Breaking down the quarterbacks as the Hokies prepare for spring practice
Virginia Tech’s spring practice is fast approaching, with drills beginning March 27. To prepare you for what should be a highly-anticipated spring session, I’ll be breaking down the Hokies by position groups over the next week and a half.
As usual, I’ll start with quarterbacks and work my way through the rest of the positions.
The 2012 numbers
– Logan Thomas: 220-429, 51.3%, 2,976 passing yards, 18 TD, 16 INT, 524 rushing yards, 9 TD
– Mark Leal: 4-6, 66.7%, 26 yards, 0 TD, INT
The departed
– None
Spring cast
– Logan Thomas, r-Sr.
– Mark Leal, r-Jr.
– Trey Gresh, r-Jr.
– Brian Rody, r-So. (walk-on)
– Brenden Motley, r-Fr.
– Connor Jessop, r-Fr. (walk-on)
– Quinton Taylor, r-Fr. (walk-on)
– Carlis Parker, Fr.
Fall reinforcements
– Bucky Hodges, Fr.
The question
Will the arrival of new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Scot Loeffler help Thomas shake off a disappointing 2012 season and regain his 2011 form?
The star attraction
Thomas actually broke his own single-season school yardage record last year, combining for 3,500 rushing and receiving yards. But anybody who watched him play knows he wasn’t nearly as efficient. His completion percentage dropped by 8.5 percent to 51.3 and his 16 interceptions were tied for fourth-most nationally, although not all of them were his fault. But there’s a clean slate heading into 2013, with Loeffler taking over for Mike O’Cain as Thomas’ position coach. Loeffler has done a good job in quarterback development over his career, tutoring such future NFL players as Tom Brady, Chad Henne and Tim Tebow, among others. Thomas will be his latest project. How the two mesh will probably define the Hokies’ season.
The battle
Nobody is unseating Thomas for the starting job, but it’ll be interesting to see how the quarterbacks position themselves for 2014 and beyond. Leal has been the backup the last two seasons, although he’s gotten next to no playing time in actual games, coming in for mop-up duty in a few instances. Last spring was supposed to be his big showcase, but an illness kept him out for the latter half of drills. He and Gresh should get most of the reps behind Thomas, with Motley possibly getting some looks, but looking longer term, there are some talented youngsters coming up through the system that could challenge for playing time once Thomas departs.
The new guys
Parker is the one who will be here in the spring. The athletic left-hander who, fair or not, has drawn comparisons to Michael Vick, enrolled early to get a jump on his college career. Despite what appears to be a glut of quarterbacks, Parker has been told he’ll be given a shot as the position, and all the coaches on signing day said something to that effect. Hodges, one of the highest-ranked recruits in the 2013 class, has been considered by many to be the heir apparent to Thomas. They’re near carbon copies of each other. Hodges is 6-foot-5, 230 pounds, roughly the same size that Thomas was coming out of high school. He won’t arrive until the summer and will likely redshirt this fall, but he’ll be a factor in the quarterback race down the line.
The wild card
Motley, from nearby Christiansburg, spent his freshman year on the scout team. An option quarterback in high school, he needed time to develop in a college system. The previous offensive coaches viewed him as a quarterback. It’ll be interesting to see what the current group thinks. Remember, the 6-foot-3, 207-pound Motley was a two-way standout for the Blue Demons who had 17 tackles and a forced fumble as a safety in the state final vs. Briar Woods. With the quarterback roster replenished and Loeffler recruiting his own guys in the future, will Motley stay under center or help Tech in different ways?
The fact
By coming back, Thomas virtually assures himself of setting several school passing records, provided he stays healthy. He’ll pass Tyrod Taylor on Tech’s career lists with 30 completions and 922 passing yards. He’ll pass Bryan Randall with 12 touchdown passes.
March 16, 2013 - 11:52 AM
I heard Thomas’ name mentioned just the other day on the Dan Patrick show. He apparantly is still on the radar as one of the top picks for the NFL next year (albeit just a blip at this point). It’s kind of a shame in a way that the Alabama game is the opener for the season. Playing that game further down the schedule could have been a potential defining moment for Logan ala Johnny Manziel last year. It will be interesting to see how/if Logan can thrive in Loeffler’s new system. Much will be decided by the O-Line and the new receivers, Logan has loads of talent, but will need loads of help to allow it to shine.
Motley will probably be moved to defensive back. If I recall right, Georgia Tech recruited him as well hoping to have his single-wing experience making an easy transition to play in Johnson’s triple-option offense. But, some single-wing quarterbacks have found success on the collegiate level, Jake Locker comes to mind.
But, the back up competition is going to be an even heat until August.
There are absolutely no decent QBs in the draft this year. Had he just had the numbers he had the year prior he would have been a top 5 pick this year, maybe number 1. I heard them yesterday projecting the WVU QB as the #1 pick!
Still another year will help him be successful in the long term in the NFL.
I agree with Dan that a lot of Logan’s success will be determined by how Grimes can get the O-line moving. If we can establish a run game Logan has a great year, if we run like last year I think we will see more of the same. It will be interesting to see if Loeffler utilizes a two TE set especially in the red zone. I’m really looking forward to the spring game. During the spring game before Tyrod’s senior year he came out looking sharp and in control. I didn’t see that with Logan last year during the spring game. We’ll see if Logan come’s out throwing darts or duds.
Gona be a great year for the hokies. Thank god basket bull is over. Good luck Eric ! Sorry you didnt have any help. The new coaches have lots to work with. See you at the spring game. No rain! I will be the one wearing a vt shrit. Stop by for a beer and a burger.
It will be most interesting to see how LT preforms under Loeffler. I understand about the OL last year and the lack of decent receivers, but there were many times he was just flat inaccurate, even to open receivers. I’m very optimistic.
Logan is not a leader. He will not be in the NFL. Watch him on the sidelines when things go wrong. He gets by himself and throws a pity party. He doesn’t encourage his team and gets nervous to a fault. If he is like that again this year he will be another potentially great bust.
Logan is a great leader and role model. He sat by himself last year so that if one of the two offensive coordinators wanted to talk to him he would hear the phone ring.
There are lots of questions for Virginia Tech this upcoming year with new coaches and a new system.
More than the quarterback position, it seems that the running back position is
an issue. None of the running backs that played last year are what is needed at the level of games that Virginia Tech plays the games. Those backs just are not at the level of ability that is needed for the team.
We will know if Logan steps up this fall, until then no one knows how this will shake out. To become more mature requires time!!!!
Don’t think Logan lacks in maturity. Last year he lacked in offensive line help etc. Have to like Trey Edmunds conditioning numbers. Could be a bruiser! Like J.C. Coleman as the change of pace guy. Sincerely hope Coach Grimes can light a fire up front. Longer possessions will give Bud’s troops rest and we can get back to our long held principles. Personally, I have never been to a spring game but that will change this year!
Hokies all, for Logan to have success many things must happen:
Have a Running Game-zero in `2
An O-line that pass-protects and pushes for the run
Receivers that catch the ball and run after the catch
Receivers who will block and
Finally, someone calling the plays other than Stiney and O’cain.
We got the last one, we won’t know about the first four until Fall.
GO HOKIES!!!!!
Motley would be in the QB mix but is an athlete that may play defense this year if needed. Parker and Hodges arguably currently the favs as back ups pushing Leal. The walk ons , dunno-thanks for the updates.
Thomas simply is not accurate enough to be an NFL quarterback. Even when he had NFL quality receivers a couple years ago he couldn’t crack 60% completions and threw double-digit INTs.
Elite QBs in NFL complete passes in 62%-68% range.
Average QBs usually in 58%-60% range.
Thomas’ 52% last year might have been a little low, but he will never be a 60% passer in college – even one season – and college QBs that make it in the NFL generally pass at least at 65%-70%, since completion % will go down quite a bit in tougher/quicker NFL.
Thomas’ 52% last year translates to 45% or so in NFL. That won’t even get you a QB job in semi-pro ball.
FYI – for reference – RG III was a 72% passer his junior and senior years. Even a guy like Russell Wilson was 72% his senior year.
#4 You didn’t see Logan in the spring game last year period, much less how his passes looked because it wasn’t played last year.
Best thing Logan could have done was to come back. He’ll be so happy come this time next year, when he’s a top 10 pick. Everyone has a sophomore slump, and that’s what happened last year. He’ll be just fine. I’m just worried about the RBs and the offensive line. If those two pieces come together, it could be a great year. But wow, Bama for the first game? Whew. RBs and O line better work their arses off.
Logan Thomas will not be a top ten pick. The koolaid is spiked. He has the opportunity to do well this season, and to be drafted and to eventually gain enough knowledge from NFL coaching to be productive. He will NOT be a top ten overall NFL pick. Mark it – March 18th, 2013.
We have a skilled OL coach for the first time in well over a decade. If – IF – he is allowed to do what he should, they will improve. Not immediately, because lazy habits and lazy methods and lazy physical conditioning takes time to break. Given two years of adjustment, the OL will be good, and more importantly, strong.
The RBs? Again, coaching – and the current lack thereof – is a concern. Also, it would be productive if the new OC ran as far away from the idiotic mentality of last season as possible, and integrated the RBs into the offensive philosophy as something more than mere charades.
I’m hopeful, but also skeptical based on the last two decades of coaching philosophy. Hopeful the changes will move us out of the bubble, skeptical they were given that power.
#8 vtc, that is one of the most hilarious unintentionally funny things I’ve ever seen posted on here. It’s totally false, of course, but it was funny as heck.
#3 VTR Thomas’ problem in not coming out this season was that his form regressed so drastically and his on-field & sideline (lack of) presence were so bad that his evaluation came out having him dropped from a potential first rounder prior to the season, to being lucky to make the 4th round post-season.
His NFL future rests on this simple equation… Is the ‘real’ Logan Thomas the one we saw his soph season? Or the one we saw his junior season? Whatever production he creates on the field, and how he is observed on the sidelines during games – THAT will be what determines his chances.
Thomas is extremely lucky that Beamer was forced by the big money donors to finally remove Stinespring from any relevant coaching position and to fire O’Cain. They wasted his talent every second he was on campus.
Wrong Frank…football doesn’t work that way. It’s been that way at VT but it’s not the way you should build a team. You start at the lines, offensive and defensive, and build outwards. You take care of them and you don’t need stud players elsewhere like RB to make it work
#19 Jerry, you’re wrong. You have a minimal understanding, but you fail to grasp the big picture. You MUST have a strong interior line to succeed. However, if you have that, but weak skilled players, then you can easily fail. The skill players make the difference in average/good/great teams.
That’s just it you don’t know weak from strong since you’ve been spoiled on the quality of RBs that have come through VT. Wilson, Williams, Kevin Jones, Evans, Suggs, any of em would’ve had trouble running in 2012
#21 Jerry, here’s why you’re still wrong. David Wilson was running behind a similar OL in 2011. Williams & Evans were running behind similar OL’s in 2010 & 2009.
See, Jerry, the thing you’re trying to ignore & defend simultaneously is that the Hokie OL has been pitiful for several years, but the RB’s have helped hide that to ignorant(unknowing) viewers. And the coaches have totally denied that there was ever a problem, even though it was obvious for years.
The quality of recruits for the OL has been poor for a while, and the coaching has been pathetic. Thus, the OL has been poor, at best. Yet, we have still had multiple career-type years from multiple RB’s.
Suggs, Jones, Evans, Williams, & Wilson would all have done what they did. The Hokie OL has been pathetic for a long time now.
Logan = Leader…any other thoughts are just plain crazy…he will go in the top two rounds if healthy at end of season – book-it @-road
Go get what you deserve Logan!
Go Hokies!
CR – Do you know the real difference in the running game from 2011 to 2012? It was only part David Wilson. The other part is WR blocking. Inside running at VT in recent years has mostly been taken away due to the interior O-line. At best you could call it inconsistent. Wilson got most of his yards in 2011 on the outside where Coale and Boykin took care of business. This year the outside was taken away as well due to the tandem of Davis and Roberts and whoever else was out there too probably. I doubt Wilson would have gotten 1000 yards in 2012 let alone 1600. The problem is almost always the O-line in a poor running game. I don’t know what you were watching in 2012 but it was a totally different situation than previous years. There was nothing there for any running back on the face of the earth most plays. Did you sit there watching the games in 2012 yelling at the RB to “dodge those 2 guys in the backfield” “plow over that defensive lineman” and “smash those 2 free LBs” every single play? Because it sure sounds like it
#11 Barry, you’ve touched on a key point in my mind: time of possession. In 2011 VT was near 34 minutes of offensive possession per game, which was top 10-25 in the country. David Wilson had a lot to do with that. If Trey Edmonds, who at this point I look to be #1 RB coming out of camp, runs effectively TOP will be back up in 2013, especially if LT’s throwing form is back to 2011 level. I gotta believe Loeffler will get #3 back there. Only remaining offensive question is what kind of shape and performance Grimes can get out of the OL. And yes, TOP is very important so that the defense gets some rest. The difference between 2011 and 2012 was TOP: VT had it in 2011 and didn’t in 2012.