Inside HOKIE SPORTS | Vol. 13 No. 5 | May 2021

inside.hokiesports.com 13 Last spring, Tech brought together a reimagined defensive coaching staff under the leadership of defensive coordinator Justin Hamilton. This spring Hamilton and the defensive coaches were able to get hands-on with the players and the entire scheme. “It’s all encompassing, it’s everything from being on the actual, physical field with your position coach, to being in meetings, to getting to practice whatever it is we’re asking them to do and the total understanding of what we’re looking to disguising looks. I don’t know I wish I could tell you one awesome example, I really can’t. It shouldn’t be understated that there’s a reason coaches all over the country talk about how important practice is and that’s because it is. It certainly takes on an even bigger meaning when you have things that change, whether that’s just a position coach or a coordinator or schematically or personnel. It’s just been really fun and enjoyable for competitive practices out there and chances for us to teach without a game looming, without teaching something to a specific offense or specific defense but just the fundamentals of what we’re trying to accomplish.” Coach Fuente was a big fan of QB Braxton Burmeister in 2020 and his confidence in Tech’s presumed starter for 2021 hasn’t wavered. “I felt really good about him last year and he was a bit of a victim of the continued circumstances from last year, too (injury suffered in practice). I feel really good about his progress and where he’s at and the things he can do. He has a really good feel for pushing the ball down the field and he’s had a really productive spring.” If there’s a player on the defensive side of the ball who continues making leaps and bounds, it’s likely DE Amaré Barno who is still learning the nuances of the defensive end spot after moving there from linebacker last year. “Every day he just continues to get better and he was pretty productive when he played last year without really knowing how to play the position. I don’t want to make it sound like he didn’t know what he was doing, but he was doing it purely off of athletic ability and then he went through the last half of the season where he couldn’t hardly practice during the week and still played, which I think is a remarkable compliment to him that he could be assignment sound without getting the reps that most guys get during the week. He has been through a full spring now, continues to get better. When you see a guy with limitless potential and high character, it’s a guy that everybody loves being around. You get really excited to watch him grow and continue to get better. He’s made those strides, he hasn’t hit a spot where he can’t continue to improve, he’s still got work to do. This has been really beneficial for him as an older player as it was for some of our younger players.” DL TyJuan Garbutt faced challenges on and off the field in 2020, but Coach Fuente is glad to see glimpses of the person and player he’s grown to know and appreciate. “I’ve seen glimpses of old TyJuan out there, I think you have to let TyJuan speak for himself, but he’s dealing with things that he needed to deal with. I do know that he knows that we love and care about him and want what’s best for him. That’s not about rushing the quarterback or getting tackles for loss. It’s about making sure TyJuan is taken care of in the right way and Ty knows that. It’s been awesome to have him back and he enjoys the team. He enjoys the other players, the coaches, he said he knows deep in his heart that we genuinely love and care about him and are here to help him in any way, it’s hard on him to be removed and then jump right back in and he was in terrible shape and trying to find his way. It was a little like that early in the spring too, but I’ve seen it in the last couple of weeks where it’s been fun. He’s back there enjoying himself and cutting loose and getting closer to the old TyJuan.”