Virginia Tech Spring Football: Open Scrimmage I Report and Analysis

Virginia Tech played football today, and even if it was just a spring scrimmage it was good to hear those pads popping. The reigning national champions are coming to Blacksburg in September and Frank Beamer is in the midst of getting his team prepared for that battle. Coach Beamer is attempting to build depth and settle some positional battles this spring, and today's scrimmage was the first major opportunity for players to stand out and impress the coaching staff.

I arrived at Lane just as the team was finishing up stretching before practice. As the team split up into position groups and started running their drills, I turned my focus towards Torrian Gray's secondary group. The departures of Kyshoen Jarrett and Detrick Bonner and the injuries to Kendall Fuller and Brandon Facyson has opened the door for younger players to get lots of reps this spring. This is great for team depth but it meant that I spent a large portion of my day staring at my roster to figure out who was wearing which number. Mook Reynolds sent me scrambling to figure out who wore No. 6 after he hounded a receiver through a series of ineffectual moves before reading the receivers eyes, turning his head and intercepting the pass. It didn't take long for him to impress again. The very next time he was up, Mook ran the receiver's complicated route for him and wound up with a second interception. As luck would have it, the drill ended as it cycled back to Mook. I wanted to see him get one last rep in, but it looks like I'll have to wait till the next scrimmage.

Mook wasn't the only young secondary player who impressed me during that drill. Trey Edmund's brother Terrell was wearing No. 22 and he looked also very comfortable in man coverage, making it difficult for several receivers to get any separation. His coverage skills were displayed during the scrimmage portion of the day, as he got a chance to break on a pass and made the most of the opportunity. Once the ball was in Terrell's hands, he took off down the sideline and he might have scored if the play wasn't blown dead.

Another interesting note from the position group drills was that Bucky Hodges spent all of his time with the wide receiver group. I wrote a piece last week about ways Scot Loeffler can expand Bucky's roll on the team and it looks like Loeffler has made his decision. Bucky frequently lined up on the outside of the formation, either threatening the defense with vertical routes or exploiting the cushion that the corners gave him by breaking off routes to present the quarterback with a first down target. If Bucky keeps putting in the work and the offensive line can keep the quarterback upright, he could become Tech's first 1,000 yard receiver.

The coaching staff has been impressed with redshirt freshmen Travon McMillian, and after watching him play today, I see why. Travon ripped off a long touchdown run on a QB read play early in the scrimmage and made it look easy. He also looked comfortable running in between the tackles, displaying good vision and fighting for extra yards. He is still young and learning but there's no doubt that Travon McMillian is going to help the Hokies in 2015. D.J. Reid is another back who got a lot of carries today and impressed, although he didn't get the opportunity to run untouched for a touchdown like Travon did.

The most important position battle of the spring is unquestionably the one over the starting quarterback spot. Michael Brewer, the incumbent, didn't participate in any throwing activities today because of back spasms. Brenden Motley took the majority of the snaps with the first team offense, with Andrew Ford and Chris Durkin getting the remaining reps. From what I saw today, I would be surprised if anyone other than Motley ended up beating out Brewer for the starting job. Ford and Durkin are both young players with good potential, but right now both are lagging behind Motley's production. Ford doesn't have Motley's raw athleticism and Durkin doesn't have Motley's comfort in Loeffler's scheme. Neither have his experience.

The two advantages that Motley has over Brewer are his arm strength and his athleticism. Both were on display during the practice and scrimmage today. During passing drills Motley zipped the ball into the receiver on Square In routes, a throw that we rarely saw attempted last year after Logan Thomas made a living off it it in 2013. With Bucky Hodges moved outside, Tech will need it's starting quarterback to be able to make that specific throw or risk losing one of the biggest advantages of his transition to wide receiver. Motley can also help the rushing attack by being a home run threat on QB read plays. Defenses which don't respect Motley's speed will see him rip off long runs like the one he had today. The respect Motley will command from defenses will open up space for Tech's running backs, something Loeffler will have to consider when trying to get more production from his ground game. No, Motley isn't ready to beat the defending national champions tomorrow, but come September he might be.