Hokies QB Michael Brewer, Offensive Line Find New Comfort Level As Spring Practice Wraps Up

Saturday's 24-21 spring game may say plenty about how the Hokies will perform in 2015, but perhaps a simple game of putt-putt will end up saying the most.

A year ago at this time, most of Tech's offensive line had never met Michael Brewer, let alone shared the golf links with him.

Now, the quarterback and his line are joined at the hip, using the occasional putt-putt outing to cement the bond that will make or break Tech's squad in 2015.

"It was just a little token of my appreciation, just getting them all together to play some putt-putt," Brewer said. "We just broke up into teams of two and competed."

In that competition, Brewer admits that the duo of guards Wyatt Teller and Alston Smith managed to finish first over his pairing with backup LT Darius Redman. Yet he admits that Teller wasn't winning any fashion competitions yesterday.

Putt Putt outing with the OLine. Who's going to take home the W? #Hokies pic.twitter.com/TKt8YTppSC— Michael Brewer (@MBrewer16) April 24, 2015

"Oh boy," Brewer said with a sigh while recalling Teller's outfit. "I said 'what are you doing, what are you wearing, why?'"

What could've possibly inspired that get-up?

"That's a question you'll have to ask him, I don't quite understand it yet," Brewer said.

It sounds as if Teller barely grasps what exactly was happening with his wardrobe either. He says his mullet was born out of WR Charley Meyer and LT Jonathan McLaughlin daring him to grow it before it became an "inside joke," but the rest remains a mystery even to him.

"I was surprised they let me in, there were children around," Teller said. "It was fun."

All joking aside, the combination of Brewer's veteran presence and the line's experience and athleticism could form a potent mix to separate this year's squad from the one that managed a meager 7-3 outing in last year's spring game.

"It all starts up front," Brewer said. "We go where the offensive line goes, and the better that they've done this spring, the better we've done as an offense. So it starts with them and the progress they've made has improved this entire offense."

The line certainly showed that improvement in the spring game, allowing just one sack on the day to the combination of Dadi Nicolas and Vinny Mihota. The group may not be perfect, but the rest of the offense has noticed a shift in their mentality this season.

"The offensive line took an approach that they wanted to be great," said running back Trey Edmunds. "They weren't taking anything less. They went out there and challenged themselves and it's shown."

That's a sentiment echoed by Teller.

"I feel like we came in a different mindset in that we're not going to take bad from anybody," Teller said. "I know that the defense is good, but it doesn't matter, we are going to be better than them. Sometimes we're not but it doesn't discourage us, we keep on going."

Brewer says he noticed a marked improvement from the group Saturday, and throughout this spring.

"This is kind of the first time that the whole group has worked together since I've been here," Brewer said. "Last year was injuries and switching people in and out and things like that, so I think just seeing them communicate every day and kind of figure things out on the run and me starting to get a better understanding of the passing game, helping them out, that should help them quite a bit. I've been really pleased with where they're at. Obviously they make this thing run. We can't do much if they can't protect."

Without Ken Ekanem, Luther Maddy or Corey Marshall to contend with this spring, it's easy for the line to boast about their improvement. But Saturday's strong showing still offered plenty of reasons for the group to come away confident.

"I feel like our offensive line is definitely a strong point right now," Teller said.

But the group has also seen plenty of improvement from their signal caller as well. Brewer finished the game with just 60 yards and a TD on four of eight completions, but his progress this spring compared to last fall has been noticeable for his linemen.

"He's actually had time to learn the playbook," Teller said. "Last year, he was thrown into it. Now he's had a full spring to get everything right, to get everything smooth, so I feel like that was smooth for him."

Frank Beamer and the rest of the staff has frequently sung Brewer's praises, but after appearing increasingly efficient in the last two open scrimmages and this final spring outing, the redshirt senior is finally starting to allow room for optimism himself.

"I thought it was a good spring," Brewer said. "I thought the offense in particular took a step in the right direction."

In particular, Brewer sees the squad's emphasis on cutting back on turnovers as especially positive sign. After tossing 15 interceptions last year, he says he's barely had trouble with controlling the ball this spring.

"I think I had one or two in the first week, that's been it," Brewer said. "That's been a point of emphasis since last year and I think we've done a good job of that this spring."

Now comes fall camp, and with his first spring in Blacksburg officially under his belt, Brewer has high hopes.

"The next step is just the mental part," Brewer said. "I feel like we've gotten a good feel for all the timing stuff we've done in the passing game, but the part that needs to be further developed is some of the mental stuff, like pass protection and when to check in and out and what to check, so you can always learn more in that part of the game, and we want to do that this summer."