UVA and Tech not getting it done on the home front
- Thread starter iDidntGetBanned
- Start date
I noticed this over the years living in 757. One of the reasons VT is just an average team these days, not close to a top 25 and a shadow of what is use to be. There are other reasons, one of which is Fuentes is not the right fit there.
I always believed that Tech should’ve hired a homegrown Coach instead of Fuentes. Growing up back in the 2000s ALL young Virginia boys wanted to play football at Virginia Tech, me included. Homegrown talent like Vick, Hall, Royal, Suggs, Chancellor, Randall, Macho Harris, Tyrod, David Wilson, Tapp, Jeff King, the list goes on and on, were idols.. I couldn’t name 5 players for UVA or Virginia Tech now. There will never be another Frank Beamer, but Fuentes isn’t it... Never will be... Not even close. I was praying that he would take the Baylor job and it doesn’t look like Tech is going to get rid of him unless he losses 5-6 games and Tech won’t (Coastal Division is atrocious). Would love to see Mike Houston, Mike London or even Curt Cignetti have the job. At least they’re proven and recruit Virginia boys. Just think, look at all of the #1 prospects that have left the state. It’s a shame. It’s disappointing after what Frank Beamer built this program up to be.
JMU really has done incredibly as far as hiring coaches. Even Withers pushed that program ahead internally (despite his poor treatment of some VA programs and their recruits).
Houston was great until he got distracted by Charlotte/ECU in the middle of the playoffs. Cignetti seems like he’s even better.
Houston was great until he got distracted by Charlotte/ECU in the middle of the playoffs. Cignetti seems like he’s even better.
Mack is back Mack has Dre Bly recruiting the 757
Tarheels are doing big things back in the Day
Before Beamer started getting the Tidewater kids
It was UNC in the 70’s and early 80’s in the 757
Tarheels are doing big things back in the Day
Before Beamer started getting the Tidewater kids
It was UNC in the 70’s and early 80’s in the 757
From what I notice is Penn State and James Franklin has owned Virginia
Tech hasn’t had a dynamic player on offense since David Wilson, who happened to be from Virginia. He left in 2012 so that’s 8 years of nothing. Ford (North Stafford), Slade (Hylton), Newton (LT), Lambert (Maury), Henderson (Hopewell), Dorch/Wallace (Highland Springs), Smith (Louisa County)...Could be missing some but Virginia has had some great players that LOL’ed Virginia Tech and left the state. Poor UVA had their first offensive baller in forever this past year in Perkins. Too much talent in the state of Virginia for UVA and VT to be as bad as they are. I do believe a James Mitchell and Rayshard Asby are the real deal for the Hokies, two VA boys. A broke clock is right at least two times a day though 
Since you are in to noticing things you may want to compare the Top 25s from say 2010-2020 with the Top25s from say the late 90s until 2009. Talent in the state of Virginia, particularly the 757, is markedly different and the same trends can be found Top 5 or Top 10. There have been some good players in the later time but, no where close in quality or quantity to the earlier period. There are some recent kids(2018-2020) with time to still make their mark but, the 757 is largely living on the strength of its past as opposed to its present and both Richmond and NOVA have been stronger in recent years. Both VT and UVA need to do a better job in state but, there is neither the quantity or quality of players in the state now to stock their rosters like there was in former times.
That might be true but, that was not the original subject of the article or the discussion. Notice I said might but, just like your opinion of the 757 you are probably reaching given that win total has happened approximately 3 times in 30 years and the ACC Coastal and Tech's OOC would seem favorable to at least a slightly better result. As far as lately goes, last year was not good and the current year is still slow but, prior to that recruiting was pretty comparable to Beamer's tenure.
Last edited:
UNC did well in Va. They always had someone at GW games in the 70s early 80s.
Maryland got 3 starters from the powerhouse early 80s GW teams.
Maryland got 3 starters from the powerhouse early 80s GW teams.
Not to take a ton of credibility away from this article....but the VA Pilot is the same publication who led about a month ago with “VHSL cancels summer workouts” only for VHSL to have to call BS....and London’s name in a convo with VT? UVA fans would write glowing recommendations (though I agree the man can recruit!)
Given they were the closest name program to Danville they were always going to be there. Danville is closer to UNC than a lot of their North Carolina hotbeds and starting with Phil Daly and Harper Donahoe and down through Buddy Curry, Dwight Parrish and Steve Hendrickson UNC had success with Danville kids. They were probably miffed to lose the Covington brothers and Ferrell to Maryland. GW used to be a regular stop for all the ACC schools as well as plenty of others.
Mike London is a heck of a recruiter and good coach, better than Fuentes!!! He was handicapped by the rigorous admission requirements to attend UVA so he didn’t get the guys that Tech could get. I expect him to do well at W&M.
London is a good guy. W&M will be a litmus test for him both in terms of coaching and recruiting credibility. The VT coach's name is Fuente. Could not tell if that was just your attempt at a backhanded insult or you actually just do not know any better. You have absolutely no clue about the relative admissions requirements and nobody that actually knows anything about London's situation at UVA believes that was even in the Top 5 reasons he did not succeed there.
I like London a lot as a person, but I think UVA fans would point to inability to develop talent he brought in and in game decisions. Still id hire him to bring the talent in. The W&M having more lax academic standards than UVA brought me pause. W&M may be more rigorous (Jefferson did create UVA for the poor souls who couldn’t go to W&M) and they are in the CAA and not a power 5 conference . Much different environment and I doubt academic standards are loosened. Will be interested at what London does this year without Marion (the creator of the go-go offense and his oc at Howard and W&M)
Lol @ I don’t know anything about the admissions requirements at UVA. If you don’t know about me, guess you have to do more research Boomer. As far as London winning at UVA goes, look at programs like Duke, Vanderbilt, and Stanford.. All have similar academic standards and requirements. They may be good for a year or two, every once in a blue moon. They are often limited in what they can bring in. That will work at JMU, Elon, W&M.. Doesn’t work in a major conference like the ACC, SEC or PAC 12.
No research on you necessary. You constantly make statements like the one I corrected you on that have no basis in fact. If an athlete is a top priority for a revenue program there is rarely a problem getting them admitted and that applies to the Stanford's, Vanderbilts, Dukes and UVAs. Your last statement about the major conferences just reemphasizes how wrong you are.
How you seriously type this stuff is amazing, it's wrong on almost every level. UVA's academic requirements aren't anything like the other three, in fact Duke isn't even the strictest in the ACC, that would be GT. Also, both Stanford and Duke have had unquestionably better football programs than UVA for over a decade now (Vandy you're actually correct about but they play in a tougher conference), the difference is Jim Harbaugh, David Shaw, and David Cutcliffe are vastly superior coaches compared to Mike London. This "they're good once a blue moon" stuff is garbage unless there's been a blue moon for the past 10-12 years. They're doing better right now for the same reason UVA has done better recently: good coaching hires. It's weird how Bronco can win the Coastal under the same "strict" admissions as London but ol' Mike just couldn't get over the hump or really even come close.
London failed at UVA because he is not a P5-level coach. UVA made a hire based entirely off where London is from and his ability to recruit because Groh had basically made UVA non-existent in VA recruiting by the end of his tenure due to his focus on the NE and they were banking on player talent nullifying London's questionable coaching ability. They obviously made a wrong choice and paid for it since London landed plenty of talent and had absolutely nothing to show for it.
Last edited:
What is your take on the article and talent debate Devils? With your history you are probably one of the better/credible voices to offer an observation. However, I will also understand if you feel a response might not be appropriate from you. As I said, my opinion is the real answer is a combination. VT and UVA need to do a better job in the area but, the overall talent(quantity and quality) probably does not demand as much focus as it once did.
I thought you’d bring your 2 cent in again. Glad I could get a rise out of you. Bronco won the Coastal because it was absolutely horrible. It’s laughable you actually think winning the Coastal Division is an accomplishment and is basis to think Bronco is a better coach than London. Until you beat the man, Clemson, or have a national signature win, you haven’t done anything. Both Fuentes and Mendenhall have yet to either. Had it not been for Perkins, UVA is a 5 win team. Tech underachieved and choked yet again when it mattered. Also, Stanford and Duke beating Bama, LSU, Georgia, Clemson, Oklahoma and Ohio State??? They’re not even close. David Shaw & Cutcliffe are great coaches but are they constantly beating those powers stated above? Hell no!! To be fair, the PAC 12 is the softest P5 conference there is! Tech could very well go 11-2 this season (no way in hell are they beating Penn State or UNC) but will you truly be happy with that with that weenie dog schedule Tech plays? It’s laughable. Fuentes (for Cutnjump) isn’t a P5 Coach! Had he been black and underachieved the way Fuente has, he’d been gone! Book that jack!
Last edited:
Stop kissing ass. You’re not wrong. If an athlete is that good, the University could make a concession. But are they doing that for every playmaker that comes along? Nope. I’ve worked with recruiters who wanted multiple kids but did qualify academically for that school. Not the standard that the NCAA clearinghouse sets, the SCHOOL itself! Unless the kid is Walter Payton in Julio Jones body, that committee isn’t bending. Even if they do bend, the kid still has to decide to come to that school. Not telling you what I think, I’m telling you what I’ve experienced. They’ll take a kid that runs a 4.65 with a 3.6 GPA 1250 SAT any day over a kid that’s 6’2 and runs a 4.4 with a 2.9 GPA and 1050 SAT EVERY DAY of the week.
I can only look at if from the standpoint from my tenure as a coach in the 757 2004-16 and my time as an AD 2017-now. UVA outside of the London era did not have a major footprint in the area. One of London's issues was he got in bed with a shady character out of the 757 and he was sending kids up there, but the NCAA was hot on his trail and London's as well. Under Bronco they come around, but not as much. I think UVA has stopped past my school once maybe twice.
As far as Tech goes I think under Beamer this area was a priority. Stiney was liked by all the coaches and the kids were excited about going to Tech in the area, but like being in a relationship for a long time someone becomes complacent and takes the other for granted. I believe that is what ultimately helped usher him out the door. VT assumed that kids were coming to Tech from the 757 and that opened the door for the Ohio State's, Alabama's, Maryland's, UNC's of the the world to start poaching talent. Kids don't look at VT with the same light they once did and no one they know is really going there anymore. One thing Tech had going was the family atmosphere you could go and see a lot of the 757 guys there. The new staff let go of the one guy with 757 roots the kid still kinda trusted in Zohn.
Chris Beatty Effect: He's a killer recruiter and he coached the one guy that is like fokelore around here which is Percy Harvin. He's this generations Ron Curry around here, so he has the coaching cache to get top kids to come wherever he's at which is Pittsburgh right now. Quite frankly the man can recruit his tail off and he's revered around here like Stiney once was.
UNC is coming and they did right by hiring Dre Bly..He's been to my school numerous times and he's recruiting the area hard. The kids are seeing success outside of VA and they are getting out of here. I personally as an admin and even when I was a coach never felt compelled to tell a kid to stay in state. I had a top 100 player I coached in Jalyn Holmes and VT was a slam dunk for him, but they blew the recruitment. Florida State was his dream school, but VT felt like home to him, until he met Urban Meyer.
Last edited:
That’s old news. Your counterparts knew exactly what I was talking about and of course used their privilege and status on this board to make light of and not speak out for me regarding the situation. I’ve gotten my apologies so it’s water under the bridge. What you eat, won’t make me crap! As far as me being a sad little man, that’s a quite the reach. If I’m a sad man, then damn I’ll take it LOL!!! Life’s good, just wish the gym would open back up, that’s my biggest worry. Maybe you and the great Spartanoftheyear should leave the big city of Salem and have drinks with me one day. Salem has beaten my boys two straight so drinks on me?
Last edited:
It was an honest question of somebody, who unlike you, knows what they are talking. You're good at memorizing names and trying to pretend like you know what you're talking about only to shoot yourself in the foot with blatantly ignorant statements such as the ones you have been challenged on in this thread that show what you really know or, as is more often the case, don't know.
Memorizing names? Pretending like I know what I’m talking about? Ha! Since it’s personal...This is same 60+ year old, grumpy man that makes it his mission to drag down kids from his hometown in his posts but will kiss all types of hind pots regarding Salem or will drool at the mouth to talk Clifton Forge High School or the good ole teams of the 60s. Instead of a grumpy man, I’ll say a prejudice grumpy man. If the shoe fits, wear it.
Doesn't fit seem to fit but, nice try to deflect. People can review our posting histories and judge for themselves which is the better fit. Of course we will have to allow for the fact they can only work with part of your material.
I wanted you to give you the benefit of the doubt. I hope it’s not the case but looks suspect especially when you down the black kids who are actually doing positive things in Danville with something negative to point out. Now go at that history and then go look at yourself in the mirror. Case closed.
That is a strong and erroneous allegation, you know it and it has been explained to you countless times before. Unfortunately whenever you get backed in a corner where your mouth has written checks that your knowledge and purported accomplishments cannot cover, instead of being a man and admitting your error, you try and claim prejudice. That is the fact Jack! Case now closed.
Hey I don’t claim to know everything. Yes, I said that the admission requirements were an obstacle in recruiting at UVA. If I’m wrong, I take that L but I know for a fact from working with recruiting that politics and other factors play a role in whether a kid gets that offer or not. Again, your higher academic schools doesn’t always adhere to the NCAA Clearinghouse 2.3 GPA requirements to play D1 ball. In fact UVA has sent multiple recruits to Fork Union to bring their academics up to standards. If I’m wrong about that playing into London’s time at UVA, then my black azz is wrong! I accept it! Do you know? Your guess is as good as mine... But just because I say something you don’t agree with, you don’t have to come for my character or intellect. You don’t know me and I don’t know you. And it has been a lot of prejudice posters on this board so it’s hard not to bring that up.
As always Devils you give an ho
This is great things have been dead om these boards. Keep it going men lol!
You are right about "A Shady Character" in the 757. There's a bit of an issue with handlers in the 757. I believe VT & UVA coaches are avoiding those guys. Too bad for those kids. It's sad to see kids leave the area, sometimes while there in HS, and leave their support structure behind!!
It’s funny that it’s been mentioned that I’ve deflected but when I was asking questions about football related topics, these jokers skipped over that with memes and calling me ignorant lol... If I’m wrong educate me with stats or facts to back your statement up. I think it’s comical to hear UVA and Tech fans try to make excuses for their mediocre programs. I’ve had fun in this thread. I didn’t go to the barber shop this week so this was a good debate to hold me over to next week lol!!
Reread this thread. I challenged you only on what you said you knew with the opportunity for you to defend that position, right up until the point that you turned it personal with ass kissing, brown nosing, etc.. I did not come for your character and intellect until you questioned mine. In fact, if you review the sum totals of our back and for the over the years I bet you will find the large majority of these follow the same scenario.
Now for what I know regarding admissions, ALL schools have the NCAA clearinghouse minimums as their bottom standard and they ratchet that up depending upon the individual university and student profiles. Coaches have latitude based on a variety of factors to deviate from the higher standards but, they only have so much wiggle room and each coach is going to judiciously use those markers. Schools also have varying requirements as to the high school transcript. Probably the most celebrated example in the Commonwealth was Herman Moore who lacked a math class to meet VT requirements but, was able to qualify at UVA. Had the shoe been on another foot and he lacked a foreign language component he would have been denied at UVA and accepted at VT. Those examples may no longer exist now but, similar situations still exist. Same things happen with JUCOS. Bottom line is for coaches to be successful they not only have to get them in school but, be confident that they can keep them in school through the efforts of the kid and support mechanisms in place. As far as us knowing one another, while you may not know me directly you might be surprised what I know of you through mutual acquaintances. Finally, I will always challenge opinions I disagree with or facts I know to be wrong but, I try to remain objective and avoid personal until challenged in that manner. Am I always successful? Probably not but, that is the goal.
Similar threads
