Quarterbacks Jason Brown, Grant Wells Commit To Virginia Tech

Virginia Tech and Brent Pry picked up commitments from two quarterbacks – Jason Brown and Grant Wells – on Thursday night.

A Fredericksburg, Va. native, Brown is a redshirt senior from South Carolina, where he quarterbacked the Gamecocks in Shane Beamer’s first season. Wells is a Marshall transfer from Charleston, W.Va. who just finished his redshirt freshman year under Charles Huff.

Two of the four quarterbacks on Virginia Tech’s 2021 roster – Braxton Burmeister and Knox Kadum – entered the transfer portal in December after the program’s coaching change. Both Connor Blumrick and Tahj Bullock are returning for another season. Tech also has 2022 signee Devin Farrell (Alpharetta, Ga.), who will enroll early in January.

The additions of Brown and Wells give new quarterbacks coach Brad Glenn, formerly of Georgia State, some options under center heading into the 2022 season.

Here are the combined career statistics for both quarterback commits:

Jason Brown

A Chancellor High School alumnus, Brown was a three-star prospect out of high school, per 247Sports. He originally committed to St. Francis (Pa.), where he spent three seasons. Brown enrolled at South Carolina in the spring of 2021 and played in seven games, throwing for 721 yards,  eight touchdowns and six interceptions. He was a 6-3, 229-pound redshirt senior this past season and will have one year of eligibility remaining.

With the Red Flash, Brown started 12 games in 18 appearances. He completed 253 of his 411 pass attempts (61.6%) for 3,124 yards, 28 touchdowns and six picks. As a redshirt sophomore in 2019, he led the NEC in passing yards and passing touchdowns on his way to earning Second Team All-NEC accolades. Brown set the single-season record for passing touchdowns (28) and yards (3,084) and threw for a school-record five scores at Delaware State.

In Columbia, S.C., Brown was one of three quarterbacks Beamer used, sharing time with Luke Doty and Zeb Noland. After attempting just 20 passes (completing 12 for 129 yards) in the first eight games of the season, his role significantly increased in November.

He started the final four games for the Gamecocks, leading them to two wins against Florida and Auburn. He tossed five touchdowns and completed 24-of-39 (61.5%) passes for 332 yards in the two victories. Despite a three-point loss at Missouri, he still threw for a season-high 193 yards and two scores.

Brown entered the transfer portal on Dec. 15, two days after former Oklahoma quarterback Spencer Rattler announced he was taking his talents to South Carolina.

Grant Wells

A former three-star recruit, per 247Sports, Wells stands at 6-2, 203. A redshirt freshman in 2020 and 2021 thanks to the COVID rules, he has three years of eligibility remaining, Wells started all 13 games this season for the Thundering Herd. He put up 3,532 yards, 16 touchdowns and 13 interceptions on the way to a 7-6 record (5-3 C-USA). Wells also completed 295 of his 445 pass attempts (66.3%).

In 2020, Wells started all ten games for Marshall and was the Conference USA Freshman of the Year, earning C-USA First Team honors. He’s the first freshman quarterback to make the league’s all-conference first team in history. He completed 165 of his 270 passes for 2,091 yards, 18 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Wells ranked fifth nationally among freshman QBs in passing yards and fourth in passing touchdowns.

Wells holds a 14-9 record as a starting quarterback but has never played against a Power Five program. His touchdown-to-interception ratio dropped off in his second season as the starter, but as Chris Coleman wrote on Tuesday, some of that might have to do with quarterbacks coach/offensive coordinator Tim Cramsey.

In addition to his passing ability, Wells can run. Though he only rushed for 56 yards on 60 attempts this year, he did score seven touchdowns on the ground, including three in an October win over North Texas.

Passing-wise, Wells broke 300 yards six times, though four of the instances were in the team’s first five games of the season. He had two low performances yardage-wise to end his 2021 campaign, however. In the regular season finale vs. Western Kentucky, he was 10-14 for 76 yards and a touchdown. In the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl vs. Louisiana, he was 15-26 for 99 yards and an interception.

Like Tahj Bullock, Wells will have plenty of time to develop as a quarterback in Blacksburg under Glenn and offensive coordinator Tyler Bowen (which should become official next week). Wells will have three years, while Bullock has four after redshirting this season.