Virginia Tech QB Brenden Motley Goes From Obscurity to X-Factor for Hokies

For all the changes in his role on the Virginia Tech football team over the last few days, quarterback Brenden Motley must be feeling a little bit of whiplash.

Just two weeks ago, Motley was buried on the depth chart behind starter Michael Brewer and redshirt senior Mark Leal, a veteran backup that was well respected by the staff.

Now, Motley has emerged as a potential x-factor for a Hokies offense that's been devastated by injuries.

Suffice it to say, it's been quite the change for the Christiansburg product.

It all started back when Leal decided to leave the team to pursue a job opportunity on Nov. 4.

"It was kind of a sudden thing for Mark to leave like that," Motley said. "The week that it happened, we hadn't had practice on Monday, so we came back Tuesday and they let me know. I'm happy that he's out there doing what he wants to do now."

That must've come as quite the shock to Motley, who was still missing portions of practice with the team due to his obligations at a pair of classes.

Once the staff let him know he'd be the primary backup quarterback behind Brewer, he had to work quickly to find some workaround so that he wouldn't miss a minute with the offense, so he went to his professors to explain the situation.

"They were happy for me. I didn't want to disrespect or downplay my professors or their class or anything, so I'm going to meetings with them, meeting up with them, making sure I don't miss anything," Motley said. "That's the most important thing, that I don't miss anything."

But once he got to practice, Motley discovered that he'd be doing more than just taking snaps with the second team offense.

Instead, offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler and company were tinkering with the team's wild turkey package, and told Motley he'd be running it instead of tight end Bucky Hodges.

"I just came in one day in practice, and they told me I'd be taking over," Motley said. "It's always been that I've thought about doing it, it's not something unexpected that happened. They're plays that we've run before, so it wasn't like a real huge surprise."

The team wasted no time in trying the new arrangement out on the field. They gave Motley three carries against Duke, and he used them to great effect, running for 36 yards on the day with a big 24-yard gain that keyed the Hokies' first touchdown drive.

Motley credits the smooth transition to Loeffler keeping him engaged in the offense, even as he slipped down the depth chart.

"I'm all the way caught up (with the offense)," Motley said. "Coach does a good job of keeping us prepared, doesn't matter if you're first or fourth, he's going to prepare you like you're the first. So I'm caught up, I feel confident in what we're doing."

Loeffler said after the game that he thought handing Motley those carries in a big spot would be "good for his confidence," and his quarterback agrees.

"It was a confidence boost," Motley said. "He does a great job coaching me up. A great job of coaching me up."

But it wasn't only just solid coaching that helped Motley have such immediate success. At Christiansburg HS, Motley was a fixture in the run game, running for 646 yards and 13 touchdowns his senior season.

That meant that running the ball in the Duke game wasn't something new for him; instead, it conjured up a little nostalgia.

"It brought me back a little bit," Motley said. "I was actually joking with one my coaches during practice that makes me feel like it's back in high school."

Even more incredibly, it hasn't just been a while since Motley's run the ball, it's been a while since he's been tackled, period, because of Tech's no-contact rules for quarterbacks in practice.

"It's been a good two and a half, maybe two years since I've actually been tackled, so it was good to get a little dirt, a little grass on my jersey," Motley said.

Yet, for all of the good feelings this means for Motley, it's not like the team's doing it just to give him pleasant flashbacks to his high school days.

With the team's stable of running backs dwindling with the news that Marshawn Williams will join Shai McKenzie on the sidelines for the remainder of year, and Trey Edmunds' status in doubt, the team will need him to be ready for more action.

"If my number is called, I'll be ready to go out and do it," Motley said.

Motley's new wild turkey role isn't just good news for the running game, however.

Now that Bucky Hodges doesn't have to think about the wild turkey package in practice, he can focus wholeheartedly on improving as a tight end.

"Now I can just focus on the little things I have to do at tight end, not worry about that package, so I think it's going to work out for the best," Hodges said.

Hodges says the team only worked on the wild turkey about twice a week during practice, but his position coach still appreciates getting some extra time to work with him.

"It certainly has helped. I think that package is a bit extensive, not just from the passing game, but also from the running game," said tight ends coach Bryan Stinespring. "And he's still a guy that's just been a tight end since February, and I think sometimes we forget that."

It's an easy fact to miss, considering Hodges has already tied Jeff King for the program's all-time record for touchdowns by a TE, yet Stinespring insists he still has plenty of work to do.

"It's constant knowledge he has to attain," Stinespring said. "And every week is a different assessment for him as a tight end because the defenses change, blocking schemes change, coverages change, the way he runs routes, so we have to take a little bit off his plate."

That doesn't mean Hodges wasn't a right fit for the package, just that he's a considerably better asset as an improved tight end.

"He handled that part of it well, and you saw it against Ohio State," Stinespring said. "Can he handle it, yes...but when you balance it out and weigh the pros and cons we really found we had to narrow it down on improving himself as a tight end and H-Back."

If Motley and Hodges can repeat their performances against the Blue Devils in the team's final two games, there's little doubt they'll have any regrets about that move.