By Jimmy Robertson
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Virginia Tech and Kentucky head coaches and a group of players met with the media at a news conference held at the Charlotte Convention Center on Belk Bowl Eve, and nearly all had the same underlying message.
It's time to play the game.
"I think it's time for us to go play the game," Tech head coach Justin Fuente agreed. "I think everybody's had about enough of practice, and everybody's ready to go finish this thing off."
There are many subplots to this Belk Bowl – Kentucky's rushing attack, the uniqueness of Wildcat quarterback Lynn Bowden Jr., the status of Tech cornerback Caleb Farley, the Hokies' late-season solid play, and both teams wanting to use the game as a springboard into the 2020 season.
But for Tech, much of the conversation has been about sending longtime defensive coordinator Bud Foster out the right way. Foster is retiring after the game following a 33-year tenure in Blacksburg, including the final 23 as the defensive coordinator.
Of course, the players on Tech's defense want to send their coordinator out with a victory. But that mindset extends to those on the other side of the ball, too.
"It's definitely always a thought in the back of our mind," tight end Dalton Keene said. "Coach Foster means so much to this team, not just the defense, but the offense, too. We definitely take a little bit of responsibility for that because it does hurt that this is his last year, so we just want to send him out the right way."
Most of Tech's players know little about Foster's career accomplishments. They probably couldn't tell one when he won the Broyles Award as college football's top assistant coach, or how many shutouts his defenses have during his career.
Instead, they view him from the perspective of how he treats them – always with a friendly word or a word of encouragement. That's what they say they will miss the most.
"Every time I see him around, he always says 'hi,' and he's always communicating with the guys no matter what side of the ball you're on," tight end James Mitchell said. "I think that's big, and I think the guys on offense realize that, and they want to play for him. They realize what he's done at Virginia Tech and what he means across college football. We want to send him out the right way for those reasons alone."
Fuente echoed his players' sentiments. He kept Foster when Fuente took the job after Frank Beamer's retirement mainly because of what Foster provided as a coordinator. But the two men came to be good friends.
"He's a much more social person than I would have guessed," Fuente said when asked what about Foster surprised him the most. "That was just my perception of this hard-nosed defensive coach – and he is that – but he's also a social person. He enjoyed the company of other people and the conversation. He's not a cratchety guy that wants to be by himself in a corner all the time. That's just not his personality, so for me, that was the biggest, 'Wow, this guy is not just a great teacher, not just a great motivator, not just a great master of scheme, but also a social individual.'"
Fuente also added, "To say it's [Foster's career] remarkable would be an understatement. The history of success, not just staying at one place, but continually producing top-quality products throughout the years and staying in one place, to me, it's hard to describe. It's more than unique. It just doesn't happen in today's day and age. It may never happen again in our business. He's a fantastic example of hard work, dedication, loyalty and mastering your craft."
Here are some more notes from Monday's news conference:
MUTUAL RESPECT
Many media members spent a lot of amount of time asking Bowden questions about the upcoming game, and he certainly is a compelling story. He started the season at receiver – and he still leads the Wildcats in receptions – before being moved to quarterback and rushing for a team-best 1,235 yards and 11 touchdowns.
His season earned the respect of a Tech player who happens to play the same position – Hendon Hooker.
"He's really put the team on his back, and that's a big deal for him and the team because he's given them a chance to win," Hooker said. "As a competitor, that's your main goal."
LINEBACKERS' DREAM
Tech linebacker Reyshard Ashby admitted that the Belk Bowl is somewhat of the perfect type of game for an old-school linebacker such as himself. The Wildcats run the ball 68% of the time, with Bowden handling most of the load.
In other words, Tech's defense knows what it will get.
"It's kind of playing Georgia Tech, knowing that they're going to run, without having to defend the triple option," Ashby said. "This right here is amazing. You know they're going to run the ball. You're going to have plenty of chances to make tackles and help the team, so yes, this is [a game for linebackers]."
ASHBY NOT OFFENDED
Speaking of Ashby, he was named the ACC Linebacker of the Week on five occasions this season, but somehow was not a first-team All-ACC selection. The junior, though, wasn't offended at receiving second-team honors and took a rather graceful approach to that news a few weeks ago.
"I'm not upset," Ashby said. "There were some good guys that deserved to be up there, and they [the voting panel] chose who they wanted to choose. It's nothing to be upset about. You've just got to get better to the point that they put you on there. Everybody who was up there deserved everything that they got, and if you want to be up there, you've got to go earn it yourself. You've just got to be better."
TECH TIGHT ENDS – GOOD NOW, BRIGHTER FUTURE
Fuente was asked about his tight end position – they call themselves "T-Unit" – and he raved about the work done by the quartet of Keene, Mitchell, Drake Deluliis and Nick Gallo this season. Keene and Mitchell received most of the reps this season, and their versatility, and more importantly, their intelligence allowed the staff to diversify the offense. All four of the tight ends finished the fall semester with a 3.0 grade-point average or better, and all return for the 2020 season.
"It's been awesome," Keene said of the season. "We've got such a good group. All of are trying to excel in every aspect of our game and every aspect of life. Every tight end had over a 3.0 GPA, so that was awesome. We're not just football players here. We're students, too – really good students."
"It's the second-most difficult position to play behind quarterback," Fuente said. "They're just so intelligent that it allows us to maximize their physical skills. They have unique skills. They're not all the same. Some guys are better at some things than others, and we try to capitalize on that, but we can do that because they're just so intelligent. It allows you to move them all over the place and do a bunch of different stuff.
"That tight end room we have is special. I'm talking about all of them … It's a special group."
THE ARM FARM
Speaking of those tight ends, several weeks ago, Deluliis established the "Arm Farm" in which the tight ends stayed after their regular weightlifting sessions to get in additional work. The group didn't like their numbers in the weight room, as the season moved along, and wanted to increase them, which required putting in the extra work.
"We could tell the season was taking a toll on our bodies," Keene said. "We weren't putting up the same numbers in the weight room that we wanted to, so one of our guys, Drake, started the 'Arm Farm,' which was a chance to get another lift in throughout the week and try to limit that degradation throughout the season. So stuff like that. We're just trying to get better everywhere."
Being on the Arm Farm means doing extra lifts related to thighs, abs, the neck and triceps. Enrollment in the Arm Farm is expanding. Because of the leadership of this group, others are wanting to participate.
"We've got some guys outside of the tight end room into it, so it's starting to spread," Mitchell said. "It's been pretty fun."
SHOPPING SPREE OFFERED UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY
The Hokies spent a portion of Saturday evening at a local mall as part of a bowl-sponsored shopping spree at Belk. The players were given a certain amount to spend, and while most spent the money on themselves, many unselfishly purchased belated Christmas gifts for family members.
"I saw one of my teammates purchase a fryer, and that was really special to me because I'm really close to my mom," Hooker said. "To see that gave me the idea that, 'Hey, I can get my mom something, too' even though I was in there shopping for myself. That, and I also saw one of my teammates buy perfume for his mom. That was really a thing to me."
Gallery: (12/30/2019) 2918 BELK BOWL MEDIA DAY