around the axle that we can’t even hear or observe what other teams are doing in order to play at a high level. Dabo has said on multiple occasions that he was willing to create a total program, not just football ( now we all know what his end objective is—football). This, however, required among other things counselors, mentors, and any other help these his young men needed to grow into productive citizens and football players. Dabo acknowledged that, as in life, sometimes talent comes from homes or socioeconomic backgrounds that aren’t always fertile grounds for an individual’s successful development in this world. He has emphasized the need to identify, work with, and monitor these individuals in order to develop the skills necessary to be successful at a high level. He has also mentioned that he tried to model it (however loosely) on Saban’s model.

I don’t know the specifics, but I would think that some of our attrition would certainly have benefited from some counciling, mentoring, and teachable moments. Perhaps that is already occurring and we don’t hear about it, or.. perhaps we need to place an emphasis on helping all the individuals that call themselves Hokies to become better citizens and ultimately better football players.

My personal opinion is that Fu may have missed several teachable moments this year. I hope he grows with his team and learns from this year’s team as well as other successful models. Unfortunately I get the feeling that Fu expects a certain level of discipline without always instilling and teaching this discipline. He seems very black and white, when maybe he should use a little more creativity to embrace the gray. We have to remember that suspensions, disciplinary drills, benching, are all part of the teaching process.

We have all used poor judgement at some point in our lives, and dare I say especially when we were in college. I am not a Fu hater, although I have expressed concern on several head scratching decisions during his tenure. That said, I think he deserves the same patience, developmental time, and benefit of the doubt that we should afford to our players as they mature and grow.

Lots of growing room for us all.

Go Hokies!
[Post edited by Stringbean at 01/08/2019 1:17PM]