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Brenden Motley Will Be a Part of a QB Battle This Spring

By Tim Thomas

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Nov 22, 2014; Winston-Salem, NC, USA; Virginia Tech Hokies quarterback Brenden Motley (9) runs the ball while Wake Forest Demon Deacons linebacker Brandon Chubb (48) pursues during the third quarter at BB&T Field. Wake defeated Virginia Tech 6-3 in two overtimes. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

Michael Brewer had an inconsistent season at quarterback for the Virginia Tech Hokies with some good games against Ohio State and Boston College, and some really bad games against Wake Forest, Duke, and Miami. Brewer definitely will be the favorite to be the starting quarterback, but it is far from certain that he will be the starter.

The main challenger for the job will definitely be Brenden Motley.

Motley ended last spring at the top of the depth chart ahead of Mark Leal, but that was before the arrival of Brewer. Motley’s starting quarterback chances disappeared very quickly during fall practice as he missed the first two weeks of fall practice due to a back injury. That put Motley in a hole that he couldn’t make up and even caused him to be the third-string QB till Mark Leal left the program.

This spring will be Motley’s opportunity to go against Brewer in practice after not getting a legitimate shot to battle Brewer this past fall. Motley has a lot of potential, and could end up beating out Brewer for the starting quarterback job.

It was definitely a good move by Scot Loeffler to use Motley some in a “Wild Turkey” package to get him some in-game experience. That experience could be very valuable this spring in what will be a fairly intense battle to determine the starting quarterback.

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One advantage Motley has on Brewer is his size at 6’4” and 214 pounds which is a lot bigger than Brewer who is 6′ 1” and 200 pounds though 6’1” might be a little generous. Motley does have some durability concerns after the back injury that caused him to meet the first two weeks of fall practice.

Michael Brewer is willing to scramble some, but Brenden Motley is definitely a more mobile quarterback that also has more top end speed. Motley has the speed to allow Scot Loeffler to run some read option with him as he has used on some “Wild Turkey” package plays with Motley or Bucky Hodges.

Motley also has more arm strength than Brewer, and can do a better job of throwing any pass that needs a high arc to either allow someone like Hodges to go up and get it, or clear a defensive back on a deep pass to an open receiver.

Despite all of that, Motley is still somewhat of an unknown given the fact that he has only thrown 3 passes in actual games in his collegiate career. Motley also did not get as much practice time for most of the season due to a conflict with one of his classes which hurt his chances of catching Mark Leal to be the backup QB before Leal left.

Michael Brewer is the proven quarterback and will be the favorite to be the starting quarterback, but Brenden Motley has the skills to make a serious challenge for the starting quarterback job.

Next: Deon Clarke: Future Star?

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