Inside HOKIE SPORTS | Vol. 13 No. 4 | March 2021

inside.hokiesports.com 15 99 Bradley Drive Christiansburg NRV Mall 540-381-8100 www.holidayinn.com/cburgnorth Full Service Restaurant Bar & Grill Game Day Catering. Dine in or Room Service Welcome Back HOKIES ! Maryland native was a four-year letterman for the Hokies, earning third-team All-America honors from AP as a senior, as well as first-team All-BIG EAST accolades. Jon Tenuta Senior Defensive Analyst Jon Tenuta, a 40-year coaching veteran, has joined Virginia Tech. He owns 19 seasons of experience as defensive coordinator and has been associated with programs that have made 19 bowl appearances during his career. He has coached over 40 players who have gone on to play professionally. Tenuta most recently spent the past four seasons at the University of Cincinnati. He served as a senior defensive analyst in 2020 after a three- year stint as safeties coach for the Bearcats from 2017-19. “We’re thrilled to bring Jon’s wisdom, experience and football background into our program,” Fuente said. “Jon could help any program in America, but I’m exceedingly grateful that he’s joining us at Virginia Tech. Jon will be a valuable resource for all of us at Virginia Tech and I’m glad he’s here. I know Jon is eager to help our team while also having a front-row seat watching his son, Luke, continue to grow and develop as a young man and a player.” In addition to his tenure at Cincinnati, Tenuta’s lengthy resume includes coaching stops at Virginia (2013-15), NC State (2010-12), Notre Dame (2008-09), Georgia Tech (2002-07), Ohio State (1996- 2000), Oklahoma (1995), SMU (1989-94), Kansas State (1988), Marshall (1987-88), Vanderbilt (1984-85), Maryland (1983) and Virginia (1981-82). Fuente was a quarterback at Oklahoma when Tenuta coached the Sooners’ defensive backs in 1995. A three-year letterwinner as a defensive back at Virginia, Tenuta has coached over 30 players who have gone on to play professionally. Based on a variety of mock drafts and preliminary projec­ tions, CB Caleb Farley and T Christian Darrisaw are anticipated to become Tech’s second duo of first- round draftees to be selected in the same NFL Draft. The only previous time that Virginia Tech landed two selections in the first round of the same NFL Draft was in 2018 when LB Tremaine Edmunds went 16th overall to Buffalo and his brother, Terrell, went 28th overall to Pittsburgh. Darrisaw was tabbed by seven different outlets as an All-America pick, including Associated Press and the Football Writers Association of America. A consensus first-team All-ACC selection in 2020, Darrisaw started 10 of the Hokies’ contests at left tackle where he anchored the left side of Tech’s offensive line and was part of a blocking unit that helped propel the squad to six 250-yard rushing games. The Hokies registered 27 rushing TDs, the squad’s best total in a decade, and also paved the way for RB Khalil Herbert who posted six 100-yard rushing games in 2020. Darrisaw was named the ACC Offensive Lineman of the Week following Tech’s 38-31 victory at Duke (10/5/20). Farley blossomed into one of the ACC’s top cornerbacks in just his second season playing that position in 2019. He originally worked at wide receiver at Tech after serving as a high school quarterback. A first-team All-ACC pick in 2019, he led the ACC with 16 passes defensed & ranked fourth in the nation averaging 1.5 passes defensed per game. He tied for second in the ACC with four INTs and registered a 17-yard INT return TD in a 45-0 shutout of Georgia Tech (11/16/10). The Hickory, N.C. native posted a career-high four passes defensed in a 43-41 six-OT win vs. North Carolina (10/19/19). 1 S T - ROUND Picks POTENTIAL