This time last year, Michael Brewer wasn’t entirely sure what Tech he was playing for. The Texas Tech transfer was still getting used to the word Virginia emblazoned across his chest, among a lot of other things – new teammates, coaches, offensive schemes.
A year later, Brewer, who started all 13 games at quarterback for Virginia Tech in 2014, is a year older, a year wiser, and that much more comfortable with what he’s being asked to do on the football field.
“It’s a huge difference, being able to understand the ins and outs of the offense, sitting down with Coach (Scot) Loeffler and being able to get on the same page with him and what he wants me to learn and how he wants me to learn it,” Brewer told reporters at the 2015 ACC Football Kickoff.
“There’s no replacement for that. The process has been good this offseason. I’m just ready to go execute what I’ve learned in the fall.”
Brewer threw for 2,692 yards and 18 touchdowns, with 15 interceptions, and a quarterback rating of 117.4, good for just ninth in the ACC.
Cut him some slack, though. Brewer was very much learning on the job after transferring in from Texas Tech in the summer. A spring 2014 graduate, Brewer was eligible to play immediately, but he didn’t have spring practice to learn the ins and outs of Loeffler’s system, so aside from informal workouts with his new teammates in the summer, it was three weeks of camp in August, and then a week to get ready for the 2014 season opener.
“Just the fact that you had two freshman wide receivers last year, we didn’t know where they were going to go, they didn’t know where they were going to go. Brewer was guessing where they’d be,” head coach Frank Beamer pointed out at the media event, demonstrating another issue for Brewer and the offense in 2014 that won’t be a hindrance heading into 2015.
Brewer said the key for him this year is “being more comfortable, having a better understanding of the offense, having a better understanding of where to go with the football.”
There’s nowhere to go but up for Brewer and the Tech offense in 2015. The Hokies were 11th in total offense and 12th in points per game in the 14-team ACC last year.
“We don’t feel like we have anything to prove to anybody except for ourselves,” Brewer said. “We have a lot of pride on the offensive side of the ball. We understand that last year was last year, and we’re leaving it at that. We feel like we shouldn’t really set a ceiling for ourselves going into this season. We’ve obviously got to go out there and execute, and see what the results are.”
– Story by Chris Graham
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