A.J. Brand’s Position Switch Could Give Virginia Tech Another Offensive Weapon

For much of his football career, A.J. Brand has been accustomed to having the ball in his hands. Now, he is learning how to get it in a different way.

The Virginia Tech redshirt freshman entered the program as a quarterback that had earned South Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year, spending his first season working in the position room and waiting for his opportunity. But with the Hokies looking for ways to get more playmakers onto the field, Brand made the move to wide receiver this spring.

For Brand, the decision was ultimately a simple one: Find a way to contribute immediately.

“It was definitely a challenge at first,” Brand said. “But with the help of my teammates and my coaches, I feel like the transition was able to be easy.”

Brand has some experience at receiver. He played the position as a freshman in high school after an elbow injury prevented him from playing quarterback. Despite having never played receiver full-time otherwise, he made the most of the opportunity.

Brand recorded roughly 50 receptions for 500 yards and four touchdowns that season, earning all-region and all-state honors.

Having spent his college career around quarterbacks, Brand understands what the players throwing him the ball are looking for. He knows how routes develop from the quarterback's perspective and what can make a receiver's job easier for the passer.

“I just know where the quarterbacks want me at all times on certain routes,” Brand said. “Ultimately, (I'm) trying to make things easier for them and their whole process.”

That understanding could prove particularly valuable as Brand works to establish himself in a crowded Virginia Tech receiver room. The Hokies have plenty of established options, but Brand's background at quarterback gives him a unique perspective that could help accelerate his transition.

It has also helped that he entered the receiver room with plenty of familiar faces. Brand already had relationships with many of Virginia Tech's offensive players from his time as a quarterback. Those receivers reached out to him, helped him with route details and explained their approach.

“It was definitely awesome,” Brand said. “Most of them just texting me, helping me with all the little things, all the route details and how to run certain routes.”

For Brand, meanwhile, the goal is simple. After spending last season watching from the sidelines, he wants to finally become part of Virginia Tech's on-field equation.

That makes the change to receiver about more than simply learning a new position. It is about finding a path onto the field.

“Personally, just improving, getting on the field for the first time, just definitely looking to make an impact,” Brand said.

That motivation is tied closely to Virginia Tech's larger goal. The Hokies went just 3-9 last season; Brand said the program's culture has changed noticeably, with everyone seemingly pulling in the same direction and emphasizing the small details necessary to improve.

“We can't go back and change the past,” Brand said. “But just looking at some of the stuff that happened last year, you definitely don't want to go back to anything like that.”

For Brand, one of the biggest mental developments of his college career has been learning to move on quickly. He emphasized a “six-second mentality” — the idea that a player cannot afford to dwell on a mistake. One play is over. The next one is already coming.

Brand is going to make mistakes. He is going to have routes to clean up and techniques to refine. But his ability to reset and continue working could determine how quickly he becomes comfortable at receiver in what will be his first true reps at Lane Stadium.

“I’m excited, and I really can't wait to see what Lane Stadium has for us,” Brand said.

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