2016 Record: 10-4 (6-2 ACC)
Winning the Coastal in Justin Fuente’s first year at the helm was a strong start to his career in Blacksburg. The Hokies were 7 points from beating Clemson in the ACC title game as well, showing the Va Tech faithful that their optimism in the Fuente hire was probably warranted and that Frank Beamer’s legacy of losing big games could continue fully after his forced retirement. Jokes aside, 2016 was absolutely a success for Fuente, though no without its curious slip ups (losing at Syracuse, getting blown out by Tennessee at a Nascar track).