Virginia Tech Spring Football: Open Scrimmage II Report and Analysis

The defense was running predictable coverages, injuries have hurt defensive depth, the secondary was filled with inexperienced players... by now we've heard all the reasons why the offensive outburst from Saturday shouldn't be taken seriously. While it might be prudent for fans to temper their expectations about offensive production in 2015, I have to admit that I walked away from Lane feeling a lot better about the future of Loeffler's offense.

The Quarterback Battle

The battle over the starting quarterback spot isn't over yet in Blacksburg, but the scope of that battle has certainly narrowed. Andrew Ford and Chris Durkin didn't wear yellow on Saturday, signifying Beamer wasn't worried that the upcoming season would be ruined if either got hurt. It was an important learning opportunity for those two as they got to experience the physical consequences of freshmen mistakes. Both Durkin and Ford took their lumps against the first team defense as the second string offensive line looked overwhelmed by the pass rush. Of the two, Durkin had the slightly better day. Durkin struggled as much as Ford dropping back to pass, but had the upper hand running with the ball, managing to pick up a couple of first downs. Durkin is decisive with the ball in his hands, regardless if the play is a QB-read or a passing play. When he sees the opportunity to take off, he doesn't hesitate and his size allows him to fall forward to get positive yardage after contact. Chris Durkin won't be the starter in 2015 but I still think Loeffler should consider using him as the Wild Turkey quarterback, especially if Brewer wins the starting job and Loeffler wants to avoid an injury to his second string QB.

Co-starters Brewer and Motley both had huge scrimmages. Brewer got the first two series with the ones and started with a bang, completing a long pass to Cam Phillips who got open with a double move. A couple of plays later he threw a perfect pass to Bucky Hodges in the corner of the end zone and the offense never looked back. Brewer completed long pass after long pass to Ford, Phillips, and Bucky. He looked very comfortable, moving well in the pocket and finding the open receiver time after time. Brewer even got involved in the rushing game, making the correct read on a veer play in the red zone and walked in for a touchdown.

Brenden Motley also found success against single coverage down the field. He didn't look quite as composed as Brewer did in the passing game, although I think he throws a better deep ball. Motley's superior arm strength allows him to get the ball to receivers quicker, an advantage when throwing into tighter windows. Also Motley has better ball placement when throwing to receivers running streak routes down the sideline, tending to miss to the outside (giving his receiver a better shot at the ball than the defender).

Despite Brewer's success at passing, Motley showed why he has the higher ceiling when he ripped off two separate 50 yard touchdown runs. Keep in mind he accomplished this while wearing a yellow jersey, meaning he literally went 50 yards untouched. Twice. Brewer's consistency in the passing game (particularly in the short game) means that he'll probably win the starting job, but Motley's ability to hit home runs in the ground game will keep the pressure on Brewer.

Running The Ball

The deep pass wasn't the only thing working for the offense on Saturday, as the ground game looked really solid. The first string offensive line was able to manhandle the second team defense and won their battles against the first team defense. In particular, the interior of the offensive line (Teller, Gallo, and Conte) got off the ball well and moved their men. If Stacy Searels can turn the offensive line into an effective run blocking unit after just one year, they should build a statue in his honor.

Running back depth won't be an issue this year as J.C. Coleman, Trey Edmunds, and even Travon McMillian looked ready to put up decent numbers. The McMillian hype is justified. He has good vision and finishes his runs well, but his best trait is his speed. Travon is the fastest of all the backs right now and uses his speed well, patiently waiting for the hole to appear before getting into gear and pulling away from the defense. Travon (like Edmunds) is an every down back who can run in between the tackles or get to the edge.

Implications for 2015

So what should Hokie fans take from Saturday's offensive outburst? Obviously we shouldn't overreact, for all of the reasons I mentioned earlier. However, I can't help but feel more optimistic about the upcoming season now than I did on Friday, though. In 2014, nothing held back Loeffler's offense more than the inability to capitalize on explosive play opportunities. The offense only had four passes of over 40 yards last season and added just two runs of over 40.

Tech had more 40-yard touchdown plays on Saturday than they did in all of 2014

The most encouraging thing about Saturday was the success that Motley and Brewer had finding and throwing to open receivers down the field. No, I don't think that Brewer is going to average 25 yards per completion like he did Saturday, but it looks like he is poised to improve on the 6.1 YPP he had last year. The struggles to capitalize on opportunities down the field eventually affected the ability of the offense to run the ball or complete shorter passes. Without needing to worry about deep passes, defenses inched closer and closer to the line of scrimmage, suffocating the offense. If the offense can force secondaries to back off, Loeffler will gain the breathing room to increase the completion percentage on underneath throws and open up more rushing lanes for his talented backs.