By Matt Osborne
SouthernPigskin.com

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With Brandon Facyson and Kendall Fuller anchoring the perimeter, Virginia Techs secondary, long known as the x9cD Blockx9d, has turned into a proverbial abyss for the oppositions passing attempts.

One of the biggest fears for any college football coach is that their team will be forced by circumstance to rely heavily upon a multitude of freshmen in any given season.

The need to receive substantial production from freshmen contributors is usually indicative of an overall dearth of playmaking abilities on the roster. At the very least, it is typically concerning to envision that a group of younger athletes has already surpassed the teams more experienced and physically-advanced players.

From an outside perspective, it would have been easy to assume that Virginia Techs inclusion of two true freshman starters in its secondary for the 2013 season would prove to be a weakness for Bud Fosters legendary x9cLunch Pailx9d defense.

There are exceptions to every rule, however.

Due more to the exceptional talent of its young players, and less to a severe lack of talent from its veteran secondary players, Virginia Tech started true freshmen Kendall Fuller and Brandon Facyson at cornerback for the vast majority of the 2013 campaign.

Even though both players were considered to be elite defensive back prospects coming out of high school, college football history has proven time and time again that even the best secondary prospects tend to struggle if forced into early action at the collegiate level. Very rarely are true freshmen cornerbacks able to step in and become regular contributors in their first season of eligibility, much less become a premier playmaker for one of the elite defensive units in the nation.

While the odds were heavily stacked against them, Facyson and Fuller still somehow managed to combine for 11 interceptions for the Hokies.

Behind the advanced play of their young playmakers, the Hokies also finished the season ranked in the top 10 nationally in pass defense, interceptions, opponent completion percentage and opponent passer rating.

Considered a four-star prospect coming out of high school, not many experts expected Facyson to be able to find his way into an already crowded rotation in the Virginia Tech rotation.

Enrolling early in Blacksburg, Facyson turned heads with his excellent performance during spring drills. But even with his surprising displays in his first showcase, it still appeared that he would have difficulty cracking the starting rotation.

When combining his scintillating spring performance with some injury issues in the secondary, though, the Hokies saw fit to name Facyson as one of the starters at cornerback for the season-opener against top-ranked Alabama.

Facyson would reward the coaching staff for its faith in his abilities, finishing the season with five interceptions and eight passes defended on his way to being named a freshman All-American by numerous media outlets.

The hype coming out of high school was even more intense for Fuller, whose older brother, Kyle, had already established himself as an All-ACC caliber player in the defensive backfield. Rated as a five-star prospect and one of the top cornerbacks in the 2013 class, Fuller, unlike Facyson, was expected to factor heavily into the rotation from day one on campus.

Despite potentially unreasonable expectations being thrown his direction before taking his first collegiate snap, Fuller still found a way to perform at an even higher level than people initially projected.

Starting 12 of the Hokies 13 games, Fuller was named an All-ACC second-team selection after registering six interceptions and 11 pass break-ups, both of which led the team.

Looking ahead to the future, it is obvious that, with three years of college eligibility remaining, Facyson and Fuller will only continue to cause further problems for ACC passing attacks.

With Facyson and Fuller anchoring the perimeter, Virginia Techs secondary, long known as the x9cD Blockx9d, has turned into a proverbial abyss for the oppositions passing attempts; anything thrown into its general vicinity has a strong likelihood of never returning to its sender.

Virginia Tech has long been noted for its exceptional secondary play, but never before have the Hokies possessed this much talent at the back end of the defense.

All that is left to be said is that opposing quarterbacks should approach with extreme caution.