Media Day Reveals an Uncertain, Yet Exciting Hokies Offense

It's been a long time since wide receiver seemed like the most stable position on the Hokies' offense.

Running back, quarterback, even the offensive line have long been the positions where Tech has always seemed its deepest.

But this year, it seems there are more questions than answers at every position on offense other than receiver.

That's not to say that there isn't promise at those positions — far from it, in fact.

Yet the team's annual Media Day was particularly notable for how uncertain (and in some ways exciting) the new players joining the program have made things.

It is impossible to address offensive uncertainty without mentioning the battle at quarterback.

While the competition is still nominally between five different players, including freshmen Chris Durkin and Andrew Ford, it would seem the field is narrowing to just the veterans.

"I think basically it's very difficult for a freshman to step in there, but I like our two freshmen kids a lot," said head coach Frank Beamer. "I just think it's very difficult."

Complicating matters is the fact that spring starter Brenden Motley has been nursing a back injury that forced him to miss a few practices.

"The toughest part is Motley hasn't been able to compete here, his back's been bothering him a little bit," Beamer said.

However, Beamer expects him to return soon and resume competing with Mark Leal and Michael Brewer.

"I think Leal and Brewer are battling right now, but we want to get Motley back in there, we hope to do that Monday," Beamer said. "We hope to make a decision pretty quickly."

Motley says that the injury wasn't a terribly serious one, and he should be back out there soon.

"I feel pretty good. It was just something minor, nothing too serious," Motley said. "I'm about to get back into it real soon so I can play as fast as possible."

Even with Motley missing a few days, Leal feels as if the added competition has brought out the best in the group.

"It's a little bit different feeling. In the spring, we only had three quarterbacks. It was something I'm definitely not used to because we're always deep in that room," Leal said. "Now, with seven quarterbacks, everybody brings something a little different. It just adds a little more fire to the competition, it makes you want to perform every day."

But Beamer made news when he mentioned that the group would be getting smaller by one — incoming freshman Travon McMillian has transitioned to a role as a running back after playing quarterback in high school.

"McMillian, we've moved him to tailback...and the guy's got speed, real speed," Beamer said. "You noticed him. He's going to come along. He's going to be a real speed guy in our backfield."

The move isn't a particularly surprising one given his skill set, considering that McMillian ran for over 1,500 yards and 20 touchdowns in his days at C.D. Hylton High School while passing for just over 1,400 yards, but the backfield is certainly crowded these days.

Trey Edmunds, J.C. Coleman and Joel Caleb are all mostly known quantities, but at this point, the staff has been thrilled with the talent the incoming freshmen have displayed so far.

"We've had some young guys to the mix and I really like them all," said running backs coach Shane Beamer. "You can't play four, you can't play six regularly, and be successful but it really is wide open."

The elder Beamer was particularly complimentary of freshman Shai McKenzie.

"I can tell you we're going to get McKenzie more and more work here, we're looking forward to seeing where that goes," he said.

Shane echoed that sentiment, saying that he seems to be completely healed from the ACL tear he suffered last year.

"At times, I was concerned about him from a running standpoint, but, knock on wood, there haven't been any concerns since we got started," he said. "And mentally, I've been pleasantly surprised. He didn't do anything in the spring except sit in my meetings and just watch, so you worry about how much he's hearing and absorbing, but he's been great. He sits in those meeting, he doesn't say a whole lot, but he's picked things up well."

Marshawn Williams might not be quite as new a sensation, considering he also enrolled early and participated in spring practice with the Hokies, but he's still raising eyebrows.

"He's a guy that can move the pile," Shane said.

However, there are still concerns about his health heading into the year. He just had hernia surgery at the end of July, and seemed to be on a different page than the coaching staff when news came down that he'd be out for three to six weeks.

"In my head, the way things work, I'm ready to go," Williams said. "But now, I have to let this heal and then I'll be right back. I just wasn't ready for it and I acted before I felt right. I have no pain, I just have to wait for it to heal."

That confusion translated to the coaching staff as practice began.

"He's very confident, he told me when it was announced he was going to be out, he told me that day he was ready," Shane said. "I said 'you've got to get on the same page as the training room,' but I'm confident in him."

For now, he's working on his conditioning and on keeping his weight down after Frank mentioned that he's a bit heavier than the team wants him to be.

"Every day I see him out there with (athletic trainer) Mike Goforth in practice. They've probably done a hundred laps every day, just staying in shape," Shane said. "And that's the biggest concern for Marshawn when he comes back is that he's in shape and not 240 pounds."

Shane admitted that he wasn't above a little public humiliation to help him with that goal.

"I made him get up in the running back meeting the other night and I made him write on the board what his weight was that day and what it's going to be in two weeks and he's on a mission to make sure he's at that weight. And I think he'll be ready to roll," he said.

Williams isn't the only spring star to get fans excited for the offense's potential. Tight end Bucky Hodges looked electric at times in the spring, and his size (which is truly imposing in person) has the staff excited about what he can do.

"They've had me at the slot, they've had me a lot of places," Hodges said.

Frank seemed particularly interested in running more multiple tight end sets now that 2012 starter Ryan Malleck is healthy and Hodges is in the fold.

"I think our tight ends can be a real factor. I think we've got three guys there in Malleck and Hodges and (2013 starter Kalvin) Cline," Beamer said. "You can get them inside and block, but they're athletic enough in space that you can get mismatches in matchups, so I think that's a tremendous element that we haven't had a lot of in the past. And all those things help your running game."

But through all the offensive uncertainty, and excitement about the newcomers one thing remains constant about the Hokies — Frank Beamer is excited about his kickers.

He went on at length about the potential of the three freshmen that have joined the competition this fall.

"We've got three exceptional kickers. Joey Slye is booming it. He's been impressive. Same with (Michael) Santamaria, he's a real skilled kicker. He hasn't been quite as consistent the last couple days but he gets height on it, same flight," Beamer said. "And Carson Wise has been as consistent as anyone. Three really, really good kickers. So we've got to make a decision, but the good thing is, it's going to be a hard decision."

Even if this refrain remains the same — all it lacked to be quintessential Frank was a good "they'll get after ya" — this Media Day proved that there's plenty to be excited (and apprehensive) about on this offense.

"We've got some explosive people that you're talking about," Beamer said. "They haven't proven themselves, so you may not know exactly who they are, but in most cases, it's going to be a very talented guy that you're choosing."