistant. A former walk-on, he concluded his playing career as a four-year letterwinner as a linebacker for the Hokies from 2006-09 under Frank Beamer and Bud Foster. A seventh-round draft pick of Tampa Bay in 2010, he played in 23 games (12 starts) for the Bucs from 2010-12, registering two INTs and a forced fumble to go along with 61 tackles (47 solo). 
 
The past three seasons, he has served as a member of Justin Fuente's coaching staff at Virginia Tech, working under the direction of Foster as a quality control coach and graduate assistant. An AP third-team All-America selection and first-team All-ACC selection as a senior for the Hokies in 2009, he was also the defensive MVP of Tech's Chick-Fil-A Bowl win over Tennessee.

L.A. Chargers
CB Brandon Facyson and the L.A. Chargers had their season come to an end as they fell to the New England Patriots by a 41-28 margin in the AFC Divisonal Playoffs. The Chargers finished the season with a 12-4 regular season record and were one game short of winning the AFC West and claiming the No.1 overall seed in the AFC.
 
Facyson saw 26 snaps at CB in the loss to the Patriots and finished the season three tackles and one fumble recovery.
 
Chicago Bears
The honors for former Hokie Kyle Fuller have yet to stop. The Chicago Bear was named first-team All-NFL by the Professional Football Writers of America (PFWA). Earlier this season Fuller was also tabbed as a starter for the NFC Pro Bowl squad and earned first-team All-Pro honors from the Associated Press.

Pittsburgh Steelers
After spending the majority of the season on Pittsburgh's practice squad, TE Bucky Hodges signed a reserve/future contract with the Steelers earlier this week.

Hokies on NFL Rosters (As of Jan. 17, 2019)
 
CB Adonis Alexander              Washington
T Duane Brown                        Seattle
S Chuck Clark                           Baltimore
LB Tremaine Edmunds           Buffalo
RB Trey Edmunds                   Pittsburgh
S Terrell Edmunds                   Pittsburgh
CB Brandon Facyson              L.A. Chargers
WR Isaiah Ford                         Miami
CB Kendall Fuller                     Kansas City
CB Kyle Fuller                           Chicago
TE Bucky Hodges                    Pittsburgh
WR Cam Phillips                      Buffalo
DT Tim Settle                             Washington
CB Greg Stroman                    Washington
QB Tyrod Taylor                       Cleveland
G Wyatt Teller                           Buffalo
TE Logan Thomas                   Buffalo
 
Other Hokies in NFL Roles
Bruce Arians                   Tampa Bay         Head Coach
Malcolm Blacken             Washington        Director of Player Development
Nathan DiGregorio           Arizona              Scouting Assistant
Keith Gray                      Philadelphia        Assistant Strength & Conditioning
Torrian Gray                   Washington        Defensive Backs
Chad Grimm                   Washington        Outside Linebackers
Cody Grimm                   Tampa Bay         Defensive/Special Teams Assistant
Jeff King                        Chicago             Pro Scout
Anthony Midget               Houston             Secondary
Sam Nichols                   Washington        Assistant Equipment Manager
Johnny Shelton               Baltimore           Team Chaplain
Nick Sorensen                Seattle               Secondary