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Hokies Football: Michael Brewer, Four Other Players to Watch in the 2015 Spring Game

It is gameday in Blacksburg for the Hokies as the 2015 Spring Game has arrived on what is an unfortunately disappointing day in terms of weather. However, the game will go on and there is no doubt that Lane Stadium will be packed with over 30,000 fans ready to see where the Hokies are currently at. If the Hokies do not host any scrimmages that are open to the public in the fall, this will be the last time the public gets to see the Hokies play before the big Labor Day night showdown in Blacksburg with the defending national champion and soon-to-be preseason #1 Ohio State Buckeyes. This is a big day with tons of talented recruits in Blacksburg. However, here is our list of the five players to watch in this game. QB Michael Brewer It all starts with Michael Brewer who has made a lot of progress this spring and is starting to put a lot of distance between himself and Brenden Motley. Of course, there is still plenty of time for that to change, but Brewer has the chance to open that gap even more knowing that he will definitely play with the first team offense today. The Hokies will definitely want to see Brewer put up some solid numbers against the first team defense that is without Kendall Fuller and Brandon Facyson. The Hokies' top receivers have definitely improved a lot over the offseason, and Brewer has the potential to show that he is the guy that can take this passing game to a fairly high level that will make Virginia Tech quite dangerous this fall. However, a bad Spring Game and it not only may give Motley some momentum, but may help give Dwayne Lawson a better chance to come in and take the starting quarterback job. WR Kevin Asante The redshirt senior has had a wild collegiate career that included him leaving and returning to the Virginia Tech football team. Now, Asante seems to potentially be in the lead to be the number 3 wide receiver next fall with this game being his chance to make a statement about what he can do. You could probably have also put Joel Caleb, Demitri Knowles, or Jaylen Bradshaw here as well as the four of them are all in this great battle to see who will be the number 3 wideout in the fall. Right now, Asante is in the lead and if he can keep doing what he's doing, he may be hard to catch though Caleb and Bradshaw do bring a lot of upside. OT Yosuah Nijman Yosuah Nijman started the spring at defensive end, but may the move fairly early on to offensive tackle and is already on the second team offensive line at tackle ahead of Austin Clark who hasn't seemed to have a very good spring. Nijman is far from a finished product at offensive tackle, but is showing a lot of raw talent that makes him a very intriguing prospect to potentially beat Wade Hansen for a starting offensive tackle spot in the fall though Hansen has looked good this spring. Nijman is definitely going to be a starting offensive tackle down the road for the Hokies, but he is definitely looking to make that starting debut be in 2015. That may not be possible, but Nijman is definitely a player to watch in this spring just to see the huge potential that he has at offensive tackle. DL Vincent Mihota Vincent Mihota's position for 2015 is definitely uncertain right now, and that makes Mihota a very intriguing player to watch today especially since you could see him getting reps at defensive end and defensive tackle. It is well-known that the Hokies have impressive depth at defensive tackle and not very much depth at defensive end. Mihota came out of high school as a defensive end, but was moved to defensive tackle last spring. The biggest question surrounding where Mihota plays is w does he have the speed to play at the defensive end spot, because he has NFL-level size for that position. Fans may get a chance to determine for themselves whether Mihota should be at defensive end or defensive tackle in 2015. DB Donovan Riley Donovan Riley made the move to rover this spring and right now, it hasn't seemed to work out with Riley spending most of the third scrimmage with the second team defense. The question that surrounds Riley now is whether they should continue to try to see if he can play rover or if they should move him back to cornerback with C.J. Reavis having a good spring at the rover spot. A lot of that may come down to whether Riley plays with the first or second team defense today. If Riley is playing with the second team defense, that will likely be a big sign that the Hokies should move the senior defensive back to cornerback. However, Riley playing with the first team defense will obviously mean that they should keep him at rover unless he is playing cornerback with the first team defense. Where will Donovan Riley play in the fall? We may get some answers to that today.
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