Memphis to hire former Sooner QB Justin Fuente

[SoCal]

Memphis will announce TCU co-offensive coordinator Justin Fuente as its new coach Thursday, a source close to the situation said. Fuente, 35, started at TCU in 2007 as the running backs coach and was promoted to his current position and quarterbacks coach in 2009. He previously served as quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator at Illinois State. Fuente played quarterback for Oklahoma and later tranferred to Murray State. "He's a good, young coach on a really good offensive staff," TCU coach Gary Patterson said late Wednesday night. "He will work very hard trying to get them on the road to where they want to be." Fuente will replace Larry Porter, who was fired after two seasons in which the Tigers went 3-21.

Fuente graduated from Union High School in Tulsa in 1995. He was named the Tulsa World's Player of the Year in 1994 and during his Union tenure threw for 6,104 career yards and 65 touchdowns.] He was recruited and signed by Oklahoma where he redshirted the 1995 season under coach Howard Schnellenberger. Fuente then split time as the starting quarterback with Eric Moore for the 1996 season, and was the starter entering the 1997 season. Following the 1997 season, he transferred to Murray State.

At Murray State, Fuente was named the Ohio Valley Conference Offensive Player of the Year and a finalist for the Walter Payton Award following the 1999 season. He still holds several single-season records at Murray State for a quarterback including: most pass completions (240), highest pass efficiency (151.21), most passing yards (3,497), and most touchdown passes (27). Following his graduation from Murray, Fuente signed a contract with the Oklahoma Wranglers of the Arena Football League for the 2000 season.

[cleller]

I sured like Fuente. He gave it his best shot, and clearly was smart enough at a young age to see he had do what was right for him.

Hope he continues to do great.

[rekamrettuB]

Wow! That's awesome. Great job and good luck.

[SoonerMarkVA]

Good for Fuente. Always liked him. He and Eric Moore were both in a bad situation under Blake. Great to see him having success in the coaching world.

[swardboy]

Great place to start...hope he does well, which means I hope he moves up to some other school within five years.

[SoonerLVZ]

Best of luck to Justin, glad to see that he is getting a shot at such a young age.

[stoops the eternal pimp]

Oh wow...that place had 2500 people at their last home game...I think it may be the worst job in college football...

[Mississippi Sooner]

Oh wow...that place had 2500 people at their last home game...I think it may be the worst job in college football...

I agree. They got hammered in the first game of the season against Mississippi State, and then it just spiraled downward from there. This is one of those jobs where, if he can get them 3 or 4 wins, it would be an improvement. I'm afraid the best Justin can hope for is to tread water long enough to get them at least close to the .500 mark, and then use the job as a stepping stone to something better. Like, maybe UAB or Tulane.

[Soonerfan88]

Idaho may be worse, but it's in the bottom 10. But still, this is a great opportunity for Fuente and wish him well.

[westbrooke]

Good for Justin. I always felt that QB rotation with Moore was maddening. Neither of them were likely to go to the next level, but the clumsy rotation pretty much ensured they would both be wasted. I'm glad he's found his place in the football world. Memphis may be a crap job, but the flip side, as some have mentioned, is that even modest success will make it possible to move on to bigger things.

[rekamrettuB]

Good for Fuente. Always liked him. He and Eric Moore were both in a bad situation under Blake.

They were the only two? :smiley_simmons:

[Breadburner]

Probably should have waited.....

[batonrougesooner]

Garrick McGee, Justin Fuente.

Brandon Daniels next?

[SoonerMarkVA]

They were the only two? :smiley_simmons:

Point to you. But they were the most scrutinized of those who were in a bad situation.

[badger]

Check out the OU circa 1998 Fuente photo on this story --- he's almost doing a Heisman-like pose! :D

Link (http://www.tulsaworld.com/sportsextra/article.aspx?subjectid=231&articleid=20111208_231_0_MEMPHI463022)

[picasso]

I saw where Jarrail Jackson and Calvin Thibedoux are assistants at Dartmouth.

[ictsooner7]

Good for Fuente. Always liked him. He and Eric Moore were both in a bad situation under Blake. Great to see him having success in the coaching world.

Both were not in a bad situation. only Fuente. Moore was lucky to have someone willing to play him over a clearly better player. Fuente got HOSED by blake.

[cleller]

Great place to start...hope he does well, which means I hope he moves up to some other school within five years.

Ditto. Hard to imagine you dream job is in Memphis. Without Elvis and his boys, that place is out of control.

[OUstud]

Check out the OU circa 1998 Fuente photo on this story --- he's almost doing a Heisman-like pose! :D

Link (http://www.tulsaworld.com/sportsextra/article.aspx?subjectid=231&articleid=20111208_231_0_MEMPHI463022)

That jersey's like 2 sizes too big!

[Memtig14]

There is a lotta money in Memphis and they would like to rebuild to where they once were....and more.

[bluedogok]

There is a lotta money in Memphis and they would like to rebuild to where they once were....and more.
Hasn't the former FedEx CEO (or someone like that) donated money to the athletic department to try and get them competitive?

[Memtig14]

Hasn't the former FedEx CEO (or someone like that) donated money to the athletic department to try and get them competitive?
Yes, I am not sure exactly what he did. I don't think he has BP's money, but he has quite a bit and is willing to help the program.

In the '70s they were good.....but came close to getting the death penalty. Then their coach and QB were killed in a plane crash. Never recovered.

[marfacowboy]

Memphis was good during the Pancoast years and Rex Dockery made some progress before tragically getting killed. Under Pancoast, they sent a number of players to the pros and were competitive with Ole Miss and Miss. State. The problem with Memphis is it's situated too close to Ole Miss and Miss. State, and UT can come in and pretty much get who they want. Arkansas recruits Memphis. So does Vandy. The facilities have been poor (but improving), and they really need an on campus stadium. And of course it's a basketball town, where the b-ball Tigers are the #1 priority. The biggest thing Memphis did to improve its fortunes was to get rid of their AD.
It's a good, gutsy hire, I think.