Virginia Tech Football: Week 1 Spring Practice Stock Report

BLACKSBURG, Va. — Spring practice kicked off last week for the Virginia Tech Hokies, and head coach Frank Beamer's 29th season in charge of his alma mater officially began. 

Optimism is plentiful in Blacksburg. The Hokies, coming off of three straight disappointing seasons (at least to their lofty standards), have several starters returning on both sides of the ball, and several young players are getting their first taste of college football this spring. 

The biggest question surrounding Tech, though, is at quarterback. Senior Michael Brewer returns as VT's starter and is atop the spring depth chart. Surprisingly, junior Brenden Motley is listed as the co-starter with Brewer at quarterback.

Don't read too much into that. If the season began today or tomorrow, Brewer would be the guy under center. However, offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler is pushing competition at several spots on offense, and the quarterback position is among them. 

Loeffler believes the Hokies have a chance to be a very good team in 2015 if the team gets more from the quarterback position and won't hesitate to go with either Andrew Ford or Chris Durkin—both redshirt freshmen—if Brewer and Motley struggle, per VT's official website:

"

It’s an open competition, but you have to start somewhere. The flame is going to be hot with Brewer and Motley because I have a gut feeling that we have an opportunity to be a good team. If the quarterback position plays better, we’ll definitely be a better team. So they’re going to step up and start playing better.

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The quarterback position will continue to receive scrutiny, especially if Brewer struggles this spring. Highly touted freshman Dwayne Lawson arrives on campus this summer and could push the incumbents for playing time immediately. 

While quarterback talk is exciting, there were several newsworthy events from Virginia Tech's first week of spring practice.

Injuries

Spring practice is terrific for fans. It gives them a few weeks of football action between seasons to talk about who'll replace departed stars or give them a first look at newcomers to hold them over until the season begins several months later.

However, for coaches, spring practice is fun, but also a time to exercise caution.

That means if one of your better players is battling a nagging injury or recovering from a minor surgical procedure, he sits. Returning starters don't necessarily need spring as much as younger players or first-time starters do.

For the Hokies, a few big-time players will miss spring practice.

All-American cornerback Kendall Fuller will sit out the spring after undergoing offseason surgery on his wrist. Arguably the best corner in the nation, Fuller doesn't need the reps as much as Greg Stroman, Shawn Payne or true freshman Mook Reynolds do. 

Brandon Facyson, who missed last season with leg injuries, will miss spring as he continues to recover. Defensive coordinator Bud Foster is excited about Facyson's potential once he returns, though, per Andrea Adelson of ESPN.

"We need to get him back healthy. If he can go back and play like he did his freshman year, we’re getting a dynamic player back," Foster said.

Defensive tackles Luther Maddy and Corey Marshall are out this spring, too. Maddy, who, like Facyson missed the majority of last season, should be ready to go this fall. Marshall is recovering from an ankle injury, and Foster is just taking it easy with him. 

"Corey Marshall, we’ll just play that one by ear but I really think we’re probably looking at holding him out and just getting those guys healthy and ready to attack this thing in the summer and have a great summer offseason strength program," Foster said.

All-ACC defensive end Ken Ekanem is out as well. Ekanem underwent shoulder surgery, but he should be good to go this summer. 

Attrition 

While Tech is taking the cautious approach with several injured starters, seven players chose not to return to the program.

Wide receivers Carlis Parker and Kendrick Holland, linebackers Josh Trimble and Dahman McKinnon, offensive lineman Adam Taraschke, defensive end Dewayne Alford and defensive back Zach Snell are now all former Hokies.

Of those players, Parker and Holland are probably the most surprising. 

Willie Byrn's departure left open the No. 3 receiver job, and Parker, a 6'4" speedster, was in line to replace him. Holland, a member of last season's terrific freshman class of receivers, was expected to be in the mix, too. 

Trimble played in 36 career games, making five starts at linebacker. He was a standout on special teams and a top backup at whip linebacker. McKinnon was also a contributor on special teams.

Taraschke and Snell never played a game for Tech.

Wide Receiver Depth a Concern

Parker and Holland were each expected to be in the two-deep at receiver this fall. The biggest competition for both players would've been Jaylen Bradshaw.

Now, Bradshaw has the spotlight all to himself. 

Bradshaw, a 6'0", 188-pound redshirt freshman from Chesapeake, Virginia, impressed coaches last fall, but a hamstring injury kept him out and forced a redshirt season. 

Loeffler is excited about Bradshaw's potential but warns not to expect him to match Isaiah Ford and Cam Phillips' production as freshmen last fall, per Andy Bitter of the Roanoke Times:

"

I’d like to see him kind of like where Cam and Isaiah were at the end of training camp, I’d like to see him at that spot and then really have a great summer and a great training camp to try to catch up to the two older guys that played.

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Bradshaw feels he's ready to compete because of his experience on the practice field last fall. 

"I learned a lot from last year going against our first defense in practice," Bradshaw said. "It kind of gave me something to look forward to this spring. So it’s kind of like an ordinary look and I’m used to seeing it from last year."

Senior Demitri Knowles, a once-promising player, is back in the mix after being usurped last fall by Ford and Phillips. To be fair to Knowles, he injured his ankle in the offseason last year, opening the door for the freshmen to cruise past him on the depth chart.

Knowles caught 45 passes for 641 yards and three touchdowns as a sophomore two years ago. He's one of the faster players on the team and has one last chance to rejuvenate his career. 

Deon Newsome is another talented player to watch. Newsome primarily only touched the ball last season to run the jet sweep from the receiver position. He's an elusive open-field runner and must prove to coaches he can run strong enough routes to be more than just a bit player at receiver.

Veterans Kevin Asante and Charley Meyer could also figure into the mix. Just two years ago, Meyer was the talk of fall camp, but that has yet to translate onto the field. 

Bryan Manning is the Virginia Tech lead writer for Bleacher Report and you can follow him on Twitter @bdmanning4