Fuente, Virginia Tech AD call reports of hiring 'premature'

Memphis coach Justin Fuente and the Virginia Tech athletic director said Saturday that reports Fuente will replace Frank Beamer as Hokies coach are

Memphis coach Justin Fuente and the Virginia Tech athletic director said Saturday that reports Fuente will replace Frank Beamer as Hokies coach are ''premature.''

Fuente and Whit Babcock declined to confirm several reports that cited unidentified sources and said Fuente would be hired as coach and longtime defensive coordinator Bud Foster would remain on staff at Virginia Tech.

''Those are premature,'' Fuente said after Memphis (9-3) beat SMU 63-0 on Saturday. ''There is a time for that and it's not right now.''

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Babcock said nothing had been finalized with a new coach.

''I also think since we don't have our next coach officially that it's not necessarily accurate or fair to speculate on assistants that may stay or may not,'' Babcock told reporters. ''They have families and uncertainty and all those things. ... When we can talk more about it we will.''

Beamer is retiring after this season, his 29th leading the Hokies. He will coach Virginia Tech's bowl game after the Hokies (6-6) beat Virginia 23-20.

The 39-year-old Fuente is in his fourth season at Memphis and is 26-23, but 19-6 the last two seasons. The former TCU offensive coordinator has transformed a program that had gone 3-21 combined the two seasons before he took over.