Optimism Surrounds virginia tech at media day

Carter Hill

Football Beat Writer

August 7, 2021

BLACKSBURG — When Virginia Tech head coach Justin Fuente took the job all the way back in November of 2015, he had to find a way to introduce his three daughters to their dad’s brand new team. Both Fuente and his wife, Jenny, knew exactly what to turn to.

As they sat their children down on their Memphis, Tenn. couch following a 63-0 blowout victory against SMU, they pulled out their iPad to show them a specific video. That video happened to be of the Hokies running out to Enter Sandman — the earth-shaking entrance, that has registered on the Richter Scale multiple times, is played prior to each home football game.

Of course, when North Carolina rolls into Blacksburg on September 3 for a Labor Day weekend showdown with the Hokies, the infamous entrance could be at it’s best.

“We’ve played in big opening games before,” Fuente said inside the Beamer-Lawson Indoor Practice Facility on Wednesday afternoon. His teams have traveled for a neutral site game against West Virginia in 2017, and road games against both Florida State and Boston College, in 2018 and 2019 respectively, to open those seasons.

“I’m just happy to get one at home, it feels like we’ve been everywhere except home,” Fuente continued.

The Hokies have only opened a season up in Blacksburg under Fuente when they hosted Liberty in 2016, and NC State inside an essentially fanless Lane Stadium in 2020.

Optimism, intrigue, curiosity — those are all ways Virginia Tech has described itself before the 2021 season kicks off.

The Hokies, a team picked to finish third in the ACC Coastal standings behind UNC and Miami, feature quarterback Braxton Burmeister under center. And Burmeister, a redshirt junior, is just one of the many players the coaching staff is raving about.

“He’s an elite athlete,” Fuente said. “He looks just like the people I’m watching on TV in the olympics. He’s ripped to shreds, he’s got veins in his abs, he jumps out of the gym.”

It’s the first time the sixth-year head coach hasn’t held an open quarterback competition since Paxton Lynch stood behind center for Fuente’s Memphis Tigers back in 2014, which Fuente took note of in the spring. Lynch was a first round draftee of the Denver Broncos in the 2016 NFL Draft.

The La Jolla, Calif. native has some nice toys to play with as well. The receiving core of Tre Turner, Tayvion Robinson, and likely NFL Draft pick James Mitchell are satisfying assets to have for Burmeister, who’s entering the season as a starting quarterback for the time since high school.

Redshirt freshman wide receiver Jaden Payoute is set to play a major role as well after missing the entirety of 2020 with an ankle injury that kept him sidelined and delayed his collegiate debut.

For both Burmeister and the running game, the offensive line will be a crucial piece to how well Raheem Blackshear, Jalen Holston, and Keshawn King will be able to churn out yards against opposing defensive fronts.

Luckily for them, offensive line coach Vance Vice continues to add to his almighty “Vice Squad,” that has been ever so important to the Hokies over the past couple of seasons.

Adding a 2020 All-Big Ten honorable mention from Maryland in the form of Johnny Jordan certainly softens the blow after losing first-rounder Christian Darrisaw to the 2021 NFL Draft, and outgoing transfers Bryan Hudson and Doug Nestor as well.

On the defensive side of the ball, there are a few question marks that surround the secondary of Virginia Tech after the losses of first-round draft pick Caleb Farley and third-round pick Divine Deablo.

Tae Daley, a transfer from Vanderbilt, is a nice pickup for the Hokies. There’s no doubt that he’ll help out Tech immediately by filling an open slot at free safety. Devon Hunter is back as well after missing the entire 2020 season after he was suspended due to legal issues that have since been resolved. A former four-star recruit, Hunter is projected to be a big time playmaker across from Daley at boundary safety.

Then you can’t forget about Jermaine Waller as a cornerback, who could challenge to be the best in the ACC at his position if able to stay healthy in 2021, he missed most of last season due to multiple injuries. But Dorian Strong is the one that somehow is still forgotten about.

Strong is a player that Tech fans should be ecstatic about. The Upper Marlboro, Md. native was an unranked recruit, picking up just one offer from Delaware State before the six-foot corner wooed the Hokie coaching staff.

How did he respond? Just by becoming one of the biggest surprises in the entire ACC — adding 22 total tackles, five pass breakups, a fumble recovery, and a massive interception against Virginia for his first career pick.

Defensive coordinator Justin Hamilton is expecting another step forward from Strong this upcoming season. But cautioned him saying that, ‘a great true freshman season is different then a great career.’

“My confidence level is actually very high,” Strong admitted. “With me competing...as a freshman against...seniors, juniors, it’s like, ‘okay now I can show off more’. I know the game, I know the little tips and tricks here that guys like to do.”

Both linebacker Alan Tisdale and defensive lineman Amare Barno are two stars that’ll line up inches away from the offensive line and Tech fans should be ecstatic to watch them in 2021.

Tisdale recently climbed 18 pounds this offseason, jumping from 210 to 228. Fuente said that he is ‘pleased’ with how well Tisdale has matured both physically and mentally since fans last saw him in action back in 2020.

Barno, meanwhile, has quickly raised some attention on his stock for the 2022 NFL Draft, and he received praise as a First Team All-ACC Preseason Selection.

ESPN NFL Draft Analyst Jim Nagy recently tweeted that “(You) can’t coach length or closing speed and Virginia Tech Football EDGE Amare Barno has plenty of both...led Power 5 with 16 Tackles For Loss last year. (His) Best football is way ahead of him.”

Fellow Hokie defensive lineman TyJuan Garbutt couldn’t agree more.

“A lot of what he has you can’t teach, his motor is relentless,” Garbutt said. “He already has all the measurements, all the things you want, all the God given talents,”He knows how special this season is going to be for us and he knows how big he can be for us.”

The Fredericksburg, Va. native acknowledged the toughness of the Coastal Division when it comes to quarterbacks. Potential Heisman Trophy candidate Sam Howell at North Carolina trumps the list. With D’Eriq King at Miami and Kenny Pickett at Pittsburgh not too far behind.

Garbutt seemed more than up for the challenge, calling it ‘a great opportunity’.

“We want to show we’re (the defensive line) one of the best groups out there in the country,” Garbutt continued. “We feel as a defensive line, if we're that dominant, we feel like we can impact the game.”

Of course, there’s another major element that can impact the game on any given fall Saturday in Lane Stadium. It’s the 66,000 fans that have been locked out since 2019 and echo the sound of jingling house keys down onto Worsham Field, shake the stadium every big play, and register yet another earthquake on every seismograph you can find within the New River Valley.

For the team itself, it can’t wait to see the fans park themselves on top of the metal bleachers scattered throughout as normalcy inches ever so closer, seemingly beginning with the college football season.

Jordan himself hasn’t ever experienced Enter Sandman in person. But looked like a kid in a candy store when talking about touching the infamous Hokie Stone that reads, “For Those Who Pass, For Those To Come, Reach For Excellence.”

“I’m excited, it’s going to be so fun,” the Leesburg, Va. native said with a grin. “The fans here are fantastic, the gameday atmosphere with Enter Sandman and running out of the tunnel is something I’m looking forward to and definitely was a draw to Tech.”

The Maryland transfer said that the Terrapins only had fans admitted for one home game in 2020, and calls being able to play in front of 66,000 fans will be ‘awesome’.

Fellow offensive lineman Luke Tenuta, whose father Jon Tenuta recently took over as a senior defensive analyst for Virginia Tech, said that while his dad has coached with North Carolina, Georgia Tech, and Virginia, he is “excited to be on the good side this year.”

The older Tenuta took over the role after spending the last four seasons at Cincinnati, three of which as the safeties coach. He left the Bearcats behind to move closer to Luke and watch him play regularly. Now, he’ll get to watch his son from the sidelines surrounded by the roar of a packed Lane Stadium.

Garbutt may have put it best. Saying “the advantage” will be what he most looks forward to about welcoming fans back in the stands for 2021.

“Playing in a stadium full of 66,000 vs. maybe even just 66 people — it’s a huge difference. The fan’s help bring the juice....we want the fans back. Full capacity,” he said.

For the first time since 2019, Tech fans will have the chance to bring the juice. Twenty-seven days separate the present day from the time the Hokies and Heels kick it off from inside a normal Lane Stadium.

Just how it should be.