The Roth Report

Tweet

There were times during the 2013 football season when Virginia Tech offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler felt as if he was conducting an orchestra without all the musical instruments. It’s difficult to conduct an award-winning symphony if it doesn’t have … for instance … a brass section.

Because of injuries, attrition, inexperience and a dip in talent at some spots, Virginia Tech’s offense never truly had the look Loeffler wanted last year.

But in 2014, with an influx of young talent, the Hokies’ attack has reflected more of Loeffler’s personality.

More no-huddle? You bet.

Integral use of tight ends? Absolutely.

Productive in the red zone? No doubt.

Efficient, with fewer turnovers? Must happen.

That’s what Loeffler has seen so far in 2014 through three games as the Hokies gear up for their ACC opener against Georgia Tech this Saturday.

“I think we’ve made a lot of improvements from last year,” Loeffler said. “We needed to run the ball better and protect the ball. Those were the two main areas we needed to improve over last year. And we needed to get better at some positions, too. I think we have. I know we have.”

With a new quarterback, exciting new tailbacks and dynamic talent at tight end – which is one of Loeffler’s favorite weapons – the Hokies feel they’ve made a big upgrade in their talent level with the additional offensive threats.

That doesn’t mean they won’t be making mistakes. Tech’s offense got off to a horrible start against East Carolina, with its first five drives ending in punts. The next two ended in interceptions.

Despite that, and finding themselves down 21-0 early, the Hokies finished with nearly 400 yards of offense and almost rallied for an improbable win.

“They [Tech’s freshmen] are going to make typical freshman mistakes,” Loeffler said. “For example, in the first game against William & Mary, Cam [Phillips] lined up wrong, and so that took a touchdown off the board. Things like that happen with freshmen, and we need to get those things cleaned up as the season progresses. But they [Tech’s freshmen] are smart guys who are really into it.”

One of the smartest players on the team is quarterback Michael Brewer, the levelheaded, even-keeled Texan who transferred to Virginia Tech from Texas Tech. Brewer quietly completed 23 of 30 for 251 yards in his debut, with two touchdowns and an interception. Then against No. 8 Ohio State, in front of more than 107,000 fans at The Horseshoe, Brewer completed 23 of 36 passes for 199 yards, with two touchdowns and two interceptions.

Brewer etched his name in the Tech record books after his performance against East Carolina. His 56 pass attempts were a school record and his 30 completions were the second-most in school history. He threw three touchdown passes after his two second-quarter interceptions.

“We have a very cerebral guy behind center,” Loeffler said. “He’s a decision maker. He’s a manager. He can run the show. He’s the CEO of our company. Any time you have a smart guy behind center making decisions for you, you have a chance.”

Listed at 6-foot, Brewer isn’t the biggest quarterback ever. But he’s got those intangibles that make him a winner.

Take, for instance, his fortitude after his fourth-quarter fumble that led to Ohio State tying the game at 21 with 11:40 left in the game. He promptly led the Hokies on a 65-yard march that ended with Brewer making a perfect pass to tight end Bucky Hodges for a 10-yard touchdown that ultimately served as the game winner.

“I’ve had the opportunity to be around a lot of great quarterbacks and the only difference with Michael is that he’s not 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds. That’s typically what I’ve had,” Loeffler said. “But what he does have are the intangibles and the mental makeup we want.”

Lineage plays a role in that. Brewer’s father, Robert, played quarterback at Texas in the early 1980s, and he earned MVP honors in leading Texas to a 14-12 comeback win over Alabama in the 1982 Cotton Bowl.

His grandfather, Charlie, also played quarterback at Texas. He played for legendary coach Darrell Royal in the 1950s.

Michael Brewer lost one game as a high school quarterback, winning four straight state championships. So he, like his father and grandfather, is used to success.

“He was born with some traits that quarterbacks have,” Loeffler said. “Leadership, poise and the mentality to put everything together. I think there’s some bloodlines, for sure.”

Loeffler also told me he’s “super excited” about the potential this year of Virginia Tech’s tight ends after seeing them in action during the first few weeks of this season.

“We have athletic tight ends who can get out in space, and we can formation them in many different sets,” he said. “That’s a huge advantage for us.”

Hodges, a redshirt freshman, is one of the most unique athletes and prospects Tech’s had in a while. He came to Tech as a quarterback out of Virginia Beach, Virginia. Midway through his redshirt year, Tech’s coaches asked him to play on the scout team and emulate North Carolina tight end Eric Ebron.

He did so many things naturally at the position that the coaches asked him to consider staying there. He did so, and now the Hokies have a terrific weapon, particularly in the red zone. He caught touchdown passes in each of his first two games, and he has 10 catches overall.

Hodges also gives Loeffler the ability to display a more versatile offense. We saw Hodges in the “Wild Turkey” formation against Ohio State, and he ran the ball twice for eight yards. Defenses have to account for him.

“You can’t coach 6-6, 240 pounds,” Loeffler said. “He’s athletic, smart and loves the game. He is going to get better and better week by week.”

Ryan Malleck’s return from last year’s shoulder injury is a tremendous boost to the position as well. Tech’s offense wasn’t the same last year when he went down with that injury last August.

Malleck, who also has 10 catches overall, not only helps Tech in the passing game, but also in the running game. He has improved tremendously as a blocker.

“Ryan is a quiet leader who has a great hold on our football team,” Loeffler said. “He doesn’t speak a lot but when he does people listen.”

So what are the other areas to watch during the early part of this season?

“For us to be successful with our young talent, we need to stay in phase with the chains,” Loeffler said. “In each game, we want to have just two plays of third-and-11-plus, and just four plays that are third-and-7 to 10 yards. You want to look back after the [William & Mary] game and see that, 10 times, we had third down-and-3 to 6 yards to go.”

In other words, this team, with its young talent, has to be good on first down.

“We can’t jump offside and be first-and-15, or second-and-15,” Loeffler said. “You have to stay on schedule on first and second down. In college football, your odds of converting a third-and-15 are just about 17 percent. We need to stay on schedule, which is to have positive plays on first down.”

Football sabermetrics aside, Loeffler is most excited about the infusion of talent he has to work with this year, including Hodges, freshman backs Shai McKenzie and Marshawn Williams, and rookie receivers like Isaiah Ford and Phillips.

Williams and McKenzie have already moved to the top of the depth chart at the tailback spot. Ford started against William & Mary and ECU, while Phillips got the nod against Ohio State. Ford has caught three touchdown passes already in three games.

“We have some guys with a lot of talent, but they’re young. So our goal this week, and every week, will be to protect the football and run it,” Loeffler said. “We know [defensive coordinator] Bud [Foster] is going to play great defense on the other side. Our charge is to run the football and not turn it over.”

And where the Hokies are as a team right now in September is nowhere near how good they can be in October or November.

And that is very encouraging because the Hokies are 2-1 – with an impressive 35-21 road win over Ohio State.

“I believe the great teams and great players have a hunger to improve each week,” Loeffler said. “We need do that. In week 10, we need to get better for week 11. If we do that, our young guys will gel, and we’ll have a really good team.”

Strings? Check.

Brass? Check.

Woodwinds? Yep.

Percussion? For sure.

Loeffler’s symphony seemingly has all the parts for 2014.

Now we need to see how well these guys play together over the next three months.

For updates on Virginia Tech Athletics, follow the Hokies on Twitter Follow @hokiesports