saw this on twitter, does anyone have any news as to what it was for? Ankle? Leg?
The process for next season starts tmrw for me, send prayers my way. — B. (@MotleyKrewww) December 28, 2015
Surgery went great thank you for your prayers!— B. (@MotleyKrewww) December 29, 2015
Wonder if he was carrying this issue all year?
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Glad his surgery went well. Hope recovery is quick and painless and Motley can get right to work. Would love to see him win the starting job and put his stamp on the program.
Honestly, I would love it too, because Evans, from what I've read across the board, is/can be/will be a legitimate, big-time, starting college Quarterback, so if someone comes in and beats him out for the job...theyve put some time in the offseason, and I think its great, that means VT is that much better as a team.
His surgery does answer the question why Bucky was in at wildcat.
I hope his surgery goes well myself but Motley will not have a chance to put his stamp on the program. It's between Evans and Lawson. Motley never threw for 1,000 yards in high school. I would love to see a hometown kid tear it up at QB for us but he doesn't have near the level of talent that Evans and Lawson possess.
I disagree with this. He'll have the chance. He'll have an opportunity to compete. Statements like this bother me because we just don't know enough about the situation to deal with absolutes. Will he make the most of his opportunity? Perhaps not. If you don't think so, that's fine. But don't just say he doesn't even have a chance. That's ridiculous.
Welcome to college football, unfortunately including this fanbase.
Andrew Ford was the next coming too just a few years ago. In the span of 6 months we have went from the QB of the future being Lawson, then Jackson, and now Evans. The newest signee/recruit will always be considered the best, even though very few (in some cases above zero) have seen any of them play in person with D1 competition against them.
I always found it laughable that we were so high on him (Ford) -- we only got him because we got turned down by Cornwell, Park and Rudolph (if my memory serves me correctly).
It's like you said, every fanbase does this with every new recruit.
Let the boys compete and then I'll cheer for whoever wins the job.
To be fair Park was planning on coming to VT once he went the JUCO route
The irrational exhurberance for Ford in particular baffled me. There were more than a few who thought he could actually start on the road against Ohio State as a true freshman.
I watched a couple of his whole game films (not highlights) and felt pretty certain he was not a power 5 QB. Below avg arm, size, and athleticism. And the supposed advanced QB knowledge was nonsense. From what I saw, he mostly threw slants and flat passes to open receivers who turned 5 yard passes into 30 yard TDs. And I got clobbered here and elsewhere for saying as much...by folks who hadn't watched the film but wanted desperately to believe VT had found the answer.
I think thats the problem with making assumptions off of highlight reels: because honestly I was in that latter boat, I thought from a mechanics and passing stand point; I thought he was the best QB prospect we had in a LONG time.
Point in case: Fords Highlights from Lackawanna College PA
I dont know how you watch that and not think, 'this kids a stud' - then comes spring game even this year and him and Durkin were just overmatched. I hope he does well, you can tell hes been working on his footwork, ha its almost like you can see him thinking in his head "okay, step one two three, wide stance, step up in the pocket, sqaure up hips" ha. I dont mean to pick, you can just tell hes a little robotic, but I think its great hes putting in the time and really hope he does well because I thought he was a good kid.
99% of HS football is hot garbage in regards to judging a players skills. It's easy to look athletic against 5'6" 190lb LBs. and their offenses are usually worse. To top it off, you are looking at their highlights against bad competition in simple systems. It's like trying to identify Oscar winners in their elementary school plays.
There are a lot more false positives than false negatives.
You mean this Ford:
Sorry.....I just love this pic
Fuente was going after Evans when he was at Memphis. Why?!? Because he fits his system. As soon as he got the HC job at VT what does he do...goes out and gets his guy. Evans has more experience than Motley and Lawson. If Brewer didn't get hurt against Ohio St, Motley wouldn't have seen the field other than a handful of snaps a game. Does he have a chance to compete, yes but my money is on Evans or Lawson. Motley should have been put on the defensive side of the ball to begin with.
see, now this is a much more reasonable post. I tend to agree that Motley has the highest mountain to climb but I'm not going to say definitively that he has no shot. He'll get his shot. What he does with it is yet to be determined.
There is a world of difference between JUCO ball and Div 1 football at power 5 school. Playing 2 seasons of JUCO ball is not really more experience than 4 yrs in a Div 1 system and a half a dozen starts against Div 1 teams.
I think Evans is a lot more game ready and experienced for Fuente's offense than Motley. But like others have said, experience matters even less when the talent level is so disparate.
I keep hearing about Evans. Is he honestly superior to Lawson??
well...he's the shiny-er new-er toy. He's also regarded as "Fuente's guy" because he was recruited by Fuente before this year. He's also a JUCO which I think many people regard as more advanced than High School recruits.
Is he superior? I really don't think anyone truly knows. The way I see it, there is nothing wrong with additional competition, right? Throw Motley, Lawson and Evans into a full blow QB battle and may the best man win. That can't be a bad thing. At worst, we'll get the Motley we had in 2015. He was serviceable under Lefty. I'm sure Fuente can structure an offense around his skill set. That is where my expectations are at the moment. If one of the other two guys turns out to be better suited to achieve the goals we want on offense then I'll be happy with that decision. I trust Fuente and his OC to put the best possible combination of players on the field to score points and get wins.
Agreed.
Yeah, I trust him too. I guess I wouldn't be completely surprised if it were Motley since Fuente seems to have a thing for big hulkin QBs. That said, I would REALLY like to see what he can do with Lawson.
Motley is smaller than Evans and Lawson
Hmm, however you raise an interesting point. Then it would seem that it's between Lawson and Evans.
I'll believe that Evans is bigger than Motley when the VT heights and weights come out in the spring.
If Evans is 6'4" then Brewer is 6'1", Dadi is 6'6" and McLaughlin is 6'9".
Who knew Frank could be used as a standard for height comparisons?
Evans looks about the same height as Nicolas (6'3") in these photos - before accounting for cleats vs sneakers.
I'd say Evans is 6'3.5" which rounds up to 6'4"
Cleats? In turf? Really?
I'll believe he's bigger than Motley when the VT heights & weights come out.
Don't forget the camera adds 20 lbs.
Excellent point!
Doesn't matter. None of them measure up to Bucky Hodges.
EDIT:
Based on tape which means nothing:
Evans has a quicker release than Lawson had in high school, but that was High School so who knows how far hes come since working on that with Loeffler. If I had to take a bet I would say it's Evans to lose, but thats purely based on speculation from what it feels like.
Physically they are all pretty similar:
Motley: 6'3 221
Lawson: 6'6 230
Evans: 6'4 225
It would be pretty interesting to see who would win in a footrace ha.
I hope its a real competition and they all progress rapidly under Fuente. I think its going to come down to between the ears, who can pick up the playbook, read the defenses properly and know where to go with the football.
Evans being a JUCO guy doesn't mean he's more advanced than Lawson.
Lawson has had a year's more experience at the P5 level.
Evans is the number one ranked Juco QB recruit, and #7 Juco player overall by 247sports, with a 94 rating. For comparison, the #1 Juco QB last year was Chad Kelly, #37 overall and rated 87. Kelly had one of the best seasons in SEC history this year for Ole Miss, and is destroying OK State right now in the Sugar Bowl.
It's true that he's the shiny new toy and has a years-long connection to CJF, but that's not why he's highly regarded. He's very good.
And Skyler Howard was the #1 DT QB with a 89 rating at 247 and WVU fans couldn't be more unhappy with him in his second year. In fact, they have been begging for WVU to switch to William Crest, a kid that Andrew Ford was ranked higher than.
I have no clue how it will turn out, but as usual recruiting rankings are only a small hint.
The same Skyler Howard who has passed for 221/403 for 3145 yards and 26 TD (14 INT) while rushing for 500 yards & 6 TD in his first year as a starter? He was good enough to lead WVU to a #35 Offensive S&P+ ranking.
Ergo, Obi Wan is a Sith...
...By Obi Wan not working in absolutes absolutely hes actually working absolutely not in absolutes...
Head. Ex.Plodes... He IS a Sith.
Absolutely, there are way to many know it all's that post that kind of crap and have no clue about football.
?
What was the surgery if anyone knows?
Raymon Minor had surgery also.
I hope Minor can get it together, considering our lack of linebacker play it is infuriating to have such a highly touted recruit not contributing
I agree, wasn't he's highly rated 3 star that came down to us and Nebraska?
No Minor is a 4*
Minor surgery? ;)
Whoa, I asked on TSL why he wasn't getting any PT since he was a highly rated recruit and got no answer. I guess now I might know. Has he been hurt of got hurt in practice?
Might explain why he didn't play in the bowl game.
....or because Brewer was playing pretty well and imo is way better than Motley. None the less hope Motley recovers quickly and is back to full health and ready to compete in the spring!!
They ran the wild turkey with a TE. That's usually Motley's role.
And Hodges was pretty darn effective in that role.
yeah...once
after he scored the TD he was largely ineffective the 2 or 3 times they lined him up at QB if my memory serves. Tulsa did a great job adjusting to the Hodges@QB wrinkle and shut it down for the rest of the game. I don't consider Hodges' results from the wild turkey package to be "pretty darn effective" considering it only worked once.
That would be like running a jet sweep 3 or 4 times and having it go for 13 yards and a TD once and get stopped for no gain or a loss the other 2 or 3 times. Would you call that pretty darn effective?
That would be like running a jet sweep 3 or 4 times and having it go for 13 yards and a TD once and get stopped for no gain or a loss the other 2 or 3 times. Would you call that pretty darn effective?
Maybe "pretty darn effective" is too much? ...but he still averaged 5.4 ypc and scored a TD so I'll drop it down to pretty effective.
But then also by that logic McMillian didn't have that good of a game when you remove his 51 yd TD.
well...he didn't. He played pretty sparingly after his score because of injury. Coleman and Edmunds got a bulk of the work I think
I can agree to that. I don't really want to get into Mcmillian's stats against Tulsa because he was hampered by injury. I just think it's a bit of an overstatement to say that Hodges was effective running the wild turkey package. On his first attempt he gained 16 yards and scored a TD. After that, he amassed a whopping 11 yards on his 4 ensuing carries from that look. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Hodges running from the QB position fooled the defense the first time they saw it. They adjusted and they shut him down for the rest of the game. Hitting on a play the first time you ever run it against a team who has never seen it is great. Hitting on the same play over and over and over is effective. Hodges' TD run was great. It was not an effective play throughout the game, though. That's all I'm sayin'.
The funniest part about most single-game football stat lines is that the best aggregate numbers are usually driven by an outlier in the context of the rest of the game. Trey Edmunds had an average YPC of 6.6 against Bama in 2013, which would lead one to believe he had a really solid game against a top run defense. Take away his 77-yd TD run and he only had 2.9 YPC.
Exactly! It wasn't so much that Bucky couldn't get the job done, just that Tulsa figured out how to stop the big fella. To me it was effective inasmuch that we got 7 pts from it, and it also gave Tulsa something else to worry about and account for. True it might have only been had a definite impact a time or two, but you also have to keep in mind that it kept Tulsa on their toes.
This may have been said somewhere already, Tulsa made a great adjustment; but it was an adjustment to a play they knew was going to happen...
I think these are the situations where people have the most 'distrust?' in Loeffler, I dont know if thats a great way of putting it, but honestly, defenses have gotten increasingly harder to read (Hokies; for sure, Bud in my opinion is very underrated in his disguises), but back to my point, in one of those last wildcat runs, it looked like the linebackers shifted pre snap from what I remember, basically, they knew the play and shifted to get an unblocked hat...maybe Im wrong, its hard without looking at tape but there were some very similar plays in the UVA game...
It doesn't take a genius to stop a play you've already seen and when you know what the play is gonna be.
It wasn't the least bit effective -- directly or indirectly -- after the first time it was used. It was detriment in fact...particularly to the short side on the 2&3 late in the game when a 1st down probably seals the game.
Did you watch the Baylor/UNC game last night? Or would you say Gene Chizik isn't very smart?
Because I'll be fine with the latter
It may not take a genius, but does it take the right scheme and athletes to run it. not saying Chizik is not smart (I would not know), but his scheme, and the athletes he recruits for it, have never been very good on run stopping, just run limiting, which they apparently forgot or got to tired to do.
According to UGA, Chizik is most definitely not Smart...
I'll see myself out.
Well, when you run the same exact play 3-4 times, any defense (even Tulsa) catches on. My question is, with Hodges being a former stud QB prospect, why not throw in the occasional pass? I'm no coach, but know enough to know you need to mix things up to keep a defense honest.
We should be running the wild
catturkey with Hodges all the time. Shades of Greg Boone.If we are going to run those plays, we have to keep the defense honest with a pass from the wildcatturkey guy once in a while. It seems less than optimal to broadcast our move like we do.
More importantly...what was the surgery?
I would like to know myself. I guess this explains why Bucky was the wildcat QB during the bowl game. He was pretty beat up by the time Brewer came back.
I think he will have a legitimate shot at competing especially having the experience starting 6 games. I'm sure he's learned a lot.
I would love it if Motley could win the job. I just hope that if he does, the fan base doesn't breathe down his neck with talk of Evans or Lawson.
You may be just a tad optimistic with that last bit.
I won't deny that.
You obviously do not watch much football, the back-up qb is always the most popular guy on the team when the offense is sputtering...
Hes also the best player on the team regardless of his actual talen-level. Its in the bylaws.
Not true. The 3rd string QB is sometimes the most popular guy on the team (see: VT football 2015).
I'm glad it went well. However, I won't lie that I'm curious to see what Fuente will do with Lawson.
I think he's doing the smart thing, and Lawson gets it. Instead of being thrust into something so big AND so new, he's planning on easing him into it. Being a student-athlete is difficult, throw in learning a brand new offense and becoming the face of the program might be rough. Lawson seems okay with slowing things down a little bit (according to Fuente) but anything can happen and the next man always has to be prepared.
Do you all think Lawson could get a redshirt next year? Assuming Evans or Motley win the job.
Well he is eligible for one so it wouldn't be whether he could get one but whether he would be given one by the coaches. My thoughts are that unless he's the starter, Fuente will redshirt him and have whoever doesn't win between Evans and Motley be the backup.
My question is, as a JUCO, is Evans eligible for a redshirt? I know he has two years of eligibility, but is that within a three year window?
I believe I read when he signed that he has 3 years to play 2. So that would mean that yes, he is eligible for a redshirt.
Then I'd imagine Motley is the backup either way (assuming he doesn't win the starter job) and whoever loses out between Lawson and Evans takes a redshirt.
I thought Evans burned his redshirt season at Air Force. He got injured after enrolling, then transferred to JUCO. I can't imagine he transferred before the football season started, but I guess that is a possibility.
That was a prep school for the Air Force. Not the Air Force academy. He will, to my understanding, have 3 years to play 2
Cool, didn't know that was a thing. (AFA prep school)
Each academy has one. A former boss of mine attended before enrolling at the Naval Academy and told me it was pretty much him and athletes.
AFA Prep School
USNA Prep School
West Point Prep School
He could redshirt - and might redshirt by default if he is the #3 guy and doesn't play.
Regardless I'd be a little surprised if he is in Blacksburg for 5 yrs even if he does redshirt. He'll be 24 going on 25 with a 4 yr old kid by then. If he is an NFL talent, he's not likely to want to be a 25 yr old rookie. If he isn't, he likely ends up somewhere else.
Frank Beamer and Lefty both said Lawson had to fix some things off the field. That worries me for him and his future
Did they say "off the field," or between his ears? I remember reading quotes from each of them saying that Lawson needed to fix some mental things, but I never got the impression it was off-the-field (i.e. behavioral) stuff. It just sounded to me like, although he had all the physical skills he needed to play QB, he did not yet have the mental attributes.
The Beamer quote from Tech Talk Live was "Dwayne Lawson is very talented, but he has to get other parts of his life squared away." That does not sound like he was having issues learning the playbook. Hopefully he will be back in the Spring as a focused individual ready to show the world what he is capable of.
Motley was putting up Deshaun Watson numbers, but had a couple of really bad games, Pitt, ECU, and that start against Miami. Although the Pitt game was more on the O line, and ECU on the defense, he needs to be consistent to takeover the starting role. I'm a big fan of him, great arm, mobile, tough, he's got the skill set.
ECU? Motley was 20-35 for 281 with a TD and an INT, 85 rushing yards and a rushing TD. Motley WAS our offense against ECU. He played his ass off in a monsoon and came up one play short on a day the defense couldn't tackle a toddler.
I said ECU was on the defense
Sorry, that's my bad. I must have totally misread you. I thought you were saying Pitt, ECU and the start against Miami were Motley's bad outings.
Unlikely his numbers would have continued to mirror Deshaun's over the course of a season, we had a very small sample size. He did play well at times but I do not think he will win the job next season.
Good luck to him and prayers for a speedy recovery. Regardless, I think we can all thank Motley for his contribution to get us bowl eligible. Seems to me that as good an athlete as he is that they could potentially use him as a reciever? Does anybody know what type of hands he has? Size-wise he seems like a nightmare match up for a small DB or most linebackers. Anybody have an opinion on that?
If Motley puts in the time this summer and really improves his consistency on his short yardage throws (for example, a throw to a five yard curl route from one hash mark to the field) then he definitely has a shot at the starting job. It's easy to dismiss him because his last start wasn't a good one, but he had some good games this year. He can play. A Motley/Travon backfield excites me more than any other.
I want to see how a "I'm the guy" type of offseason will improve his game.
From what I can tell, Motley, Evans, and Lawson all think "I'm the guy."
I think it could become a very healthy competition between all parties and could see that being very good for the future of VT's quarterback situation.
Well, at this point they all have an equal opportunity to become "the guy". Whichever one does the best job of taking advantage of the opportunity will be our QB. It's all up to them.
I'm pretty sure that none of them think that you're the guy, Mr. HokieHarris13.
:)
Agreed. I've got a lot more faith in a Motley than I do Lawson at this point.
I think Cunningham swoops in a takes the job.
........I see what you did there.
I love how there still hasn't been a comment saying what the surgery is for. Many asked, but no responses.
He had his Loeffler removed.
;)
I gotta admit, that was funny!
There is no possible way Motley wins the starting job unless he comes out completely different than he did this year. I give him credit for having to step up and lead the Hokies on sudden notice though. My problem with him is over his 6 starts, I didn't see much improvement in the passing game. He didn't have the best blocking when he played but he still was a bit shaky. It will be Evans or Lawson who take that spot and I feel comfortable after seeing both of them on film. Regardless of who wins the job...GO HOKIES!!!
Motley had some pretty good games
I'll withhold judgement until I watch Evans and Motley and Lawson battle it out in the spring, but I am quite intrigued about what Motley is capable of under Fuente.
To be fair, his best games games were against arguably the worst teams that we played. He didn't look very good against Pitt, Miami, and OSU. Not saying he can't lead this team, but I'm not ready to crown him either because he beat up on Furman, Purdue, ECU and NC State. I'm just looking forward to a good spring battle that produces the best QB for us regardless of who it is.
Me neither
Motley had a better deep ball than Brewer IMO. His running was a real threat, but the limited playbook hindered him. He's had some injuries but the OL didn't do much to keep him upright during his time as a starter. I don't know if he was supposed to calling out the blocking assignments, the adjustments or neither, but I felt sorry for him back there a few times.
Yea Brewer's deep ball was horrible. Always under-thrown or out of bounds. I felt bad for Motley against Miami he couldn't seem to catch a break. Maybe actually competing for the starting job during the off season will bring a fire out in him. I am actually glad VT can have a QB battle with some actual talent. Haven't had that in a while.
It'd definitely be good to see a fire lit in Motley. He showed he had the guts and I too felt bad for him that Miami game.
One thing I hope is that he can find a rhythym and sharpen those passes. I tended to hold my breath because Motley's passes more than often appeared to arrive a half-second late. But that's understandable given he was thrust into the fold as the contingency plan. Motley was really good when he was in the groove and the game slowed down.
I hope he does better under Fuente and that our new QB whisperer can help guide him and then we will really have a QB battle. I love QB battles!
As long as they're in the offseason!
So do we know what the surgery was for, or how it went?
just guessing but surgery went well according to his twitter.. not seeing any information as to what it was for. I'm guessing VT will have a post season presser and this could be covered/asked about? <-- or am I completely wrong about a presser?
A lot of guys go through minor surgeries in the offseason for nagging injuries. We usually hear about it when the spring depth chart comes out, based on how everyone is doing. Never heard of a press conference for something like that, just questions asked by reporters.
thats what my guess was pre spring depth chart things and quotes maybe..
Thank you - makes sense why he was not seen as much later in the season - nagging injury. Coach knew it needed surgery, but did not want to do it when he might still be needed if Brewer went down.
My #source says it was for a non-throwing shoulder injury sustained in the spring.
Raymon Minor tweeted a photo of him wearing a sling type of device on his right arm. The tweet is locked so I can not copy or embed it.