2015 ACC Kickoff Day One Odds and Ends

The final day of the 2015 ACC Kickoff is already underway. I'm about to head over and listen to Frank Beamer's interview, but wanted to share a few things that have been lingering in open browser tabs.

Virginia Tech quarterback Michael Brewer spent over an hour answering questions from the print and online media yesterday. He was babyfaced, upbeat and optimistic that all of last season's green starters have ripened . Koma wrote a terrific story based on that interview, and I recorded video of part of it. Brewer had an all-time quote when he described his fishing pal and offensive guard Wyatt Teller.

Brewer says not only has Wyatt Teller kept his mullet, but he's even buzzed off the front. "Barbarian white trash" he calls it. #Hokies— Alex Koma (@AlexKomaVT) July 20, 2015

With with everything we know about Teller, Brewer's description of his pal seems accurate.

Jon Laaser and Mike Burnop discussed the upcoming season with Frank Beamer.

Kendall Fuller and Michael Brewer called play-by-play of Fuller's pick-six at North Carolina last season.

Another random note, during yesterday's interview session with Kendall and Brewer, Kendall chimed in and asked the Hokies' signal caller if he played quarterback, could Brewer pick him off? Brewer responded with an adamant, "100%, yes," to which Fuller replied, "I'm going to have to show you my Pop Warner film." It got a chuckle.

Brewer was asked many questions about Bucky Hodges yesterday, many by me, and towards the end Brewer noted that Ryan Malleck got the better of Kendall during some 7-on-7 work the day before.

The ACC provided a complete transcript of Brewer's and Fuller's time at the podium.

Q. Kendall, your thoughts about starting out this year against Ohio State at home, defending national champ.

KENDALL FULLER: It's definitely a much-anticipated game. It being the season opener, definitely something to look forward to. But, you know, we can't look at it too much. We got to look at it as it being the next game, the next biggest game, just because it's the next game. Definitely we've been training for it, been working for it. It's almost here.

Q. On that note, your reaction to the news today that classes have been canceled because of the proceedings on Labor Day that night.

KENDALL FULLER: I told someone I didn't think many people were going to go to class anyway. I don't know how big of a deal it was.

Q. How do you define this secondary going into the season?

KENDALL FULLER: As a secondary, we always demand greatness from each other. Kyshoen and Bonner leaving, there's definitely some shoes to fill. Some young guys are going to have to step up. I think during camp, everything will kind of sort itself out. There's definitely going to be a lot of competition in the camp. Whoever is out there, we're going to expect them to make plays.

Q. Can you speak to playing through the wrist injury last year, how you feel health-wise? Do you feel sharper, more crisp?

KENDALL FULLER: My wrist is 100%. I think the wrist injury affected me, but not as much as I think people think it did. I think mainly it kind of took my physicality away from the game. I think I was more conscious, kind of held back a little bit more. This year I'm ready to let loose.

Q. The kind of pressure that guys put on the passer, realistically, how long are you in coverage?

KENDALL FULLER: I'm not sure.

Q. Not very long?

KENDALL FULLER: Not very long at all. Their presence is known on the field. Quarterbacks, they know they have to get the ball out quick and things like that, which definitely makes our job a lot easier. I think this year as a secondary, we have to make the defensive line's job easier, too, making the QB hold the ball.

Q. It's been since 2010 that Virginia Tech won the ACC. I know it's a proud program. You were 7-6 last year. I think you have the most starters of any conference team coming back. How much of a jump can you get back to that level?

KENDALL FULLER: It's definitely good. I think last year we were a young team, had a lot of learning experiences and things like that. We're just looking forward to this year. Our goal is definitely to win the ACC championship. We can't just talk about it, we have to be about it, in practice, workouts, things like that. We're looking forward to it. That's definitely our goal.

Q. Kendall, does this defense have a chance to be the best one that you have played on in your days at Virginia Tech?

KENDALL FULLER: Yes. And I say that because, you know, we have all the talent. At every position we have the talent. One, we got to stay healthy. I think the times we could have had a very good defense in our freshmen and sophomore year, we didn't stay healthy. That's definitely going to be a big part of it. Other than that, we just got to go 100% every practice, every snap in games. We definitely have the potential to be one of the best defenses that came through Virginia Tech.

Q. You have three older brothers, all with NFL experience. What have they taught you over the years?

KENDALL FULLER: They just help me with my knowledge of the game, whether it's your techniques and things like that, drills that I could work on while I was here at Tech. They came back and shared with me their knowledge, shared their work ethic, things like that, which has definitely helped me to be the player I am now.

Q. Any pressure on yourself to also join the NFL, given the bloodline in the family so far?

KENDALL FULLER: I wouldn't say pressure. It's definitely a goal, definitely a vision. 'Pressure' isn't the right word, I don't think.

Q. Last year you had the double overtime 6-3 game against Wake Forest, a couple slides late in the year, really needed a couple breaks to extend your remarkable bowl string. This year many people are picking you to win. What's the difference?

MICHAEL BREWER: Well, last year we had a lot of youth out there, a lot of inexperience, from me, back down to a couple of offensive linemen, to some receivers. It's easy to hang your hat on excuses when things aren't going well. The fact of the matter was we were young. We did suffer injuries. No matter what, you still got to find a way to win. At the end of the day that's all that matters, what's in the win/loss column. That's kind of our approach going into this year. We got everybody back. We feel really comfortable with where we're at offensively. Obviously we got to improve this fall camp. But if we can, it's all about helping our defense out, putting points on the board.

Q. To go into this season, your leadership at this point, how you define that. Secondly, who are the guys on offense you feel you can lean on this season?

MICHAEL BREWER: As far as the leadership part goes, I just want to be a guy that is known for doing things the right way on and off the field and leading by example, being a guy that shows that he's willing to lay it all on the line, whether it be hurt or healthy, go out there and give it all every game, every play. Then some guys that you can really lean on on the offense would be Jon McLaughlin, a big leader for us on the offensive line, then some young guys like Isaiah Ford that are really leading by example with their work ethic.

Q. This speaks to the leadership question a little bit. I understand you were away from campus two days this summer, take a fishing trip. Tell us what most of your time this summer has been spent on and one area where you feel you made the most progress.

MICHAEL BREWER: I think just the mental aspect of things, having a chance to sit down and actually be able to go through an off-season rather than be forced into it, and two months' preparation. But pretty much the whole summer has been nothing but some school and a lot of football.

Q. In the bowl game last year you guys kind of had a nice breakout game, scored a lot of points. That had to be a good feeling for you guys. The offense struggled for a lot of the season. What can you say that will assure fans the offense is going to be much improved from last year?

MICHAEL BREWER: Just the fact that we've got people coming back. We've got play-makers coming back at all of our skill positions. We lost one receiver from last year, and that's about it. Our offensive line has made strides this spring and off-season. As we all know, it starts up front. If we can run the football, we can do a lot more, help our play-action game, and obviously our throw game. Just the fact that we've got people healthy, a bunch of experience coming back, and everybody has a better understanding of what they're doing leaves room for optimism.