Former Oklahoma QB Lands New Position With College Football Playoff

A former Oklahoma quarterback is now one of the most influential figures in college football.

Justin Fuente, who quarterbacked the Sooners in 1996 and 1997 after an All-State career at Union High School in Tulsa, on Tuesday was named Senior Advisor for Football for the College Football Playoff.

Fuente redshirted in 1995 in the Sooners’ one year under Howard Schnellenberger, then played two seasons under John Blake before transferring to Murray State in Kentucky.

After his playing days ended, Fuente was a college football coach for 21 years, most recently as the head coach at Virginia Tech from 2016-21 and University of Memphis from 2012-15. 

Rich Clark, Executive Director of the College Football Playoff (CFP), announced today that Justin Fuente has been named the CFP’s Senior Advisor for Football.

Fuente’s 2014 Memphis squad won the American Athletic Conference crown, and Fuente was named conference coach of the year honors in both 2014 in The American with Memphis and 2016 in the Atlantic Coast Conference with Virginia Tech.

“I am thrilled about this new opportunity for my family and me,” Fuente said in a press release. “Football has been an important part of my life as a player, teammate and coach, and I appreciate this chance to give back to the game I love. I look forward to working with the College Football Playoff staff and helping to grow one of the great events in all of sports.”

In this brand new position, Fuente will be responsible for providing guidance on designated operational matters that enhance the overall quality of the CFP, including consulting with the FBS conference offices, NCAA, NCAA National Coordinator of Football Officiating and the CFP’s Chief Medical Officer. He will also work with the CFP staff on the implementation of playoff policies and best practices related to game operations, officiating, technology and other policy considerations.

“We are excited to have Justin joining the CFP,” executive director Rich Clark said in the press release. “He is well respected among his peers in college football, has an impressive knowledge of the game and understands the perspective of coaches and players. He will be a great fit for our team.”

Fuente spent 11 seasons in a variety of offensive assistant coaching roles at Illinois State (2001-06) and TCU (2007-11). 

In between his playing days and his coaching career, Fuente played for the Oklahoma Wranglers of the Arena Football League in 2000 and 2001.

Fuente threw for 6,104 yards and 64 touchdowns as a high school QB, leading the state with 2,934 yards and 32 touchdowns as a senior.

After sitting out in 1995, Fuente passed for 1,271 yards as a redshirt freshman in 1996, completed 91-of-196 passes (46.4 percent). As a sophomore, he won the job in the preseason but then completed just 69-of-129 passes for 1,018 yards, never gaining traction with Blake’s teams amidst constant changes in not only the quarterback position, but also the offensive coordinator and even the offensive schemes.

Among Fuente’s accomplishments at OU, he was the Sooners’ first freshman quarterback to beat Texas, taking a 30-27 victory over the Longhorns in 1996 by completing 15-of-34 passes for 165 yards with one touchdown and zero interceptions.

Last year, Michael Hawkins became the Sooners’ first true freshman QB to start against Texas, but the Longhorns dominated 34-3.

At Murray State, Fuente was named Ohio Valley Conference Offensive Player of the Year and was a finalist for the Walter Payton Award as the best player in Division I-AA (now FCS). He still holds Racers school records for most passing yards (3,497), most TD passes (27), most pass completions (240) and highest passer efficiency rating (151.21).