When you have four quarterbacks who are freshmen including three who are redshirt freshmen, something is going to have to give. Well for Virginia Tech, the first thing that gave was redshirt freshman AJ Brand making the move from quarterback to wide receiver.
This comes after Brand originally committed to Virginia Tech over South Carolina in part because of the fact that the Hokies were good with bringing him in as a quarterback while the Gamecocks were recruiting him as an athlete. However, sometimes reality hits that your best path to playing time might be elsewhere and sure enough, that became the case for AJ Brand.
There's no doubt that Brand is a tremendous athlete though who was rumored last year to potentially make a move to running back. His size would suggest more of a RB build than a WR at 6'1'' and 210 pounds though you will absolutely take his athleticism at either position.
The potential is definitely there for Brand to develop into a very good player at a different position where his athleticism can be shown off at more easily. But these moves are always far from certain to work in part because many cases of positions changes are because of players who simply are buried on the depth chart rather than a staff seeing a different position as a clear upgrade at face value.
There is some history at Virginia Tech of players making the move from quarterback to a different position with varying degrees of success. It may come as a surprise to some that it's actually only the second time we've really seen someone this decade do that despite some of the history that the Hokies in that realm. The last scholarship player who made the change from quarterback to a different position was Connor Blumrick.
So who is Brand joining and what does this data suggest about Brand's hopes of success at WR if anything? Let's dive into the 21st Century list (shoutout Tech Sideline's HS recruiting signees database).
