After Still More Struggles Limiting a Mobile QB, Justin Fuente Warns of Patrick Towles' Talents

At this point, the Hokies' struggles defending mobile quarterbacks under Bud Foster has become quite the cliche, and a favorite hobbyhorse of disgruntled fans in the wake of a dispiriting loss.

But with Tech's defense coming off yet another subpar performance when it comes to containing a running QB, Foster certainly has some questions to answer beyond just those of the frustrated sports radio callers or message board ranters.

Indeed, though the Hokies effectively bottled up Tennessee's passing game last weekend, they still allowed Josh Dobbs to run at will — he managed 106 yards and two scores on 14 carries, compared to his 91 yards through the air.

Justin Fuente and company are facing an opponent that isn't nearly as inclined to call QB runs this week, yet new Boston College QB Patrick Towles could still give the defense headaches with his legs. The Kentucky transfer is BC's second leading rusher this season with 93 yards and a score on 21 carries, behind only RB Jon Hilliman.

Considering that the last time the Hokies lost to the Eagles, then-QB Tyler Murphy torched the defense for 122 yards on 18 carries, Tech's staff is certainly wary of Towles' athleticism.

"You see him out there moving around, avoiding pressure, getting on the move and making positive plays, and that's certainly something you've got to take into account," Fuente told reporters on a conference call Wednesday. "So he seems to me, from what I can tell, to be a good athlete and an accurate thrower and somebody that, from the outside, it looks like he's jumped right in there and taken the reins."

Towles is already outpacing his production on the ground from his last season with the Wildcats — though he ended up scoring five rushing touchdowns on the year, he only ran the ball 71 times in total for 64 yards.

Yet Fuente believes that "his numbers at Kentucky are a little bit more of a byproduct of the system that they run there, as opposed to a reflection of his athletic ability." Towles was even considerably more successful on the ground in 2014, when he ran for 303 yards and six scores on 145 attempts.

But BC head man Steve Addazio isn't necessarily planning on designing plays specifically to utilize Towles' athleticism. Though he's pleased his new signal caller has been able to spark the offense by "creating some running yards through scrambles," he doesn't foresee the Eagles emulating the design of his old Florida offenses against the Hokies.

"We're a pro-style offense, we're gonna throw the ball, we're gonna run a power run game, we're not a spread quarterback run team," Addazio said. "Obviously I've done that in the past, but that's not what we are. Patrick will make yards with his legs in third down, I'm sure, when the pass rush or the routes break down, but we're not designing him as a runner. But I do like the fact that he's a throwing quarterback that can run to get you out of trouble, and he's been able to do that for us effectively."

Addazio said he's particularly heartened by Towles' progress in the passing game, and hopes to see continued development in that department. The transfer is only sporting a 59 percent completion rate at this point (going 12 of 22 against last week's opponent, lowly UMass), but Addazio pointed to the "explosive" plays he's managed to start generating.

In particular, Towles managed to connect with converted QB Jeff Smith on a pair of long touchdown throws (one for 46 yards and another for 36) against the Minutemen.

"He's got the speed we had at Florida," Addazio said of the new receiver. "He's really starting to come on right now and give us a really explosive deal to our offense."

Yet Addazio is especially hoping to "run the ball better with our tailbacks" against the Hokies — Hilliman has managed just 156 yards on 39 attempts, while Myles Willis has only carried it nine times for 46 yards — and he thinks a young offensive line is to blame for some of those struggles.

The Eagles added a graduate transfer to the group, but lost a pair of starters from a season ago, giving Tech's defensive line quite the opportunity to pressure Towles and disrupt the run game. Nevertheless, the group has been relatively stout for BC thus far, only allowing two sacks, but Addazio is still hoping for improvement.

"We're breaking in a new offensive line, we have to a bit of patience as we grow the O-line and grow that power run game," Addazio said.

Between the Wyatt Teller drama and the burgeoning battle at center, the Hokies certainly have offensive line issues of their own. The Eagles have picked up right where they left off in 2015 when it comes to getting after opposing QBs, notching nine sacks through their first two games (a mark that ties them for third in the country in the early going), and Fuente appreciates that could cause trouble for his developing offense.

"Yards and points are gonna be hard to come by, in my opinion," Fuente said. "And we've got to make sure that we take great advantage of those opportunities that we do have. You've got to get your mind right and get settled in for a tough, hard-nosed battle, and it's always fun to go against good people. The coaches and players on the defensive side of the ball have done a fantastic job.

"It's a great challenge, and we'll hopefully have our guys ready for it, and I think it's more of a mental approach as much as it is X's and O's and understanding how difficult it's going to be and how we kind of have to dot all our I's and cross all our T's because the opportunities may be fewer."

RB Travon McMillian proved to be an effective antidote to BC's pass rush for the Hokies a season ago, running for 105 yards on a not-insubstantial load of 33 carries. Yet, his long run against the Vols aside, Fuente is unsure what sort of role McMillian might play this time around.

"I think he's a little bit like everybody right now on our team: at times playing pretty well and at times hurting us," Fuente said. "I'm not singling him out, but it seems like as a group on offense, we'll make a couple plays and find a way to turn the ball over, so as a group, Travon included, if we can find a way to hang onto the ball a little better, we'll all play a little better."