This will not be an easy game - At All: Ohio Stadium is immense, Ohio State’s football tradition is larger, and Saturday will be one of those rare occasions when the Buckeyes play a prime-time game there under the lights. “That’ll be cool to be a part of that,” Michael Brewer said. Virginia Tech will have a number of players new to that stage. Brewer is the Hokies’ first-year quarterback. But it won’t be his first such rodeo. Brewer transferred in the spring after graduating from Texas Tech, where he was a backup for two seasons. What’s more, he’s a product of Texas high-school football, where the stadiums are large and the lights bright. And there’s this: He outdueled “Johnny Football” in the state playoffs in 2010, running and passing for 440 yards — Manziel had 492 — in a 48-42 win. Brewer’s team went on to win the state championship for the fourth year in a row. “He was a heck of a player in high school,” Brewer said of Manziel, “just like he was in college and I’m sure he will be in the NFL.” Brewer wasn’t bad, either. He is a product of several generations of Texas quarterbacks, and under usual circumstances, he might be starting at Texas Tech or Texas or Texas Christian this fall. But unusual circumstances landed him at Virginia Tech, where he won the job two weeks ago, just three months after arriving on campus. Brewer’s paternal grandfather, Charlie, was a starting quarterback at Texas. Brewer’s father, Robert, was a starting quarterback at Texas. Michael ended up at Texas Tech when Texas offered him only a chance to “grayshirt” out of high school. After two years at Texas Tech under coach Tommy Tuberville, Brewer was in position to compete to start last season under new coach Kliff Kingsbury. But Brewer suffered a cracked vertebra in his back during summer conditioning, and by the time he returned in October, Kingsbury had moved on without him. Then the next loss is on you. Brewer decided to move on, too, last winter. When Kingsbury refused to release him to Texas or TCU, two other Big 12 schools, Brewer had to scramble. His former high-school coach, Clemson offensive coordinator Chad Morris, recommended him to Virginia Tech. He arrived in late May with a kayak and fishing poles in the back of his pickup truck, ready for all that the rivers and lakes of southwest Virginia have to offer. “He kind of fits into the whole blue-collar mantra that we have here,” receiver Willie Byrn said. Brewer completed 23 of 30 passes for 251 yards and two touchdowns with one interception last weekend in his debut, a 34-9 victory over William & Mary. But some of his incompletions were passes deflected at the line. Brewer is listed at 6 feet and 200 pounds. “You’ve just got to do a good job of doing the Drew Brees deal; find the passing lanes,” Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer said. “He and Drew are about the same height. Just find those lanes.”
Posted on: Thu, 04 Sep 2014 14:42:44 +0000
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