Hokies Talk Miami, Health of Michael Brewer, and Emergence of Isaiah Ford

Hokies' starting quarterback Michael Brewer was unable to return against N.C. State after the Virginia Tech medical staff refused to clear him, but don't think for a second that Brewer isn't anxious to get back on the field.

"I said that in the locker room right after it (the broken collarbone against Ohio State) happened. I said, 'let's worry about surgery tomorrow, let's stick this thing with a needle and get going with it,'" laughed Brewer. "But they ensured me that that wasn't a good idea. I've been pushing hard trying to get back out there, trying to get cleared. It's just all up to the doctors and whether or not the x-ray looks good at this point."

Brewer, along with a few other Hokies' players and coaches, met with the media Tuesday evening. Below are videos of the Hokies' defensive staff interviews and notes and quotes from the players.

Bud Foster

Miami is big and physical up front, has dynamic receivers and running backs, and quarterback Brad Kaaya is having a great year.

Last year the Hurricanes ran all over the Hokies, and they probably want to do the same again this season.

Miami's tailbacks are adept at stretching a defense horizontally, then cutting up the field. Tech's defense has to do a great job leveraging its gaps, something the Hokies did not do well last year.

Kaaya is more poised on film this year. Last season, Miami was able to overcome any disadvantage due to then freshman Kaaya's inexperience by establishing and dominating on the ground. (Miami rushed for 364 yards, passed for 92 yards in 2014). Foster hopes 2015 will be different. "We're hoping we can hold up in the run game, and maybe put it on (Kaaya's) shoulders at the end of the day," Foster said.

There's not very much drop off at tailback for Miami from last year (Duke Johnson) to this season.

Torrian Gray

Rashawn Scott (83.0 receiving yards per game), Herb Waters (59.8 receiving yards per game) and Stacy Coley (50.0 receiving yards per game) are most dangerous trio of receivers Tech will have faced thus far this season.

Young players in the secondary made great strides against North Carolina State.

Last Friday against the Wolfpack was the first time Tech had Brandon Facyson play boundary corner for an entire game. "He made plays that Kendall had been making, and was accustomed to making, at that position," Gray said. Boundary corner is Facyson's role moving forward.

Charley Wiles

Wiles hopes to get defensive tackle Corey Marshall (hamstring) back in practice tomorrow. Woody Baron has been playing well in Marshall's absence.

"(Miami) kicked our butt last year," Wiles said.

Defensive end Dadi Nicolas still doesn't have any sacks, but Wiles insists he is playing well because he is around the football. Sore hands may be affecting Dadi's grip when he tries to bring down the passer. However, it's time to finish on the quarterback.

Michael Brewer Wasn't Quite Ready for Wolfpack

Last week, Michael Brewer said that he would be testing out his recovering collarbone by taking hits and falling on a protective mat, followed by x-rays that could give the medical staff a better look at his bone.

But after deliberation all week, the doctors weren't quite ready to clear Brewer.

"They told me that 'hey, this is kinda you know, there's a chance that this might not look like you want it to, but there's a chance that it will,'" said Brewer. "A day or two before the game, I got the x-rays, they looked at it, and said 'no go.'"

While Brewer may not have been 100% ready for the Wolfpack, he's hopeful that day will come sooner rather than later.

"I've felt really good for awhile now. I worked really hard to get my range of motion and strength back as soon as possible," said Brewer. "I felt really good three weeks out of surgery and then the rest of it is just not up to me. It's the bone. Gotta let the bone heal to where the doctors feel comfortable that it won't break again."

One of the tests that the quarterback will be forced to pass is the same "falling on a mat" experiment that he went through last week. In what was surely a wise decision, Tech's staff opted to use associate athletic director for sports medicine Mike Goforth as the "hitter", a much lighter option than some of the behemoths the Hokies have up front.

But if Brewer is going to get back on the field, fellow quarterback Brenden Motley joked that the Hokies might have to up the ante with Brewer.

"Yeah, Goforth might be a little too soft," laughed Motley. "I'm just playing."

But all jokes aside, Brewer has one thing in mind as he closes in on his return.

"Been through a lot of highs and lows together with this team," said Brewer when asked about the type of teammates that he's blessed with playing with. "Now we're all just about we want to make it to Charlotte and we want to go get a win there."

Emergence of Isaiah Ford

Just one day after offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler heaped praise on his star sophomore receiver, both Hokies quarterbacks joined the party.

"He worked on his game all summer, all offseason," Brewer said of Ford. "I don't even know how many nights, how many times a week, but we came up here seems like just about every other night and worked on throwing routes, timing. He was doing footwork drills. Practicing getting in-and-out of cuts. Always working on his craft. And then obviously getting stronger in the weight room was a thing that helped him a lot. Just being able to make it difficult for defenses to come up and just press and leave him on an island because now you gotta respect that. He's not a little skinny freshman anymore."

Brenden Motley agreed wholeheartedly and called out Ford as one of the players constantly prodding the offense to get their extra work in.

"He always tries to grab as many receivers as he can," said Motley. "He's just one of the guys that take(s) the initiative to go out there and get that work. On the weekends, other people are just trying to hang out, relax and stuff. He actually wants to go run routes and go do things that make him better. His mindset is definitely in the right place. He will have a big future."

Ford, a freakish athlete that also starred as a basketball player in high school, made waves this offseason with a catch that he hauled in after doing a backflip.

pic.twitter.com/eHitEaDG3V— Isaiah Ford(@IAF_1) June 24, 2015

But one of the elder statesman in the locker room might want to put a squash on Ford's fun.

"He's always doing stuff like that. I've seen him do a couple of backflips. That makes me nervous," chuckled Brewer, referring to himself as the "grandpa" of the locker room.

Ken Ekanem Talks Miami

After the 30-6 beating that the Canes put on the Hokies last year in Lane Stadium, Bud Foster and his staff will have their work cut out for them as they prepare for Saturday's showdown.

According to defensive end Ken Ekanem, film study on Miami has actually shown that the Canes have been fairly predictable on offense thus far in 2015.

"You can just see by alignments and just by their stances and stuff," said Ekanem. "You can tell what they're going to do."

But with the size and athleticism Miami has on offense, Ekanem isn't overlooking the Canes.

"Pretty predictable, but they have such good personnel that they can get away with it," said Ekanem.

Ekanem finally recorded his first sack of the season against N.C. State, but if you ask the redshirt junior, he got on the sack scoreboard against East Carolina.

"I was a little excited. But in my head, ECU, the technicality, it was a sack fumble. I'll credit myself with that," laughed Ekanem.

Fellow defensive end Dadi Nicolas is surprisingly still sackless on the year, but Ekanem is expecting that to change soon as Dadi continues to pressure the quarterback.

"He is playing really well," said Ekanem. "His hands just messed up. He has a lot of jammed fingers, a broken hand. So he can't really wrap up like he usually can. That quarterback last week was a pretty big guy. Takes a lot to take him down. I think he had like five quarterback pressures last game. So it's pretty impressive."

Ekanem also attributed the lack of sacks to opponents recognizing the talent the Hokies have up front and scheming around it.

"A lot of teams are playing us a lot differently," said Ekanem. "We've faced a lot of slide protections, so we really don't get that many opportunities to get 1-on-1's and stuff. It's a tough time. We're such a great defensive line that teams are just scheming us on the passing game."

But with Nicolas — and defensive tackle Luther Maddy — enjoying their final homecoming in South Florida this weekend, Ekanem expects to see them play with a little extra chip on their shoulders.

"They're different than other weeks," said Ekanem. "I remember two years ago, Luther, when we played down at their place, Luther had a hell of a game. He just brings more energy to him when he goes back home. Dadi plays lights out as well. They play like they have something to prove."

Additional Quotes

Brandon Facyson

ON PLAYING MORE BOUNDARY CORNER WITH KENDALL FULLER OUT:

"It's different, but all in all, it's the same spot, same corner. Still covering guys. It's not really that much of a difference."

ON STEPPING INTO MORE OF A LEADERSHIP ROLE:

"Yeah. I mean with Kendall being out, he was a vocal guy. Great player. All of our brothers. He's still here constantly helping us out, putting his part into the program. He's still doing everything he can to help us. He's doing a great job...We don't move on, we just keep keep focused and next guy up."

ON IF N.C. STATE WAS HIS BEST GAME:

"I would say so. I felt like we all played a great game. Not just myself. If it wasn't for the defensive lineman, for the linebackers, for the other guys covering, I couldn't have made the plays that I made."

Brenden Motley

ON HOW HE CAME OUT OF N.C. STATE GAME PHYSICALLY:

"It's all part of the game. Football, it happens sometimes. Body feels good. We had a couple days off, so body feels really good right now."

ON POSSIBLY HAVING A FOOT SPRAIN:

"Yeah, it was minor, wouldn't call it a sprain. I honestly don't know what happened....right now, it feels really good."

Michael Brewer

ON ADDED STRENGTH OF ISAIAH FORD:

"You notice it when you watch the film. Last year, there was some times where he might get pushed around and veer off of his route and now he's able to rip past people. Use his hands, use his body to be effective down the field."

ON POTENTIALLY GETTING INTO COACHING:

"I never really thought a whole lot about it and then I guess this past four or five weeks, basically being a coach out there on the sidelines, sometimes up in the box, it's been fun. You get to see it from a whole different perspective and coach quarterbacks which is obviously something that I enjoy doing is playing quarterback and now getting to coach it a little bit. Who knows? Maybe in the future, that might be something that I do."