Virginia Tech Football

Cam Newton revealed to Eli Manning that he nearly committed to Virginia Tech because he liked their uniforms.

"I considered a school just because of the uniform: Virginia Tech," the longtime pro quarterback told the two-time Super Bowl-winning signal-caller on the latest episode of Eli's Places (h/t TMZ Sports). "That maroon orange collab."

Newton also raved about a few other schools' uniforms.

"I was hoping to get recruited by Oregon," he said. "Never happened. Hawaii: They had that dark green, black."

The Atlanta native, who played for Florida before transferring to Blinn College and then Auburn, wasn't very impressed with the SEC's looks, though.

"A lot of schools in the SEC really isn't, like, fashion," Newton said.

Newton is a free agent who played in the NFL from 2011-21. He starred for the Carolina Panthers and notably won the 2015 NFL MVP award en route to leading the team to an NFC title.

The 33-year-old is also well known for his bold fashion choices and style.

He never ended up playing for the Hokies but starred for Auburn in 2010, winning the Heisman Trophy and a national championship before the Panthers selected him No. 1 overall in the 2011 NFL draft.

The Virginia Tech Hokies fell to the Old Dominion Monarchs 20-17 in their season opener on Friday night at S.B. Ballard Stadium, but that's not all they lost.

Virginia Tech revealed that it had items stolen from its locker room during the loss, via ESPN's David M. Hale:

"The Virginia Tech athletic department confirmed there were items missing from the Virginia Tech locker room following the football game against Old Dominion in Norfolk Friday night. The university is working with law enforcement and Old Dominion University on the matter, and will have no further comment."

Friday's game was full of chaos for the Hokies.

In addition to having items stolen, the game was delayed at halftime because the Hokies had members of their coaching staff stuck in an elevator at the stadium. The delay lasted about 15 minutes.

Virginia Tech tight end Connor Blumrick also had to issue an apology after punching a fan who rushed the field following Old Dominion's win:

“I would like to sincerely apologize to ODU and Hokie Nation for my actions after last night’s game. Following an emotional loss, in trying to get to the locker room safely, there was an incident including contact between myself and a fan, that I regret. This is not an accurate reflection of my character and I am truly sorry to those I have let down including my coaches, teammates and fans."

It was a rough day overall for the Hokies, especially on offense. Quarterback Grant Wells completed just 21 of 36 passes for 193 yards and one touchdown against an unacceptable four interceptions. He also rushed for 45 yards and a score.

Running backs Keshawn King, Chance Black and Jalen Holston combined for 156 yards on the ground, and tight end Nick Gallo led all receivers with seven catches for 49 yards.

The win marked Old Dominion's second-ever victory against a Power Five opponent. The first came in 2018, also against Virginia Tech.

The Hokies will look to regroup ahead of a big matchup against Boston College on Sept. 10. The Eagles opened the season with a 22-21 loss to Rutgers on Saturday.

A lawyer for Isi Etute said the former Virginia Tech linebacker, who was found not guilty of murder in May, will transfer to and play for Iowa Western Community College during the 2022 season.

Attorney James Turk said Monday that Division I schools were not lining up to accept the transfer because he was previously under trial for murder, per David M. Hale of ESPN.

Hale noted Etute was charged with murder in the 2021 beating death of Jerry Smith. The linebacker was catfished by Smith, who portrayed himself as a woman online, and received oral sex and $50 upon their first encounter.

Etute testified during his trial that he planned on determining whether Smith was a man during their second encounter and kicked and punched him multiple times before leaving the apartment when he did. The former Hokie said he feared for his life because Smith reached toward a mattress, and police later discovered a knife hidden between the mattress and box spring.

A Virginia jury ruled the self-defense argument was plausible when it found Etute not guilty in May.

He isn't the only former Virginia Tech player who testified at the trial to leave the ACC program.

Hale noted Jordan Brunson transferred to Miami (Ohio), Jalen Hampton transferred to Elon and Da'Shawn Elder is in the transfer portal. Brunson and Hampton accompanied Smith to the apartment but never entered during the second and deadly encounter, while Elder went to the apartment but left before any sexual acts occurred during the first encounter.

Etute was part of Virginia Tech's 2021 recruiting class, and he was suspended from the team when he was charged.

A Montgomery County Circuit Court found former Virginia Tech linebacker Isimemen Etute not guilty in the May 2021 beating death of Blacksburg resident Jerry Smith, according to ESPN's David M. Hale and Tonya Simpson.

Smith and Etute initially met in April 2021 on the dating app Tinder.

According to testimony, Smith, who was an out gay man, presented himself on the app as a 21-year-old woman named Angie Renee. Etute, who thought he was meeting a woman, met Smith at his apartment on April 10. 

One of Etute's teammates, who went to Smith's apartment with him, testified that Smith hid his real identity during their encounter. Etute also testified that he received oral sex from Smith, in addition to a $50 gift, though he said he still believed Smith to be a woman. 

In May 2021, Etute and a few of his teammates returned to Smith's apartment to determine if he was who he said he was—Angie Renee, a 21-year-old woman. While his teammates waited outside, Etute determined Smith was not a woman and confronted him. 

During the confrontation, Etute testified that he believed Smith was reaching for a weapon under his bed, so he began hitting him in self-defense. When police later searched the apartment, they found a knife under Smith's mattress.

That said, Etute testified that he never saw the knife nor did he tell police in his initial June 2021 interview that he thought his life was in danger. 

Etute testified that he stomped on Smith's face as he was leaving but Smith was still breathing when he left. Security footage showed that Etute spent three minutes in Smith's apartment.

As a result of the attack, Smith ended up with nearly all of his facial bones broken, missing teeth fragments and suffered brain bleeding, according to the autopsy report. 

After the trial concluded, Etute's lawyer said that his client has "earned the right to go back to school and further his academic and sports career," adding, "I think the school that ends up taking him is going to get probably a lot wiser and a much smarter and an exceptional athlete."

Etute committed to Virginia Tech in July 2020 as a three-star prospect and the 39th overall ranked player in the 2021 class out of Virginia, per 247Sports Composite Rankings. He also had offers from Boston College and Liberty, among others. 

Virginia Tech defensive lineman Amare Barno performed better than expected at the 2022 NFL Combine in Indianapolis on Saturday, especially in the 40-yard dash.

Barno ran the 40-yard dash in 4.36 seconds, which is the fastest in combine history for a defensive lineman since 2003.

The 6'5", 246-pound lineman's 40-yard dash time should certainly help him rise on draft boards. However, he's not projected to be a first-round pick.

Barno transferred to Virginia Tech in 2020 out of Butler Community College and transitioned from outside linebacker to defensive end. During the 2021 season, he recorded 3.5 sacks, 35 tackles and 5.5 tackles for a loss in 10 games.

Barno's NFL combine profile lists him as a "average backup or special teamer."

The Virginia Tech Hokies have officially named Penn State defensive coordinator Brent Pry as their new head coach.

Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports first reported Virginia Tech was expected to hire Pry after it "focused in on" him during the search process.

Brett McMurphy of Action Network also reported the move was expected and noted Pry was a graduate assistant at Virginia Tech from 1995 through 1998.

The position is open because the Hokies announced they parted ways with Justin Fuente on Nov. 16. Fuente started with the ACC program in the 2016 season and finished with a 43-31 record and four bowl appearances.

After going 10-4 in his first season, Fuente's teams have trended in the wrong direction since with nine wins in his second year, six wins in his third, eight wins in his fourth and five wins in each of the past two seasons.

Attention now turns to Pry, although he reportedly was not Virginia Tech's first choice.

Mark Schlabach and Adam Rittenberg of ESPN reported Wake Forest's Dave Clawson and Louisiana's Billy Napier—who has since accepted the head coaching position with the Florida Gators—turned the ACC school down prior to the anticipated Pry hire.

Look for the Hokies to take immediate strides on defense with their new head coach.

Pry was Penn State's defensive coordinator for the past six seasons, and Schlabach and Rittenberg noted he led teams that finished in the top 25 in total defense in eight of the past 12 years with three coming at Vanderbilt, one coming at Georgia Southern and four coming with the Nittany Lions.

Penn State was just 7-5 this season, but a defense that was sixth in the country in points allowed per game (16.8) was not to blame for its failure to meet expectations.

The offense failed to score more than 20 points in losses to Iowa, Illinois and Michigan.

Pry will look to replicate his defensive success at Virginia Tech as the Hokies attempt to reestablish their winning ways after reaching double-digit victories just once in the past 10 seasons.               

Three days after a 48-17 win over Duke, Justin Fuente's tenure as Virginia Tech head coach has come to an end. 

In a statement released Tuesday, Virginia Tech athletic director Whit Babcock announced a mutual parting of ways with Fuente in his sixth season:

We sincerely appreciate the contributions that Coach Fuente made to our football program and the positive impact he made on our student-athletes during his time at Virginia Tech. While it is never easy to make a change, I believe in order for our football program to attain the type of sustained success that is expected at Virginia Tech, the time was right for new leadership of our football program.

J.C. Price, who is in his first season as co-defensive line coach on the Hokies staff, will serve as interim head coach for the rest of the year.

Fuente was named Frank Beamer's successor as Virginia Tech head coach in 2015. The 45-year-old spent the previous four seasons at Memphis where he led the program to a 26-23 record with back-to-back bowl appearances in 2014 and 2015. 

Beamer cast a long shadow for any coach to follow. He retired after 29 seasons as head coach and led the Hokies to 23 consecutive bowl games from 1993 to 2015 and seven conference titles (three in the Big East, four in the ACC).

Fuente's tenure with Virginia Tech started strong with a 19-8 record in the first two seasons. He signed an extension in 2018 that tied him to the program through 2024. 

Since the start of 2018, the Hokies are 24-23 and have had two losing seasons (2018, 2020). They are 5-5 in 2021 with two games remaining in the regular season.

Fuente went 43-31 in six seasons at Virginia Tech. The team was ranked No. 15 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll after a 2-0 start, but it has since lost five of eight games.

Virginia Tech linebacker Isi Etute was released from jail on $75,000 bond Wednesday after being charged with second-degree murder.

According to the Associated Press, Etute will be placed under house arrest and electronic monitoring.

Etute has been charged with the May 31 murder of 40-year-old Jerry Smith in Blacksburg, Virginia.

Per Mike Niziolek of The Roanoke Times, prosecutors said in court Wednesday Etute told police he visited Smith's apartment on April 10 for oral sex after matching with someone named Angie on Tinder. Etute said that when he returned to the apartment on May 31, he discovered the person he matched with was a man.

Etute told police he punched and stomped on Smith, who he said did not attack him, and heard "bubbling and gurgling" as he left the apartment but did not call 911.

Smith was found dead two days later, and the medical examiner said Smith died of blunt force trauma to the head. The autopsy report said all the bones in Smith's face were broken and he had multiple skull fractures and missing teeth.

The 6'3", 205-lb. Etute is a Virginia Beach, Virginia, native who committed to playing college football for the Hokies last year.

According to 247Sports, Etute is a 3-star recruit who ranked as the No. 166 linebacker and No. 1,494 overall player in the 2021 recruiting class.

Etute enrolled early at Virginia Tech and was set to play his freshman season in 2021, but he is currently suspended from the university and the football team.

Virginia Tech freshman linebacker Isi Etute was arrested in Blacksburg, Virginia, on a charge of second-degree murder.

Blacksburg police said Wednesday it is investigating the death of Jerry Smith, which has initially been ruled a homicide. Authorities said they identified Etute as an acquaintance of Smith's and person of interest while investigating the crime and subsequently took him into custody.

ESPN's David M. Hale shared a statement from Virginia Tech on the situation: "Blacksburg Police continues to lead this ongoing investigation, and the university will assist law enforcement agencies working the case in any way it can."

Etute is due to be arraigned Thursday at 10:30 a.m. ET.

The Virginia Beach native was the No. 166 linebacker in the 2021 class, per 247Sports' composite rankings. He was also the 39th-best player from the state of Virginia.

Etute committed to the Hokies in July 2020, and Hale noted he participated in spring practice after enrolling early at the school. Virginia Tech said in a statement (via Hale) he has been suspended from the team and university, and he is no longer listed on its 2021 roster.