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So, it's Justin Fuente. Hum. Well, while I do like the hire, it obviously brings up some talking points.
First, Fuente is not thought of as an all-star recruiter. On 247, he only recruited 5 definitive prospects for TCU. I'm not sure what effect he had at Memphis, but he's definitely molded that team out of mid-level recruits. Winning what will likely be two consecutive 10-win seasons at Memphis requires that kind of development- and development on offense in particular. This may or may not mean something. Rules for Head Coaching recruiting are tweaky, especially involving contact with players. Now, I think that he'll be encouraged to go out and get an offensive coordinator that really can sell people on his plan and the program. Three names that could be interesting at the moment are Dameyune Craig (co-offensive coordinator at Auburn, check his recruiting list), Charles Huff, special teams coordinator and running backs coach at Penn State (alma mater? Hampton Pirates), and Jeff Scott, wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator at Clemson (because if you can't beat them, steal from them). To note, he IS bringing in people from his Memphis staff, Holman Wiggins (WRs) and James Shibest (ST). Both of them are big in his recruiting strategy, as Rivals has them as big recruiters over the past couple years, at least, in volume. We'll see how they can do at a higher level.
Second, the news of Foster staying is good to great. Foster himself wasn't a great recruiter- but keeping Torrian Grey is more than likely, and he's a good recruiter. Keeping Charley Wiles might be up in the air. Foster means more to recruiting as a figurehead and a potentiality rather than an active set of boots on the ground. Kids want to play for him for their future and development. I have a feeling that Whit's probably going to give him a raise and demand he recruit better and more actively in exchange, but that's still an assumption. Either way this helps keep current players on the roster and current defensive recruits.
Third, this gives a clear answer and response for all the recruits out there. This is our head coach; you can look and see what he did. He'll probably be in shortly to start calling people and making things happen, so at the very least it stabilizes everything. Hopefully those offensive recruits out there can see what he did at Memphis and at TCU when he was there and realize that, oh, wait, Tech could have an offensive plan and system for the first time in years. Maybe it might be worth checking out or considering more. Would be a definite upgrade over our past situation.
But onto the results of the big playoff games this weekend...just a note, we had a decommitment from Myles Wolfolk on Sunday, who flipped from Tech to the Tarheels. That's disappointing. Even retaining Foster didn't manage to save that one. We'll see how the rest of the process works out, but even getting a new coach and a plan in place can't save everything.
Jovonn Quillen (Hampton, VA. 185lbs, 6'-2", Athlete)
Tavante Beckett (Chesapeake, VA. 215lbs, 6'-0", Outside Linebacker)
(Beckett, no highlights from Quillen as usual)
DOWN GOES HAMPTON! Jovonn Quillen's Hampton Crabbers lost to Indian River, 21-17. Tavante Beckett played, back from his concussion. Quillen threw for a touchdown, but Beckett got a game-ending fumble recovery to send Indian River to the next game versus Highland Springs in the region final, which is the semifinal for the 5A championship. Hope there's no ill will for this on the next level.
Victor Greene (Spotsylvania, VA. 215lbs, 6'-0", Outside Linebacker)
Courtland went down to Lafayette and rang its bell. 27-6. Courtland moves onto the 4A East finals. How's about 210 yards on 14 carries and 2 touchdowns on the night...again, this guy is being recruited as an outside linebacker.
Clay Dean (Purcellville, VA. 255lbs, 6'-2", Defensive Tackle)
No new video.
Well, down goes Woodgrove. The Wolverines lost to Jefferson Forest in the 4A West Semifinals, 56-38. Note, that means that Jefferson Forest could be a potential opponent to Courtland if both teams win their region finals matches.
Emmanuel Belmar (Suwanee, GA. 220lbs, 6'-2", Outside Linebacker)
Unfortunately for Emmanuel, Collins Hill's Cinderella run through the 6A GA football playoffs ended at a 17-10 loss to Roswell at their stadium. It was a close game and Roswell was favored, but Collins Hill almost did it.
Tune in next week for more recruiting news.