Brenden Motley and His Big Starting Quarterback Potential for Virginia Tech

Aug 20, 2013; Blacksburg, VA, USA; Virginia Tech Hokies quarterback Brenden Motley (9) drops back during practice at the Steve Johnson Practice Fields. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports

Brenden Motley entered the spring as the local boy from Christianburg, Virginia that was going to be right in the hunt for the Virginia Tech Hokies’ starting quarterback job but was still somewhat of a long shot. However, Brenden Motley entered the spring in a hole behind Mark Leal and the transfer Michael Brewer but the redshirt sophomore quarterback has improved his chances of winning the starting quarterback with a solid spring. Brenden Motley had his up and downs in the spring but overall, Motley showed the potential to be a very successful quarterback for the Hokies.

Brenden Motley really took off in the second scrimmage where he went 12 for 20 for 163 passing yards and 1 touchdown. Motley did then have some struggles in the third scrimmage as Motley showed signs that he still has a lot of work to do but he has showed some potential. Brenden Motley was showing signs that he had the potential to be a productive quarterback for the Hokies but his inexperience was still showing some in the third scrimmage.

Brenden Motley then finished off his spring with a solid Spring Game performance of 6 for 11 for 72 passing yards and 1 interception. However, Brenden Motley only had a couple of bad throws that were behind players but he made mostly good throws. The offensive line did not do Brenden Motley any favors but he showed his ability to get outside the pocket and make some plays with a 10-yard run and a 19-yard touchdown scramble that got called back because of a holding. Brenden Motley had an up and down game but seemed solid overall though he was close to having a really good Spring Game.

Over the course of the spring, Brenden Motley has showed that he is a mobile quarterback with good speed but he is not the same type of power runner that Logan Thomas was at quarterback. Motley does sometimes try to scramble too much when the play falls apart and needs to work on throwing the ball away in some cases to avoid any unnecessary lose of yards. However, Motley’s ability to scramble is something that the Hokies should try to take advantage of in the right situations but Motley should not be sent in to run the ball on a high percentage of plays like Logan Thomas last season.

Brenden Motley has a solid arm and his accuracy has not been too bad over the course of the spring as Motley rarely has a really bad throw. Brenden Motley has a bigger arm than Mark Leal and definitely has the ability to make the necessary throws within the pocket with the ball getting to the receiver fairly quickly. However, Motley still can improve his accuracy some as he had a couple early throws that were behind receivers and he had one that was just out of the reach of Bucky Hodges. Brenden Motley has a good arm and decent accuracy to go with great mobility but if Motley can improve his accuracy and improve his arm strength a little, Motley has the potential to be a very successful Hokie.

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