2014 Spring practice/game thread

[Sleepy T]

Does anyone know when ESPNU will re-broadcast this?

ESPN3 should have it on replay. At least it did late yesterday.

 

[Sleepy T]

Does anyone know when ESPNU will re-broadcast this?

ESPN3 should have it on replay.

 

[Taz_Hokie]

-And it was a perfect day in Blacksburg. It was one of those that makes you wonder why the hell anyone would ever leave. You feel sad driving away.

I feel that way whenever I leave the burg.

 

[ckhokie]

I don't have many takeaways from the game. I think its a stretch for anyone to make any kind of grand statement based on what was out there. There are positives and it was better than last year imo but we've still got a ways to go but I think we all knew that. My thoughts in no order:

-All maroon looked FAB-U-LOUS

-Juice Williams is a ball of muscle. I think everyone was waiting for him to break a big one and were disappointed when he didn't. But he did have some short gains that were impressive because it took like 5 guys to take him down.

-I suppose its because the O-line was shuffled but they mostly got heavily outworked by the defense.

-No QB stood out imo. I heard some buzz post game that most people think Motley is the guy but I think Brewer could easily come in and beat him. Motley did show good quickness but some of those runs would have been sacks in a live game. Plus, I noticed he had a tendency to stare his receiver down quite a bit. Same thing with Leal. Ford didn't get a lot of passing chances but I actually thought he did ok with what he had. Unlike the other two, I saw him going through reads and he took what the defense gave him. He had one throw on a rollout that was ify coming across his body but somehow put it on the receiver's numbers for a short gain. Overall, it didn't seem like any of the QBs were given chances to shine. I was hoping they'd air it out more so we could really see who has a chance but the focus appears to be mostly on the run game.

-Bucky looks good. Toss him in with a healthy Cline and we have a chance for some nifty two TE formations.

-And it was a perfect day in Blacksburg. It was one of those that makes you wonder why the hell anyone would ever leave. You feel sad driving away.

From what I saw, and what has been reported so far, I'm not sure where all the Motley hype is coming from. He is definitely athletic, but his (and the rest of the qbs who played) accuracy is pretty horrible. I'm not sure I can deal with another season with our qb missing wide open receivers. I would assume Brewer comes in and takes the job.

OL was very tough to judge with 1s and 2s being co-mingled

Juice looks like he will be good, but I'm not convinced our RB issues will be solved this year. I am excited to see how Caleb, and especially C.Parker are used this year.

Defense looks good, as usual. Front four was getting pressure (again most likely bc of limited OL cohesion) and the DBs looked good. I was actually very impressed with Detrick Bonner, and I admittedly haven't been a huge fan of his. LB play will dictate the success of the defense.

And I agree that Bucky looks like he'll end up being the real deal. He was open quite a bit and the QBs just missed him.

 

[amszete]

I had a chance to attend the game, personal opinion based on my observations:

- Both Motley and Leal had a difficult time time hitting receivers in stride and did not look as polished (as I was hoping). Motley is definitely athletic and that will aid him going into Fall camp as getting a look against Durkin and Brewer but that's about it. Of the three, Ford looked the best with his passes and did a good job trying to make his progressions compared to Leal/Motley who stared down their receivers. Ford will do some good things at Tech eventually.

-Some of the OL at times seemed slow and disjointed but probably makes sense since the 1s and 2s were split up. I don't know all of the lineman and their numbers so that's my bad. There were definitely some positives though as a couple of times I saw Teller (and another OL) drive his men into the ground - straight up boss style.

- I am very interested to see how Caleb fares in the RB rotation. He was playing hard all day and showed a focus on not giving up until the end of the play. Coleman had a hard time hitting the holes as a traditional back and getting anything productive out of it for the most part. He had some decent plays in space on the outside.

- I think we will definitely have more threats in the passing game as Hodges, Parker and Byrne all had some good plays. Byrne had an amazing one handed 40 yd catch that happened right in front of me. In my eyes he is the second coming of Danny Coale - dude appears to be all hands. Hodges had a knack for getting open, from what I remember - caught all passes that were catchable balls that came his way and also had some decent blocks for our RBs.

- Lane was happening and it was an awesome day for the Spring Game.

 

[HoHumHokie]

QB Observation: Leal just doesn't seem to have it and there and I am afraid it is too late to rely on him moving forward. I give Motely the edge over Leal because of his athleticism and strength....he seems to have the quick step necessary to dodge a blitzing LB or beat a DE to the outside and the strength to break a tackle or two. I haven't seen this from Leal. I have a feeling the QB battle in fall camp will come down to Motely and Brewer and fans will be debating on going with the more accurate thrower or the more athletic playmaker.....like Tyrod vs. Glennon.

Do you think Brewer already has a copy of the playbook to learn?

 

[ckhokie]

Don't think Tyrod/Glennon is a good comparison. Motley isn't as dynamic, nor does he have the arm of Tyrod, and Brewer is a more polished and accurate passer than Glennon was.

 

[757Hokie83]

QB Observation: Leal just doesn't seem to have it and there and I am afraid it is too late to rely on him moving forward. I give Motely the edge over Leal because of his athleticism and strength....he seems to have the quick step necessary to dodge a blitzing LB or beat a DE to the outside and the strength to break a tackle or two. I haven't seen this from Leal. I have a feeling the QB battle in fall camp will come down to Motely and Brewer and fans will be debating on going with the more accurate thrower or the more athletic playmaker.....like Tyrod vs. Glennon.

Do you think Brewer already has a copy of the playbook to learn?

i was wondering this earlier. I would hope he'd be allowed to get the play book in his hands early on so he can hit the ground running when he gets here

 

[757Hokie83]

the biggest problem with the Glennon/Tyrod battle....and likely the upcoming Brewer/Motley battle...in recent years, our OL has made the ability to scramble and lengthen plays a necessity for the VT QB to survive. Peyton Manning would've likely had comparable numbers to Glennon if he played behind our OL (maybe a slight exaggeration, but you get the point) If we're going to aim for pocket passing true QB's we need a MUCH improved OL.

 

[HoHumHokie]

Don't think Tyrod/Glennon is a good comparison. Motley isn't as dynamic, nor does he have the arm of Tyrod, and Brewer is a more polished and accurate passer than Glennon was.

Glennon was pretty accurate when he wasn't throwing early or on the run in effort to avoid getting clobbered.....he always looked like he was in quick sand when under pressure. And I always felt Tyrod made the decision to scramble too early most of the time.....everyone always used the excuse that he was too short to see down field.

 

[wildturkey]

Brewer doesn't arrive on campus till May and given the way the NCAA works with rules and such, my guess is he isn't allowed to have a playbook until the day he steps on campus as an official student. But even with him arriving in May, that should give him enough time to learn it before opening game.

And that's related to something I don't get with all the Durkin talk I've seen from some of the fanbase. Unless he's some prodigy, I don't see anyway he can come in and be the starter. He doesn't show up until late July/August. No knock on him, that's not enough time for any true freshman. And if you're just using him in spot situations given his build, that's a waste imo. You throw away a year of eligibility for what, 20 total plays in the Wild Turkey? I don't see him being a factor this year and likely think he redshirts. If you want to play a true freshman, go with Ford. At least he's here already learning the playbook and building chemistry with the guys.

 

[hokiecat]

I'm waiting on Brewer. I agree that we are likely looking at a Brewer/Motley QB battle.

Also, Tyrod >> Glennon. What was most galling about Glennon is that he was a generic QB but had these delusions of grandeur. Remember when Tyrod got the starting job and Glennon threatened to transfer? The guy had 11 TD and 11 INT one year and 3 TD and 5 INT another year but the mistakes were never his fault. Glennon still talked about how he was going to get drafted and play in the NFL. He was not one of my favorite QBs. Although I do have to give him kudos for the practice jersey game vs GaTech and then the ACC championship game a couple weeks later.