Associated Press

Quarterback Tyrod Taylor completed 57.2 percent of his passes last season for the Orange Bowl-champion Hokies.

BLACKSBURG -- Virginia Tech football fans can rest a little easier now. Hey, the hitch is gone. Hopefully, forever.

Determined to ditch what Tech coach Frank Beamer called a hitch in his throwing motion, quarterback Tyrod Taylor went to work on his own and now finds himself armed with a more fluid delivery as the Hokies engage in their ongoing spring practice drills.

Following the Hokies' 20-7 victory over Cincinnati in the Jan. 1 Orange Bowl, Taylor returned home to Hampton and spent the next two weeks of semester break ironing out perhaps the only technical flaw in his well-tuned game.

"I went back and watched old film, actually from my high school days, and my motion did change slightly from high school to here," Taylor said. "I watched some quarterback tape that I had been watching since I was little. And then it was a matter of just going back and fixing my mechanics."

Taylor's long and looping motion before he would set up to pass became news last fall. Beamer called it a "hitch," and later pronounced that quarterbacks coach Mike O'Cain would likely work with Taylor on the problem this spring. No work required, however. Taylor fixed it by himself, with a little help from his father, Rodney.

"My dad was my first quarterback coach, to tell you the truth," Taylor said. "That's how I learned to play quarterback. And from talking with some coaches and working with him, I just got the ball up a little higher and have got a quicker release."

Taylor's homework appears to have solved the problem. O'Cain, who couldn't work with Taylor in the offseason because of NCAA rules, likes what he has seen so far.

"Tyrod has really done a good job and he looks a lot better throwing the ball," O'Cain noted.

Taylor said it took him a while to get used to the new motion. Old habits can be hard to break, he said.

"It was a little awkward at first," Taylor said. "But after a while, it was pretty comfortable, maybe two weeks or so. I was pretty comfortable and I got to where I was delivering the ball with velocity. I was throwing the ball at home with some of my [Hampton High School] receivers. Basically, it was just getting into a rhythm, getting into a comfortable feeling and a comfortable release.

"I saw it. I wouldn't say that it was much of a hitch, but it was a different motion from some guys. I don't think that it messed with my accuracy like Coach Beamer had said before. But I do think it's helped me get the ball out quicker."

A split-second is enough to make a pass that could have been caught go astray. Plus, it's also enough time for a once-open receiver to become a well-covered target.

"You're right," said Taylor, who completed 99 of 173 passes (57.2 percent) last season. "And it's good to get this taken care of now."