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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

August 30, 2017

Justin Fuente

Greensboro, North Carolina

JUSTIN FUENTE: We're looking forward to getting this thing started Sunday night. Northern Virginia and the D.C. area, a lot of Hokie fans there. We're excited to go play in front of them. Happy to have Coach Beamer joining us as our honorary captain. Glad he agreed to do that. Looking forward to seeing him.

Q. A number of coaches are talking about going into this opening game, they aren't quite certain what they're going to see from their teams even after this long pre-season of work. How do you feel about that? Do you feel you've got a good take on the pulse of the team? Do you expect surprises?
JUSTIN FUENTE: I guess I would say I feel about the same as I do every year. There's always going to be guys that you've got on your team that are proven veterans, that have played in games, that have played in big games, played well. There's always going to be guys that will be playing for the first time. Some years you have more of one and more of the other, which can lead to possibly a little more comfort or a little less comfort depending on how you look at it.

We do have some guys that will be playing for the first time. I'm anxious to get them out there and see how they respond and react through the ups and downs of a football game.

But I don't know that the camp, the longer camp, has made me feel better or worse. I'd say it's about the same as it's been every year.

Q. The 3-3-5 alignment that West Virginia plays, what kind of unique challenges does that present for an offense?
JUSTIN FUENTE: Well, I think it's similar to many of the good defenses you play on a weekly basis in terms of they have answers. It's not a gimmick defense at all. I mean, they absolutely understand the scheme. They've been doing it for some time. If you're giving them a hard time with one aspect offensively, they have calls and adjustments that they can make to take that away.

They do some different things out of it that have caused people, both in their conference and out of their conference, some problems. So they've got good personnel. They understand their scheme. They seem to do a good job adjusting whenever somebody proposes a problem to them.

Q. Does it make things a little bit harder for a first-time starter at quarterback like Josh? It's just a different look than what he drills against most of the time.
JUSTIN FUENTE: Yeah, the thing I would say is our defense is fairly unique, as well. When we practice in the spring and in the fall, no matter who we play in the first game, it's usually different for the offensive side of the ball anyway.

So, yeah, is there a little bit added to it that we probably won't see this exact scheme again and you don't see it quite as often? Sure. But I think heading into the first game, when you've just been playing against your own defense for some time now, whatever you're facing is going to be different.

Q. What can you say about Josh's leadership at the quarterback position and what he showed you through the fall to put him in the place he's in today to lead this offense?
JUSTIN FUENTE: Well, he's been incredibly consistent. Much has been made about his upbringing. He was brought up in a football family. He's been around the game for a long time. He has a great composure about himself, a great demeanor. The kids, the coaches enjoy being around him.

I think he's going to handle the ebbs and flows of playing quarterback in college football, I think he's going to handle those things pretty well. He's got a pretty good mind and understanding of what we're trying to accomplish.

Q. Virginia Tech made it to the ACC championship game last season. What can you say about how quickly the team bought in and their response going into this season only being your second season at Virginia Tech?
JUSTIN FUENTE: Well, I've been awfully pleased with our team as a whole in regards to handling the transition. We had a fantastic senior class that gave us zero pushback when things changed when we took a different approach to off-season or practice schedules, whatever the things were that were different. They did a great job setting the example for everybody else.

I've seen much the same so far this year. It was nice that we had some success last year. I hope it's contributed to our buy-in from our kids, which I think it has. I don't think that's been an issue since we've been here.

All those wonderful things that happened are also in the past. 2017 Virginia Tech football team has to write their own chapter. We're excited to get that started Sunday.

Q. Talk about playing against West Virginia, what do you see getting ready for that game? I know coach is not doing an offensive coordinating position this year. What do you see getting ready for that game Sunday night?
JUSTIN FUENTE: Certainly there's an element of unknown. They've got a transfer quarterback that was on his way to a fantastic career at Florida that's now eligible to play for them. I think he's really talented. They've always had skill players. It seems like every time I've ever seen West Virginia play, they've had wide receivers and runningbacks that could stretch the field and make plays in space. This year will be no exception to that.

Defensively they understand their scheme. They play incredibly hard. They can do several things to give offenses problems. They're incredibly sound and well-coached, like to push the tempo, have skill both in the defensive back end and in the offensive receivers and runningback corps that can certainly scare you.

Q. You don't make the schedule, but you help with making the schedule. Do you want this game as a non-conference game every year to keep this rivalry renewed or something you're going to do every four years?
JUSTIN FUENTE: Well, here's what I would say. We're scheduled out pretty far right now, have been for some time. I think it's a good game. Obviously I'm new to it. Dana is new to it. I think we both have come to understand the rivalry and embrace the rivalry and understand that it is important to a lot of people.

I think it's a good game to be played. That doesn't mean that it's scheduled to play every year, but I think it's good when we can. Like I said, we've been scheduled out for some time. These things are worked out pretty far in advance.

Q. As a former Texas resident, what must be going through your mind with all the devastation going on back there?
JUSTIN FUENTE: Yeah, I have several family members and close friends that live in Houston that we've been keeping in touch with. They're all doing fine. But the biggest thing is it doesn't matter where it's occurring, whether it's occurring in Texas or Florida or Louisiana, across the globe, I think it's a pretty important reminder to all of us that we're all very fortunate and we need to be mindful of those that are less fortunate.

Q. When it hits home, it really hits home, doesn't it?
JUSTIN FUENTE: Sure. I mean, when you know those lives, you've been in the homes that have been affected, it certainly does. I know when we were at Memphis, we had several players from the Houston area that we recruited. I was at TCU for five years. It certainly does shed a little bit of a different light on it.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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