Ex-Indian River star to miss rest of season
Virginia Tech defensive back Devon Hunter, a former star at Indian River High in Chesapeake, will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury, coach Justin Fuente announced this week.
Fuente said Hunter will have surgery, halting Hunter’s return to the team after he missed all of last season.
Hunter had seven tackles in a backup role this season after being reinstated in June. He was suspended by Virginia Tech in September 2020 after his arrest on charges of felony strangulation to cause wound or injury and misdemeanor assault of a family member. The charges were amended to misdemeanors when Hunter accepted a plea agreement last month.
Linebacker Dean Ferguson (shoulder) also faces surgery, Fuente said. Ferguson had five tackles this season and started last week against Pittsburgh because regular starter Dax Hollifield was serving a halfgame suspension for a targeting penalty one week earlier.
‘It’s my job to shelter them’
Two days after saying “I failed our team today” in a lopsided home loss to Pittsburgh, Fuente said he is doing his best to shelter his team from mounting criticism.
Fuente, whose team hosts Syracuse on Saturday, also told media members in his weekly news conference that it’s important not to let that criticism change the way he and players go about their daily lives.
Fuente’s future in Blacksburg already had been the subject of speculation before Saturday’s 28-7 loss to Pitt.
Following the game, Fuente pinned the blame on himself, saying, “It’s the head football coach’s responsibility. I let them down, and I’m disappointed and mad at myself.”
The loss left Virginia Tech with a 3-3 record (1-1 in the ACC) and came on the heels of a disappointing Oct. 9 home loss to Notre Dame.
On Monday, Fuente said he told players to tune out any criticism.
“I just told our guys, ‘Whether it’s the crowd or your cellphone, that’s my job to take that,’ ” he said. “It’s my job to shelter them.”
Fuente said he “firmly believes” that people wake up every day with the power to control the way they will react to whatever happens.
“Other people’s comments, other people’s beliefs should never affect our attitudes,” he said. “I try my best to do that.”
On Tuesday morning, Hollifield told reporters that the team remains upbeat and committed to beating Syracuse on Saturday. He also said the Hokies’ defense is trying to support the offense, which has taken much of the heat for recent losses.
“I feel good about this week,” Hollifield said.
How to fix offense
Fuente said he thinks a lack of confidence and a question about identity are reasons the offense has struggled recently. The Hokies managed only 224 total yards Saturday.
“We’ve got to find a way to get our guys playing with confidence,” Fuente said. “There’s a lot we need to do better — from coaching all the way down to execution.”
Fuente said his team never was an offensive juggernaut.
“It wasn’t like we were racking up 50 points a game,” he said. “At the beginning of the season, the offense wasn’t prolific, but it was competent. We need to get that confidence back, and we need to create our identity.”
One area in need of improvement is short-yardage situations, he said.
“We haven’t been very good,” Fuente said. “Sometimes it’s not enough movement or we haven’t hit the hole hard enough or skinny enough.”
Stopping the run
Syracuse (3-4, 0-3) leads the ACC in rushing and is eighth among Power Five schools with 231.7 ground yards per game. Running back Sean Tucker is second to Michigan State’s Kenneth Walker III in rushing yards per game with 135.4.
“He’s hard to tackle,” Fuente said of Tucker. “He runs low to the ground, and he has great acceleration. He hits the hole hard.”
Syracuse quarterback Garrett Shrader also can run with the ball. Shrader, a former prep star in Charlotte, signed with Mississippi State, but transferred to Syracuse before this season.
“He’s a big, athletic kid,” Fuente said. “He’s a real threat to take off and run with the ball.”