West Virginia University
Assistant Coach and Players Media Session
December 19, 2018
LINK: https://wvusports.co/2SidxTm
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (December 19, 2018) – West Virginia University associate head coach/defensive coordinator Tony Gibson and select members of the WVU football team met with the media on Wednesday, Dec. 19, at the Milan Puskar Center Team Room.
Associate Head Coach (Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers) Tony Gibson
On recruiting defensive players in the class of 2019
Right now, obviously, we’re going to lose a couple guys up front. So, we wanted to get some (defensive) linemen. We signed two. We went junior college with one, Taijh (Alston). He has three years left, so that’s good. Then, Jalen Thornton is a high school freshman. Taijh will be able to be here in the spring and participate, we’re looking forward to that. We still need one more defensive lineman that we’ll be on the hunt for. Right now, I would prefer an end, a type of body that can play inside if need be. Right now, we want to try and get another end. We signed one linebacker. If you count (sophomore linebacker) VanDarius (Cowan), then that’d be two. So, we’re done at linebacker. Then, we signed five defensive backs so far. Although, we’re still looking for one of each, a corner and a safety.
On what type of defensive linemen he is looking to recruit
Whatever’s the best available is how we’re going to approach it at this point. We have our eyes on some guys. We’ll see what pops up here through the first signing day, and then, we’ll go on the hunt and see what we can get.
On getting the defense ready for the bowl game after having a month off
That’s the hard part. These guys have played a lot of snaps. We’ve been going with uppers. We’ve had a couple physical practices leading up to this point. We’ll have a couple more before the game. We’re just not taking guys to the ground right now, but the practices are physical when we have our uppers on.
On if the linebacking corps is completely healthy
No.
On if he has more than three healthy linebackers
Yeah, we have four. No, we have seven guys that will make the trip. They’ll all make the trip, but seven can play and give us some good minutes, if need be. I think (redshirt sophomore) (Brendan) Ferns and (senior) (Quondarius) Qualls have taken that next step, and they’re ready. We should be able to get something out of them.
On the process a player has to go through when returning from an injury
The biggest thing is the first hit, the first live thing that they do. You can try to simulate that in practice, but when those guys got cleared – (redshirt sophomore) (Brendan) Ferns and (senior) (Quondarius) Qualls – in week eight or nine, we’re not going to do live drills in practice. For them to be able to take that next step is to go be on a special team, run down on kickoff, test it out and make sure that they know in their mind, ‘I just ran 40 yards, hit somebody, and I feel pretty good.’ At that point, they get more confidence. I think Ferns was a little ahead of Qualls. These last couple practices we’ve had, they’ve looked good. They’re not back to where they were, but it takes time.
On reviewing the defense’s play from the regular season
A lot of it has to do with who we were playing. That’s the number one thing, and just the way that the game was being played. Our offense was scoring quick. We had to defend a lot of possessions. There were a lot of different reasons. They’re all going to sound like excuses, but Oklahoma was pretty good. They’ve done that to just about everybody. The one thing that we have looked back to is we’ve held eight out of 11 opponents under their scoring average this year. That was a good thing. We were top 20 in the country in (tackles for loss). I can go on and on with good and bad, but we didn’t get it done. There’s nothing we can do now. We just have to try and get better.
On preparing for Syracuse’s up-tempo style of offense
It’s what we’ve seen all year long in the Big 12. They’re Oklahoma State, they’re Oklahoma, they’re Texas Tech. That’s the style they like to play.
On if depth is needed to defend Syracuse’s offense more efficiently
We don’t have a lot of depth, but yeah, we’ll have guys playing. We’ll do our best.
On Syracuse quarterback Eric Dungey and who he reminds him the most of in the Big 12
(Texas quarterback Sam) Ehlinger more than anyone. He’s big. He’s 6’4”, 230 (pounds). He can run, he can throw. He does a really nice job of running the game, and they’re probably going to be the fastest tempo that we’ve faced all year long. They’re very similar to Oklahoma State, I would think. It’s going to create some issues. We have to do a great job of trying to win first down, get them behind the sticks and slow them down a little bit. If they do what they want to do and stay ahead of the sticks, it’s going to be tough.
On what type of quarterback-specific plays Syracuse runs on offense
They run quarterback power, quarterback draw and counter. If the play breaks down, you cover them and drop eight, then he’s going to get out on you. He’s a pretty good player.
On if he and redshirt junior linebacker David Long Jr. have talked about his potential NFL future
No, that will come afterwards. Right now, we’re focused on trying to win a game.
On how to counter the perception that bowl games don’t matter as much as they used to
It’s important to our guys. They’re all playing. They want to win. (Redshirt senior safety) Dravon (Askew-Henry), (redshirt senior safety) Toyous (Avery Jr.), (redshirt senior defensive lineman) (Kenny) Bigelow (Jr.) and (redshirt senior defensive lineman) Jabril (Robinson), those guys have been doing the right things and have been preparing to go play in a game. They want to try to go out the right way and try to get a win. I’d say they wouldn’t like it if somebody told them that it’s not important.
On if he has had to eliminate that type of talk among the defense
Not really. I haven’t had one issue with it at all. I haven’t had one guy say, ‘Oh coach, I don’t know.’ We’ve practiced three times this week. We’ll get five in by the time we let them go home for Christmas, and we’ve practiced three times prior to this. Our guys have all been there. The only time when any of them missed was when they graduated. We’ll go down and give it our best shot.
On if he has plans for younger players to participate in the bowl game
Yeah, they’ve been getting a lot of reps. (Freshman defensive lineman) (James) Gmiter, you may see him in there, along with (freshman safety) (Kwantel) Raines. We’re not at an issue right now with guys that are true freshmen who’ve played. Everybody’s available right now that’s on our roster for defense. We can play every guy.
On who is standing out when looking ahead to next year
(Freshman safety) (Kwantel) Raines looks good. He’s doing some good things. We’re moving him around to a couple of the safety spots. (Freshman defensive lineman) (James) Gmiter is looking good. You may see some of him in our bigger defensive packages. It’s the same guys. We got to rep them a few weeks ago or whenever it was when we started repping some guys. (Sophomore linebacker) VanDarius (Cowan) got reps. He looked good running around. It’s a little different having a 6-4, 240-pound linebacker.
On what position sophomore linebacker VanDarius Cowan looks best at
He can be a MIKE, SAM or WILL. We haven’t really decided yet.
On if winning or losing a bowl game carries over into the next season
Yeah. For example, look at a couple years ago when we beat Arizona State. We came back, I don’t think anybody expected us to be any good at all, and we won 10 games the next year. I thought that bowl win jumpstarted us for that. Then, we’ve lost a couple here in a row, and these seasons haven’t turned out as well. But I think that gives you a lot of momentum, a lot of good juice in the spring to get guys excited. When you turn the roster over, I don’t know how much it really affects it, but we think it does.
Redshirt Senior Safety Dravon Askew-Henry
On playing the last game in his career at WVU
It came quick, but it’s everything that I expected. I don’t have any regrets.
On electing to play in the bowl game
I’m at a loss for words. I came here as a boy, and I’m going to leave here as a man. I’m just going to miss everything about this place.
On Syracuse quarterback Eric Dungey’s similarities to Big 12 quarterbacks
He’s a big guy. He likes to run the ball. He’ll pull it. I feel like we got it going with Sam Ehlinger, the Texas quarterback, and we’re going to have to tackle well.
On motivation going into the bowl game
For sure, just coming off two losses that were really close games, we’re hungry. We have to finish this season with a win. So, we’re going to give it our all.
Junior Defensive Lineman Reese Donahue
On Syracuse quarterback Eric Dungey
He’s a really good quarterback. I’ll always tell you that. I’m always going to give players praise and especially when he deserves it. He’s not like most quarterbacks. He’s not going to slide, he’s going to run. He’s a hard runner. Even though he’s more of a passer, when he does tuck it, he’s not afraid. When he runs, he’s going to run.
On Syracuse’s similarities to the Mountaineer offense
Ultimately, we talk about this all the time. We try to game plan for the team. It doesn’t matter who we’re playing. If it’s Big 12, if it’s inside, outside conference, it doesn’t matter. We’re game planning for their team, and they’re going to game plan for us, even though we have really similar styles of offenses and defenses, that sort of thing. The league we play in scores a lot of points. We score a lot of points. Ultimately, as a defense, our goal is to not let them score points. For us, we don’t change anything. We just go out and do what we do, and we plan the way we normally plan.
On the team’s month away from competition
It’s a really good opportunity for us to get our bodies back. Plus, it’s really good to get away mentally. One big thing is – and people don’t realize it – even though the season isn’t here and you guys don’t see us, we definitely see each other. So, we’re here for finals, we’re here for school, and we’re here for football. Just because it’s time off, it doesn’t mean it’s time off. There’s really no offseason if you want to be great. That’s what I feel like we’re striving for, and one day, we’re going to be great just because of the way that we work and the way that we’re putting all of the effort and time in.
Junior Running Back Kennedy McKoy
On the importance of the bowl game
Every game is important. When you step out on the field, you always want to win. It’s always a competition. You want to send the seniors out well, those guys who have been here and working hard a long time. You want to send them out on a good note. You also want to jumpstart into the next season. Bowl games are always important.
On how the Syracuse defense compares to defenses the team has faced this season
There’s a lot of similarities, but also a lot of differences in the defenses. They run a lot of four down things, and they like to play man (coverage). We’ve seen man a little bit, but we haven’t seen a team that will play it the whole game like Syracuse will. It’s going to be a game where we have to win matchups.
On getting used to timing with redshirt sophomore quarterback Jack Allison and freshman quarterback Trey Lowe III
The timing is there. Nothing changed with the playbook. Jack and Trey practiced all season, all camp and things like that. With us having four running backs, you have guys going with the ones, guys going with the twos, stuff like that. So, we like to mix up the rotation and all that. Everybody gets work with everybody.
Senior Wide Receiver David Sills V
On making the decision to play in the bowl game
It really wasn’t a hard decision for me. I looked at it as another opportunity to put good film out there, but also to end and leave with a win. It’s something that I think is very important to me. This University and this state have done a lot for me. So, I want to be able to go out there and play and try to do everything I can to leave this team and leave this University with a win.
On how he wants Mountaineer fans to remember him
I just want them to remember that I gave everything that I could for this team, for this program, for the University and for the state. That’s how I wanted to leave my mark, and I’m going to do everything I can in this last game to end with a win and, hopefully, finish as a top-15, top-12, top-10 team.
On if there is a difference between redshirt sophomore quarterback Jack Allison and freshman quarterback Trey Lowe III
Obviously, they’re taking a lot more reps, and they want to be really good. You can tell it means a lot to both of them, which is something that’s good to see in a younger player who hasn’t gotten as many reps. It’s good to see, especially as a receiver out there catching for them. It’s good to see that they’re taking initiative, having good command in the huddle and everything. That makes practice go a little bit easier and everything. It makes Coach (Dana) Holgorsen have a little more confidence in us getting the ball back there and everything. We feel confident with him back there. Obviously, we had to have little throwing sessions a couple times and build that timing and connection. I feel like we’re in a good spot right now. We’ve been having a really good week in practice. So, we’re trying to get as much work in as we can before we get down there before the bowl game.
Assistant Coach and Players Media Session
December 19, 2018
LINK: https://wvusports.co/2SidxTm
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (December 19, 2018) – West Virginia University associate head coach/defensive coordinator Tony Gibson and select members of the WVU football team met with the media on Wednesday, Dec. 19, at the Milan Puskar Center Team Room.
Associate Head Coach (Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers) Tony Gibson
On recruiting defensive players in the class of 2019
Right now, obviously, we’re going to lose a couple guys up front. So, we wanted to get some (defensive) linemen. We signed two. We went junior college with one, Taijh (Alston). He has three years left, so that’s good. Then, Jalen Thornton is a high school freshman. Taijh will be able to be here in the spring and participate, we’re looking forward to that. We still need one more defensive lineman that we’ll be on the hunt for. Right now, I would prefer an end, a type of body that can play inside if need be. Right now, we want to try and get another end. We signed one linebacker. If you count (sophomore linebacker) VanDarius (Cowan), then that’d be two. So, we’re done at linebacker. Then, we signed five defensive backs so far. Although, we’re still looking for one of each, a corner and a safety.
On what type of defensive linemen he is looking to recruit
Whatever’s the best available is how we’re going to approach it at this point. We have our eyes on some guys. We’ll see what pops up here through the first signing day, and then, we’ll go on the hunt and see what we can get.
On getting the defense ready for the bowl game after having a month off
That’s the hard part. These guys have played a lot of snaps. We’ve been going with uppers. We’ve had a couple physical practices leading up to this point. We’ll have a couple more before the game. We’re just not taking guys to the ground right now, but the practices are physical when we have our uppers on.
On if the linebacking corps is completely healthy
No.
On if he has more than three healthy linebackers
Yeah, we have four. No, we have seven guys that will make the trip. They’ll all make the trip, but seven can play and give us some good minutes, if need be. I think (redshirt sophomore) (Brendan) Ferns and (senior) (Quondarius) Qualls have taken that next step, and they’re ready. We should be able to get something out of them.
On the process a player has to go through when returning from an injury
The biggest thing is the first hit, the first live thing that they do. You can try to simulate that in practice, but when those guys got cleared – (redshirt sophomore) (Brendan) Ferns and (senior) (Quondarius) Qualls – in week eight or nine, we’re not going to do live drills in practice. For them to be able to take that next step is to go be on a special team, run down on kickoff, test it out and make sure that they know in their mind, ‘I just ran 40 yards, hit somebody, and I feel pretty good.’ At that point, they get more confidence. I think Ferns was a little ahead of Qualls. These last couple practices we’ve had, they’ve looked good. They’re not back to where they were, but it takes time.
On reviewing the defense’s play from the regular season
A lot of it has to do with who we were playing. That’s the number one thing, and just the way that the game was being played. Our offense was scoring quick. We had to defend a lot of possessions. There were a lot of different reasons. They’re all going to sound like excuses, but Oklahoma was pretty good. They’ve done that to just about everybody. The one thing that we have looked back to is we’ve held eight out of 11 opponents under their scoring average this year. That was a good thing. We were top 20 in the country in (tackles for loss). I can go on and on with good and bad, but we didn’t get it done. There’s nothing we can do now. We just have to try and get better.
On preparing for Syracuse’s up-tempo style of offense
It’s what we’ve seen all year long in the Big 12. They’re Oklahoma State, they’re Oklahoma, they’re Texas Tech. That’s the style they like to play.
On if depth is needed to defend Syracuse’s offense more efficiently
We don’t have a lot of depth, but yeah, we’ll have guys playing. We’ll do our best.
On Syracuse quarterback Eric Dungey and who he reminds him the most of in the Big 12
(Texas quarterback Sam) Ehlinger more than anyone. He’s big. He’s 6’4”, 230 (pounds). He can run, he can throw. He does a really nice job of running the game, and they’re probably going to be the fastest tempo that we’ve faced all year long. They’re very similar to Oklahoma State, I would think. It’s going to create some issues. We have to do a great job of trying to win first down, get them behind the sticks and slow them down a little bit. If they do what they want to do and stay ahead of the sticks, it’s going to be tough.
On what type of quarterback-specific plays Syracuse runs on offense
They run quarterback power, quarterback draw and counter. If the play breaks down, you cover them and drop eight, then he’s going to get out on you. He’s a pretty good player.
On if he and redshirt junior linebacker David Long Jr. have talked about his potential NFL future
No, that will come afterwards. Right now, we’re focused on trying to win a game.
On how to counter the perception that bowl games don’t matter as much as they used to
It’s important to our guys. They’re all playing. They want to win. (Redshirt senior safety) Dravon (Askew-Henry), (redshirt senior safety) Toyous (Avery Jr.), (redshirt senior defensive lineman) (Kenny) Bigelow (Jr.) and (redshirt senior defensive lineman) Jabril (Robinson), those guys have been doing the right things and have been preparing to go play in a game. They want to try to go out the right way and try to get a win. I’d say they wouldn’t like it if somebody told them that it’s not important.
On if he has had to eliminate that type of talk among the defense
Not really. I haven’t had one issue with it at all. I haven’t had one guy say, ‘Oh coach, I don’t know.’ We’ve practiced three times this week. We’ll get five in by the time we let them go home for Christmas, and we’ve practiced three times prior to this. Our guys have all been there. The only time when any of them missed was when they graduated. We’ll go down and give it our best shot.
On if he has plans for younger players to participate in the bowl game
Yeah, they’ve been getting a lot of reps. (Freshman defensive lineman) (James) Gmiter, you may see him in there, along with (freshman safety) (Kwantel) Raines. We’re not at an issue right now with guys that are true freshmen who’ve played. Everybody’s available right now that’s on our roster for defense. We can play every guy.
On who is standing out when looking ahead to next year
(Freshman safety) (Kwantel) Raines looks good. He’s doing some good things. We’re moving him around to a couple of the safety spots. (Freshman defensive lineman) (James) Gmiter is looking good. You may see some of him in our bigger defensive packages. It’s the same guys. We got to rep them a few weeks ago or whenever it was when we started repping some guys. (Sophomore linebacker) VanDarius (Cowan) got reps. He looked good running around. It’s a little different having a 6-4, 240-pound linebacker.
On what position sophomore linebacker VanDarius Cowan looks best at
He can be a MIKE, SAM or WILL. We haven’t really decided yet.
On if winning or losing a bowl game carries over into the next season
Yeah. For example, look at a couple years ago when we beat Arizona State. We came back, I don’t think anybody expected us to be any good at all, and we won 10 games the next year. I thought that bowl win jumpstarted us for that. Then, we’ve lost a couple here in a row, and these seasons haven’t turned out as well. But I think that gives you a lot of momentum, a lot of good juice in the spring to get guys excited. When you turn the roster over, I don’t know how much it really affects it, but we think it does.
Redshirt Senior Safety Dravon Askew-Henry
On playing the last game in his career at WVU
It came quick, but it’s everything that I expected. I don’t have any regrets.
On electing to play in the bowl game
I’m at a loss for words. I came here as a boy, and I’m going to leave here as a man. I’m just going to miss everything about this place.
On Syracuse quarterback Eric Dungey’s similarities to Big 12 quarterbacks
He’s a big guy. He likes to run the ball. He’ll pull it. I feel like we got it going with Sam Ehlinger, the Texas quarterback, and we’re going to have to tackle well.
On motivation going into the bowl game
For sure, just coming off two losses that were really close games, we’re hungry. We have to finish this season with a win. So, we’re going to give it our all.
Junior Defensive Lineman Reese Donahue
On Syracuse quarterback Eric Dungey
He’s a really good quarterback. I’ll always tell you that. I’m always going to give players praise and especially when he deserves it. He’s not like most quarterbacks. He’s not going to slide, he’s going to run. He’s a hard runner. Even though he’s more of a passer, when he does tuck it, he’s not afraid. When he runs, he’s going to run.
On Syracuse’s similarities to the Mountaineer offense
Ultimately, we talk about this all the time. We try to game plan for the team. It doesn’t matter who we’re playing. If it’s Big 12, if it’s inside, outside conference, it doesn’t matter. We’re game planning for their team, and they’re going to game plan for us, even though we have really similar styles of offenses and defenses, that sort of thing. The league we play in scores a lot of points. We score a lot of points. Ultimately, as a defense, our goal is to not let them score points. For us, we don’t change anything. We just go out and do what we do, and we plan the way we normally plan.
On the team’s month away from competition
It’s a really good opportunity for us to get our bodies back. Plus, it’s really good to get away mentally. One big thing is – and people don’t realize it – even though the season isn’t here and you guys don’t see us, we definitely see each other. So, we’re here for finals, we’re here for school, and we’re here for football. Just because it’s time off, it doesn’t mean it’s time off. There’s really no offseason if you want to be great. That’s what I feel like we’re striving for, and one day, we’re going to be great just because of the way that we work and the way that we’re putting all of the effort and time in.
Junior Running Back Kennedy McKoy
On the importance of the bowl game
Every game is important. When you step out on the field, you always want to win. It’s always a competition. You want to send the seniors out well, those guys who have been here and working hard a long time. You want to send them out on a good note. You also want to jumpstart into the next season. Bowl games are always important.
On how the Syracuse defense compares to defenses the team has faced this season
There’s a lot of similarities, but also a lot of differences in the defenses. They run a lot of four down things, and they like to play man (coverage). We’ve seen man a little bit, but we haven’t seen a team that will play it the whole game like Syracuse will. It’s going to be a game where we have to win matchups.
On getting used to timing with redshirt sophomore quarterback Jack Allison and freshman quarterback Trey Lowe III
The timing is there. Nothing changed with the playbook. Jack and Trey practiced all season, all camp and things like that. With us having four running backs, you have guys going with the ones, guys going with the twos, stuff like that. So, we like to mix up the rotation and all that. Everybody gets work with everybody.
Senior Wide Receiver David Sills V
On making the decision to play in the bowl game
It really wasn’t a hard decision for me. I looked at it as another opportunity to put good film out there, but also to end and leave with a win. It’s something that I think is very important to me. This University and this state have done a lot for me. So, I want to be able to go out there and play and try to do everything I can to leave this team and leave this University with a win.
On how he wants Mountaineer fans to remember him
I just want them to remember that I gave everything that I could for this team, for this program, for the University and for the state. That’s how I wanted to leave my mark, and I’m going to do everything I can in this last game to end with a win and, hopefully, finish as a top-15, top-12, top-10 team.
On if there is a difference between redshirt sophomore quarterback Jack Allison and freshman quarterback Trey Lowe III
Obviously, they’re taking a lot more reps, and they want to be really good. You can tell it means a lot to both of them, which is something that’s good to see in a younger player who hasn’t gotten as many reps. It’s good to see, especially as a receiver out there catching for them. It’s good to see that they’re taking initiative, having good command in the huddle and everything. That makes practice go a little bit easier and everything. It makes Coach (Dana) Holgorsen have a little more confidence in us getting the ball back there and everything. We feel confident with him back there. Obviously, we had to have little throwing sessions a couple times and build that timing and connection. I feel like we’re in a good spot right now. We’ve been having a really good week in practice. So, we’re trying to get as much work in as we can before we get down there before the bowl game.
