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Mark Leal Leaves the Virginia Tech Football Program

By Tim Thomas

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Aug 30, 2014; Blacksburg, VA, USA; Virginia Tech Hokies quarterback Mark Leal (6) hands the ball off to Virginia Tech Hokies running back Joel Caleb (15) against the William & Mary Tribe at Lane Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports

There was some controversy at the quarterback spot for Virginia Tech after the Hokies suffered a blowout loss to Miami that included Mark Leal playing the final Virginia Tech offensive drive with the first string offense. This made many wonder if Leal might end up taking the starting job from Michael Brewer at some point down the road.

This past Saturday, Brewer was very impressive in the win against Boston College and it was a lot clearer after that game that Brewer was going to be the starter for the rest of the season unless injuries hit.

If the starting job does open up, it will not be Leal who will be taking the spot.

First off, congrats to Leal on the opportunity and we wish him the best of luck as he pursues this opportunity.

This is definitely one of those out of the blue situations that you wouldn’t expect but Leal’s future isn’t in pro football and it makes sense that he would take advantage of a situation like this especially since he already has his degree.

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The loss of Leal is not as big as many have thought it out to be as this opens the door for Brenden Motley to be the full-time backup quarterback. Motley showed in this past spring that he has the skills to be a solid backup quarterback behind Brewer. Motley is also a guy who should be able to step in and do a solid job if Brewer gets injured at some point.

However, this also means that Motley will likely receive more reps in practice which is very big for the future especially since Motley seems like the next quarterback to follow Brewer though that could depend on JUCO QB Chad Kelly who may or may not end up in Blacksburg.

This will be a great chance for Scot Loeffler to also evaluate Motley more in practice to see where he is at and see if he might be able to push Brewer in the spring in case Loeffler is still around to see a potential battle this spring.

The loss of Leal in this way can also be used as a recruiting tool to show that Virginia Tech football players are put in positions to suceed in the future whether it be in the pros or in a traditional, professional career.

The loss of Mark Leal is disappointing but there are plenty of positives that may actually make this the best outcome for all parties. One thing is certain, Leal did end his career quite well.

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