Why Justin Fuente Isn't A Real Hokie...Yet

Ut Prosim.  That I may serve.  It's carved all over Virginia Tech's campus and it's something that we as Hokies take great pride in.  It is what makes Virginia Tech and Hokie Nation different than so many of the rest.  It extends past the entrances to our school and moves to the town of Blacksburg as a whole.  And when we move from our Gobbler Country and spread our wings out to the rest of the world, we bring that spirit of Ut Prosim with us.

Given all that being a Hokie then means and the responsibility that comes with it, asking a new comer to be all that we embody is not only asking a lot, but actually quite impossible.  Not because he can never get there, but because it takes time.  There is trust that needs to be built, Hokie Stone, by Hokie Stone.  We are good people and we haven't been burned too often not to trust those who want to join our family, but doing a few photo ops or getting a few more 4-star athletes than we have been getting does not a Hokie make.  That takes time.  That takes weekly visits to read to kids who need it.  It takes giving to causes that help.  It takes helping to genuinely make our community a better place.  But most importantly, it takes doing that over many years without fail.

Justin Fuente can and will lose games.  There will be an early period in his tenure as coach when the scrutiny for that will be small, but as time goes on, he will need to win and win consistently in order to keep his job.  In that way, we as a school and a program are not that different that most of the others around the nation.  Most likely, we will give him a little longer than most other places to start winning regularly, but Ut Prosim starts from day one and doesn't stop until you no longer want to be considered a Hokie.

It is as a teacher where Coach Fuente will show how well our motto becomes the embodiment of his curriculum.  Does he mold young men into men first and players second or vice-versa?  Does he make them better or does he care?  Do the Hokies become something close to what has happening in Baylor, a great football program whose players do horrible things and the culture of winning is all that matters, or are classmates and professors alike excited to see these kids in their classes and the community because they know that our men strive to be the best in the classroom, on the field, and most importantly, in the community?

We've seen what has gone on in Men's Basketball where Buzz Williams has shown us everything that it means to be a Hokie and a man.  Over the next few years we hope to see the same out of Justin Fuente.

Finally, Coach Fuente, if you are reading this, we like what we have seen thus far, but since you know what it takes, make us proud and show us what real service means.  Ut Prosim.