By Jimmy Robertson
BLACKSBURG – Those who work in the Atlantic Coast Conference office certainly did the Hokies no favors with the revised fall football schedule in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the additions of NC State and Clemson and the subtraction of Georgia Tech – a team that the Hokies shut out last fall.
Yet Tech head coach Justin Fuente was not complaining. On the contrary, he felt blessed.
"I'm mostly just grateful to have one, to be honest with you," Fuente said of the schedule. "The psyche of these young people, to have a target, to have an opponent – whoever it is – to know that there is a plan to have some structure … these kids and coaches become creatures of habit and structure, and to say that we haven't had that would be an understatement. I sensed a little more energy, and I don't know if relief is the right word, but excitement or lower anxiety level with the fact that there was a name on the schedule and not just the date, to me, that was the biggest thing."
Fuente made those comments Friday during a Zoom conference with local media members hours before the Hokies took the practice field for their first practice in preparation of a 2020 season that remains on track for the moment.
Dr. Mark Rogers and Director of Athletics Whit Babcock discussed Tech's testing and other pandemic-induced protocols and procedures Wednesday, while on Friday, Fuente revealed his plans to create the safest possible practice environment for his players and coaches.
Interestingly, he and the staff went back and looked at last year's practices – an idea borrowed from Miami head coach Manny Diaz, who submitted the 'Canes' findings to the ACC. The purpose was to look at the amount of physical distancing that took place between the players during a practice, knowing that distancing is critical toward alleviating the spread of the highly contagious virus.
Fuente said he was surprised to find that the players and coaches weren't inside of six feet of each other that often during a practice – good news for all those concerned. Most of the close-quarter contact comes along the line of scrimmage.
"I was personally shocked at how low those numbers actually were," Fuente said. "I think everybody thinks – me included – that football is just played in a big pile – and it wasn't like that. I thought the numbers would be a lot higher than what they were."
Still, he and the staff have adjusted drill work to the extent possible to get the most distancing possible. The staff also plans on keeping players six feet apart when they're standing on the sidelines, and the coaches changed the stretching routine to allow for more space. In addition, every player wears a neck gaiter or a face shield.
Fuente and his staff continue to stress the importance of being smart when away from athletics facilities. He knows the risk increases with the student body set to return to the Tech campus in the next two weeks.
"If we want to play, we have to understand that we can't do things that we've always done," he said. "That's just the bottom line. If we want to accomplish this, then the onus is on us, and we have some control over it. I think that's the point I've tried to make to them. We don't have total control over it, but we need to focus on what we can control and do the best we can. That means we have to alter our behavior, and we're going to have to sacrifice things – and that's unfortunate … It's different, and we have to acknowledge that and understand it."
Here are some other takeaways from Friday's news conference:
• Fuente reported several roster moves Friday, though arguably none bigger than revealing that defensive end TyJuan Garbutt wasn't with the program at the moment. Garbutt started 11 games last season, finishing with 31 tackles and a sack.
"This is non-COVID, non-disciplined related," Fuente said. "This is a personal family matter that he's having to deal with. He's still on scholarship. He's going to school this fall. I do not know if he'll play."
Also, Cole Beck plans to focus exclusively on track. The tailback from Blacksburg placed fourth in both the 60- and 200-meter races at the ACC Indoor Championships in February.
"He's got some very lofty goals in regards to his track career," Fuente said. "That's going to be his focus going forward."
Finally, defensive tackle Jaden Cunningham suffered an Achilles injury during workouts last winter and will rehab from home, while taking classes online, and Raheem Blackshear, a transfer from Rutgers, hopes to hear soon on his appeal to the NCAA to play immediately.
"But you all know we've been through this before," Fuente said. "I hope, by next week, to know something."
• Garbutt's absence really leaves the Hokies with just two experienced ends – Emmanuel Belmar and Justus Reed, who came to Tech in the offseason as a graduate transfer from Youngstown State. Caleb Farley's decision to opt out of this season also leaves the Hokies thin at the cornerback positions, and defensive end and cornerback will be monitored closely the first couple of weeks of practice.
"I feel OK," Fuente said about the defensive ends. "We'll see what happens with the young ends. I still feel OK with where we're at. If you ask me in a week, I may feel differently. I think depth is going to be a huge thing this season. You start to think about what it may look like and how you may be down at certain positions – not through injury. It can be concerning everywhere.
"We are a little thin at corner. We need Nadir [Thompson] and Brion [Murray] to continue to develop and continue to get better. Armani [Chatman] played quite a bit for us there at the end of the year. We'll just see how those young guys come along. Bringing [Justus] Reed in helps me feel a little bit better about having some depth there [at defensive end]."
• Knowing that any positive tests of coronavirus during the season could create depth concerns at any position, Fuente hinted at working multiple players at different spots throughout August practices.
"I think flexibility is going to be paramount," he said. "There are scenarios where you could play different opponents than what's on the schedule now. There are scenarios – and I'm not saying this is definitely going to happen, but it's not out of the realm of possibility – where you find out mid-week that you're playing someone else. I think scheme and personnel flexibility to give yourself the opportunity to play and be successful has to be at the forefront of your mind as a coach."
• Fuente does plan to open the competition at quarterback – and really, all the other positions – despite being roughly a month away from the season opener. Losing spring practice obviously hurt, as the staff wanted to give all players a fair opportunity to put their skillsets on display. Fuente still wants to give that opportunity, but the timetable will be short.
"We will let those guys go compete and give them opportunities to go out there and show what they can do, but I don't think we've got a lot of monkeying around time, so to speak," he said. "I think we need to get up and running and get rolling and get those guys reps, and as the thing goes on, we'll have to … be judicious with how we move forward week by week heading into the first game."Gallery: (8-8-2020) 2020 FALL PRACTICE OPENING DAY