Inside HOKIE SPORTS | Vol. 11 No. 1 | August 2018

inside.hokiesports.com 9 by Jimmy Robertson Hokies have been challengeable in the past— and hopefully the trend continues In the summer of 1996, in the summer (and ultimately throughout the fall) of 2003, in the winter of 2004, in the winter of 2005 and in other instances, the Virginia Tech football program suffered through and dealt with an array of difficult offseason situations. Those situations included everything from academics to off-field issues to poor chemistry to injuries and the like. Yet the program always came back and revealed its true character. In 1996, the Hokies went to the Orange Bowl. In 2004, Tech won its first ACC title. In 2005, the Hokies won the Coastal Division and the Gator Bowl. In 2006, Tech won 10 games. Now, as Tech gets ready to kick off the season, this 2018 bunch finds itself in a somewhat similar situation. It was a rather eventful summer for the program, one that included the departure of two important players (Adonis Alexander and Mook Reynolds) for different reasons, a top-notch junior-college transfer tearing his Achilles (Jeremy Webb), another incoming recruit (Cam Goode) leaving the program, and a quarterback dealing with an academic issue that never should have become public (and ultimately got resolved). “We’ve had to deal with some things—and we’ve got to own up to those things and talk about them,” Tech coach Justin Fuente admitted at ACC’s media event in July. The Hokies faced enough obstacles entering this fall anyway, with 13 talented seniors graduating and several others departing to chase NFL riches. The summer’s incidents only made those obstacles more difficult to overcome. That said, Fuente is betting that this team, like those in the past, loves to overcome challenges. He placed that bet last winter, wanting his group to become “challengeable” in everything and then putting that word on t-shirts and on signage throughout the football facilities. Fuente, bluntly truthful, wasn’t sure at first if his team embraced being the concept. He expressed that concern at a team meeting in the midst of winter workouts. “My conversation with them in the wintertime was, ‘This is what concerns me. That we are not challengeable, and that we don’t have enough gumption to answer the bell,’” he admitted. A couple of veterans took that statement to heart. Guys like Ricky Walker, Kyle Chung and Vinny Mihota have sacrificed over the course of four-plus years andbecomehigh-qualityplayers, so they know how to embrace challenges. Walker and a few others approached Fuente shortly after the meeting to let him know that they had no problem with being tested. “I kind of took it personal,” Walker said. “It’s like, ‘C’mon, Coach. You know I’m challengeable.’ It hurt us older guys, not just me, but guys like Yosh [Nijman] and Steven [Peoples]. We’re challengeable. It felt like he called us out, and we talked to him and let him know how we felt. We let him know that everything we’re doing is going to pay off.” Tech’s strength and conditioning staff, led by Associate AD for Athletic Performance Ben Hilgart, certainly tested this team in the offseason. The seniors say they worked harder than ever before, with workouts including ways not just to challenge the players, but to prepare them. Running sprints on 90-degree days is never easy, particularly for the 15 300-pounders on the roster, but the Hokies open the season in Tallahassee, so they best get used to the heat in the summer in preparation for the possible muggy conditions on Labor Day night. Tech’s summer workouts, though, are probably going to be the least of the challenges they will face, as the Hokies play this 2018 season. In the simplest terms, they are a young team—47 true and redshirt freshmen on the roster—playing a demanding schedule. The summer’s issues only exacerbated that. Still, Fuente is ready to go, and he remains confident in his squad. “I’m really excited to coach this young group of eager people … We’ve got a unique challenge, and we’re certainly not starting from scratch, but we’ve got a youthful team with some huge challenges in front of us,” he said. “And I can’t wait for us to meet them head on because I think we’ve got a great group that’s eager to take those challenges on.” The Hokies have incurred a lot this summer, but this program knows how to overcome such things. This is a program built on being “challengeable,” as its past history suggests—and here is hoping that history repeats itself. Since 1969, G&H Appliance has been serving the New River Valley & beyond. At G&H we have experienced professionals you can trust, an extensive selection and competitive prices. Nobody does it better. 1290 Roanoke Street, Christiansburg, VA 24073 • 540-382-7500 • www.gandhappliance.com Find us at G&H Appliance