Hokies Quarterbacks Vie for an Early Advantage in Virginia Tech's First Scrimmage of Spring

Without Michael Brewer, Brenden Motley and Andrew Ford took the majority of the reps in Saturday's scrimmage.

[Mark Umansky]

Scot Loeffler yelled until he was blue in the face, but at the end of the day he saw reasonably encouraging things from his backup quarterbacks.

The Virginia Tech football team's offensive coordinator strung together 55 plays in Saturday's scrimmage without 2014's starting quarterback, Michael Brewer, who is still sidelined with a lower back injury.

"(Brewer) has just had some back spasms here lately," said associate athletic director for sports medicine Mike Goforth. "I don't think it's anything related to what he had when he was at Texas Tech. We're doing some core stabilization things. It's not really a concern of ours."

Brewer missed out on opportunities to seize the Red Raiders' starting job because of lower back issues, prompting his relocation to Blacksburg.

"It's a deal where rest is what's needed so we've rested him," Loeffler said. "He hasn't thrown since Wednesday so hopefully Tuesday he comes back. He feels fine but I know if you tweak that again it's bad. These next few weeks are crucial. We need to get him back and get him reps."

Brewer's absence facilitated plenty of reps for the Hokies' other four quarterbacks.

Brenden Motley led the way with three completions for 56 yards on four attempts in Saturday's scrimmage.

"I thought (Motley) made a lot of good throws over the course of the day," said head coach Frank Beamer. "He had a couple that didn't look good but you have to see if the receiver is where he should've been. A couple of deep routes could've led receivers more toward the sideline. Overall he was okay."

Loeffler shared the head coach's assessment, acknowledging that it was a small serving size.

"We didn't throw it a lot today," Loeffler said. "But (Motley) appeared to play well but we'll watch the tape. From the sideline it appeared he did some good things. I know he missed Bucky (Hodges) on a third down."

Loeffler's expectations for the redshirt junior are high.

"I want to see him compete for the job," he said. "If I'm his shoes, every day I'm trying to be the starting quarterback at Virginia Tech."

Like Brewer, Motley has been slowed in the past by injuries. Coaches are hoping that he can stay healthy.
"He ran into a tough situation last year," Loeffler said. "He can't seem to stay healthy. He didn't have a chance to compete. Hopefully he stays healthy and continues to grow."

Motley notes that injuries are frustrating but he's kept his faith.

"(This spring) is an opportunity," Motley said. "I just need to come out and make plays when they present themselves and lead the team, be smart and be a leader."

A day filled with offensive struggles, Motley's highlight of the day was a 37-yard completion to a streaking Bucky Hodges.

"I played alright," Motley said. "There's some things we need to fix. We need to speed the pace up."

Motley noted that the offense is doing a little bit of everything now. Its main focus is knowing the whole playbook and executing.

Personally, Motley is concerned on bettering himself from a mental standpoint.

"Coach Loeffler told me I need to work on leadership, urgency and acting like I'm the man," Motley said. "It's not tough; you just have to have the mentality. If you believe you can do it it's easier.

"At times I can be vocal but it's really about being a leader and knowing what you're doing."

A run-first or Wild Turkey quarterback for much of his collegiate career, Motley is working on making his game better-rounded.

"I need to work on looking pass first," Motley said. "That's something I wanted to work on — staying in the pocket and making throws with pressure in my face instead of tucking and running."

Andrew Ford and Chris Durkin each completed a pass in Saturday's scrimmage. Jack Click went 0-of-2.

Ford reflected on how he's improved from his first spring to his second.

"Being in my second spring, I feel a lot more comfortable with the speed of the game and I think I have the offense down," Ford said. "I think I'm in a position where I can lead. Last year, coming in as a high school guy, you lead because you're the quarterback but you have guys there that are five years older than you.

Being here for a full year now and knowing how to handle things, I feel like I can take my leadership to the next level."

The redshirt freshman received a boisterous earful from Loeffler after just about every play, but he insists it's a proper approach to better the offense in the long run.

"He's going to put a lot of pressure on this spring so when things aren't the perfect situation this fall we'll still be okay," Ford said. "He wants to make practice as hard, if not harder, so the game is easy."

Loeffler puts the highest burden on his quarterbacks because he expects the most from them.

"What we're doing with our best football players is we're applying pressure," Loeffler said. "We want our best football players to respond to pressure."

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