Virginia Tech announces the addition of former players Jeron Gouveia-Winslow and Corey Fuller to support staff.
The Virginia Tech Hokies officially announced the returns of former players Jeron Gouveia-Winslow and Corey Fuller to the program on Wednesday.
2 Tech Alums Return Home 🏈 @iCoreyFuller & @CoachGouveia join player personnel staff.
— Virginia Tech Football (@HokiesFB) July 22, 2020
Details ⤵️https://t.co/2th7L2Yyi1 #HardHatMentality 👷🏽♂️ pic.twitter.com/UZxuywtC8S
Officially, the titles for both former Hokies will be assistant directors of player personnel.
Head coach Justin Fuente welcomed both back to Virginia Tech, per the school’s official website:
"We are excited that Corey and Jeron have returned to Blacksburg to serve as assistant directors of player personnel," Fuente said.
"They both bring the skills and the talent we needed to add to our recruiting efforts. In addition to their vantage point as former Tech players, they also have a keen understanding of the type of individuals who fit our program and can succeed both academically and athletically at Virginia Tech."
Gouveia-Winslow and Fuller are the latest former Hokies returning to Blacksburg to serve on Fuente’s staff.
They join defensive coordinator Justin Hamilton, co-defensive line coach Darryl Tapp, quality control coach Jack Tyler and support staff members, Ryan Shuman and Pierson Prioleau as former players now involved with the football program.
Gouveia-Winslow played at Virginia Tech from 2009-12 and started parts of three seasons at whip linebacker. He finished his playing career in Blacksburg as a team captain in 2012. He played his high school football at Stone Bridge High in Ashburn, Va., and is the son of former NFL linebacker, Kurt Gouveia.
Gouveia-Winslow began his coaching career at Stone Bridge High following his graduation at Virginia Tech, before going to Hawaii as a coaching intern. Since 2017, he has coached with Brevard College in North Carolina.
It didn’t take long for him to start working on the class of 2022 via his Twitter.
VA’s 2022 Football Class may be the best overall class in the history of the state 🤯💯
— Jeron Gouveia-Winslow (@CoachGouveia) July 22, 2020
What if they all stayed Home? 🔮🤨#HokieNation Let me know what you think⁉️⁉️
You already know what we’re thinkin’ 🏆🏆🏆😤
W.I.N.#LetsGo #Hokies #VT #VA #LPD #HardHat #DBU #ACC
Fuller played at Virginia Tech from 2010-12. He redshirted in 2010 after transferring from Kansas, where he was a star on the track team. In 2011, Fuller played sparingly, finishing the season with just two catches. However, in 2012, he would become a starter and caught 43 passes for 815 yards and six touchdowns.
He was a sixth-round pick of the Detroit Lions where he would spend almost four seasons. He spent parts of two seasons with the New Orleans Saints before he was released in November 2017.
He began his coaching career with Central Michigan in 2018, where he was a part of the same staff as Tapp. He, of course, is one of the famous Fuller brothers who all played in the NFL and attended Virginia Tech.
While Gouveia-Winslow and Fuller can’t travel as a part of their recruiting positions, the expectation is they will play a major role in recruiting. Gouveia-Winslow is from a part of the state where the Hokies have struggled and would like to gain more traction.
Fuller’s NFL experience is a nice bonus, too.
The addition of both is a good move by Fuente. The Hokies needed additional help on the support staff, but for this to be deemed a success, recruiting must improve over the rest of this cycle and for the 2022 class.
Bryan Manning has covered college football, college basketball, the NFL and MLB for numerous outlets since 2011. Bryan has written about Virginia Tech athletics for Bleacher Report and SB Nation. Bryan also contributes at Redskins Report on the SI Network and LSU Wire on the USA TODAY SMG network.