With three Pittsburgh timeouts and 1:32 on the clock standing between Virginia Tech and a 39-36 win over the Panthers, Justin Fuente opted to send in backup quarterback Brenden Motley instead of a gimpy Jerod Evans for the Hokies' final series.
"We just felt like to pour it up in there and run the ball that we were better with Motley than Jerod. We trust Brenden. He handled it great. He was ready, and he got the job done."
This was Motley's second appearance in the game. He got one series worth of burn during the back-half of the third quarter after Evans injured his ankle on the previous drive. He promptly led Tech to a converted field goal attempt.
On Tech's final possession, Motley carried 5 times for 15 yards and iced the victory for the Hokies. After the game, Evans praised Motley's role on the team.
Thanks for the support #HokieNation Total TEAM effort last night, on to the next one. And it's always #KeepJumpin'— B. (@MotleyKrewww) October 28, 2016
#HokieNation should take a moment to appreciate having a backup QB as selfless as Motley. Pumping the O up as Evans returns. Love that dude.— Willie Byrn (@byrnaftreadin) October 28, 2016
Comments
I'm so glad we have a system that allows us to have at least two game ready quarterbacks. I'm not sure that the Motley from last year or Leal going in would have led to the same outcome for us Thursday night.
How do we know it's Fuente's "system" and not the fact that Motley played so much last year that resulted in us having two game ready QBs this year?
Just seems like an unnecessary comment on the previous regime.
I think that's based on Loeffler's comments about having a very limited playbook for back ups because that's all they could handle in the limited limited reps in practice. Particularly when Motley came in for Brewer against OSU.
Yeah, pretty much this. Loeffler's offense was complex. The quality/drop off in play between having Brewer or Motley on the field wasn't proportional to the difference in skill level between them. I think Brewer was definitely the better option when healthy, but he wasn't that much better in terms of talent.
Why would anyone commend the previous offensive staff?
The previous staff had backup quarterbacks enter the game.on two occasions and they were woefully under prepared.
Yeah, that was awesome how he's been practicing hard and was ready
when his number got called. No telling how that would have gone
had he not been prepared.
Motley made some nice throws too. True Hokie.
Agreed. Would have had a td to Bucky if not for the 10 yard bear hug from the CB on Bucky that somehow did not get called.
I don't completely buy the idea that Motley was less "prepared" in previous years-against
UCLA andOSU, we were up against better talent across the field, and it felt like the dam was about to break regardless of the QB playing. However, it did seem that he was working with a condensed version of the playbook in the past. It frustrated me to no end last year knowing that we were going to run the ball when he was in the game without even threatening to stretch the field vertically. I loved seeing the coaches let him air it out a few times Thursday. The dude can throw pretty well, and I've never understood why he was ever used so one-dimensionally.Leal was the backup for UCLA.
*facepalm* I am an idiot.
I keep reading this condensed version of the playbook hoopla and what did anyone see against pit to make you believe that motley had the full playbook at his hands? he literally ran zone read and threw fade routes (because that's what the game dictated) but still I didn't see him running all kinds of plays. to be honest I think this WAS product of motleys extended playing time last year. he was ready. confident. and it showed. it wasn't his first time on the road in a hostile place playing meaningful snaps. I don't think there is anything more too it. people are trying to put the leal situation in the same boat as this one and group it together as the previous coaches didn't have the QB ready and now the new staff does. lets leave the old staff alone and just be happy we have a quality back up that is prepared if called on....
I'm pretty sure the new staff has a pretty even split of reps for the 1s and 2s which is a departure from the previous staff. Having more repetitions in practice has to make the 2s more confident when they're called upon in a game situation. I imagine that is where this idea that the backups are better prepared this year is coming from
(And again, to clarify, I explicitly said I don't really buy this).
I guess the fraction of the playbook being utilized isn't really my point. Maybe nothing changed on that front, I don't know. I just remember, specifically when Brewer was healthy and Motley was used situationally for a series or two at a time, that he was basically a wildcat QB, and never threw the ball. I never understood why. I'm sure there's an X's and O's explanation, and I'm not trying to indict the previous coaches (I'm kind of defending them against the "Backup QB was never prepared" sentiment I've seen). I just get the idea that a lot of people view Motley as a "running QB" and that he can throw the ball better than people give him credit for. I thought the few passes he did throw last week looked good. It's admitted a relatively trivial point, and I think we're otherwise in agreement here.
I wholeheartedly agree.
I'd have to stop and think about the last time I had no issues with the game being in the hands of our 'back up.' QB.
Credit to coaches, but mostly Motley for being that guy.
Much respect.
TT/Glennon would be as close as it gets, but even then it was "wait 2 plays to see which Glennon showed up today"
Which was reminiscent of the Marcus/Randall days.
Much better example. Both of those guys could play. Glennon had great moments, but when he came in, you were never confident.
Glennon could sling the rock but he had the pocket presence of a dining room table. If he went to a school like Wisconsin, his career would be vastly different.
The proper phrase was "pocket presence of a cinder block".
Completely disagree with his pocket presense. Our O-Line was like a sieve and only reason Tyrod didn't get (more) destroyed was because he had wheels.
I don't fault Sean for anything. I blame our OL / TE for taking 7 games to learn how to block.
Oh you mean all of the converted D-linemen and QB's that were coached by Curt Newsome? You can't learn something if you're not taught.
Still not Sean's fault. When they OL finally learned how to block with 3 games left in the season he always did great.
I felt so damn bad for Sean when the boo-birds would come out. I'm surprised he didn't resemble the Louisville QB Cantwell with all the punishment he regularly took.
Our TEs were too busy learning how to play QB that there was no time for blocking
Whoa whoa. What about Grant Noel!??
It's been pretty amazing to me to see the transformation of Jerod in terms of his interviewing poise. He seemed extremely polished in the video clip above and it's obvious that practice makes perfect in all facets of life!
This is why I'm proud to be a Hokie. These guys are representing on and off the field and I love it.
Motley would have been a starter under Fuente if the new regime was a year early. Kid can throw and run. Locking on a reciever was a major problem though last year, and one Fuente/Cornelson would have fixed.
Which is funny considering that is what Evans is being taught to do in the current system, one receiver is getting the ball on each play or it's a scramble dril.
exactly. Either way I think it would have simplified things greatly for motley. I thought he threw some excellent balls and should have been 2-3. Great to see him be able to contribute, but hopeful it doesn't have to happen again unless we are blowing someone out.
One receiver may be the play, but Evans isn't "locking on" him. Evans is doing a great job looking off the primary receiver, then looking to him to throw.
This is where running up the score in the first few games of the year, allowing our backups to get quality playing time is starting to pay off. Motley isn't exactly coming into the game completely green here, already having quality game reps with the 1s and 2s in something like 4 or 5 games this year.
And I also have to say, Evans might be one of the most complete QBs we've had here in a long time. From the mindset to the skill, there might only be a couple QBs in our history who have been better. And it cannot be overstated enough that he and Motley are showing all our young talented QBs the ropes this year, which should make us that much better down the line. Exciting times for the Hokies, exciting times indeed.