The output of Fuente's offense wasn't great, but I don't know that it was underperformance so much as it was just a lack of elite talent. Under Fuente, Virginia Tech's had some good wide receivers, Turner, Robinson, Ford. But I don't think they're at the same level of sheer athletic talent as the group that had Harper, Morgan, Royal, Clowney, etc. It's especially apparent at running back, Herbert is really the only guy who was even remotely as good as basically any VT RB who got carries from 2000-2011. Even comparing the pocket passers Willis to Glennon, Glennon's arm strength and accuracy was much better when actually given time to throw. Goes without saying that Taylor was leaps and bounds better than any VT dual-threat QB since he left.

Anyway, you get the picture. VT had much more talent across the board, more NFL draft picks produced, however you want to measure it, than Fuente did. Most of the NFL players Fuente had were Beamer holdovers not recruited by him. This is also why I'm hesitant to put a ton of blame on strength and conditioning. It's easy to look like a genius when your roster is full of guys like Adibi, Worilds, Tapp, Harris, Rouse, I'd be here all day if I were to list them all off. Who at LB is as strong as Adibi and can still keep up in man-to-man pass coverage? Who on the DL has a vertical jump like Worilds?

VT's defenses in the 2000s tended to get the most out of the players, the offenses didn't and often left a lot on the table. VT's offenses and defenses under Fuente, there's probably a little bit left on the table but honestly I don't think there was a huge gap between their potential and their output.