-Offensive line coach Ron Crook said that it is close between both Kyle Bosch and Tony Matteo and right now he isn’t sure which one is going to be named the starter. Regardless who is, he expects that both will play and told me that they deserve to play this fall. That means that whoever is named the starter is expected to somewhat rotate with the other when one gets tired.
-The biggest difference for Bosch has been the fact that the switch really flipped for him when he found out he was eligible for this season and overall he’s a tough, physical football player and really craves hitting and getting nasty on the field. There are some differences in the style of offense he’s been used to and technique but he has really made the efforts to improve there and has started to gain an understanding of what he’s being asked to do.
-Crook once again hit home on the fact that he doesn’t want to see a situation like last season where he’s forced to count on five guys for so many snaps. They want to use some rotations but who and where will depend on how the next two weeks develop.
-The hardest thing when it comes to protection wise for blitz pick-up with the difference between a three man and four-man defensive front like Georgia Southern uses is in the three-man front you can slide four-guys to pick up blitzes, while the four-man only allows you to slide three. They have really focused on different technique and footwork to help pick up what they could see in the opener.
-Defensive coordinator Tony Gibson said that they are keeping a few unnamed players in the back of their mind in the instance of injury but do not expect to see any true freshmen on the field on defense if the unit stays healthy this fall.
-Gibson said that David Sills was picked as the scout team quarterback to imitate the Georgia Southern quarterback because he is good with the football in his hands and can hide it well, on top of being very athletic so he can run and do some things when he gets to the edge.
-What’s different with this scout team is the fact that you have to have a quarterback that will run the football and Sills has really took to this position and asked a lot of questions on how to attack. Gibson has worked with Sills to really prepare him to give the defense looks that they will see.
-Gibson said that Georgia Southern is not like Navy or some of the other triple option teams because instead of cutting up front they like to chop at the second level because of their zone scheme. They want to open up lanes and avoid clogging up holes. Most teams use double-wing and tailback sets under center but Georgia Southern is working predominantly out of the shotgun. They spread the ball all over in their option and every single guy has to be accounted for because they aren’t afraid to give the ball.
-It does help West Virginia that they are predominantly shotgun because the defense is used to seeing that style of offense in order to prepare.
-Right now Cornerbacks coach Brian Mitchell told me he is getting close to naming his six cornerbacks that will play this fall and it’s safe to say right now that if he’s able to he wants to redshirt true freshmen Tyrek Cole and Jordan Adams. That means outside the obvious two-starters, Ricky Rumph, Nana Kyeremeh, Khairi Sharif and newcomer Rasul Douglas will be called upon at that spot.
-While Douglas had informed me that he had three years to play two, defensive coordinator Tony Gibson said he only has two years remaining. That means he will be playing this fall but the only question right now is when he will see the field. The plan is to get him into the games early in the season and hopefully he will be a productive player off the bench by the time Big 12 season begins with obviously the hope that he will become a bigger part of the defense.
-Mitchell told me that what really stands out about Douglas is the fact that he has the experience and length in the secondary and he could help solve some of the mismatch problems with the bigger wide receivers they play on a weekly basis in the Big 12.
-Nana Kyeremeh has really impressed this fall and put together his best camp of his career and could really take a step in that rotation at the cornerback position.
-West Virginia defensive line coach Damon Cogdell has a pretty good idea of where his position group is at right now going into game week against Georgia Southern. Of course, he expects Christian Brown, Kyle Rose and Noble Nwachukwu to start. Cogdell also considers Eric Kinsey as the next guy up at either defensive end position. Darrien Howard behind Kyle Rose at the nose tackle spot. To this point, Cogdell says Larry Jefferson is essentially a third-down option. The hope is Jefferson can turn into an every down player eventually this season, but he'll begin the year as a pass rush specialist.
-During the two team scrimmages, Cogdell was also impressed with Jon Lewis and CJ Maduewesi. Lewis is a walk-on from University High and Maduewesi stands six-foot-nine, 245-pounds. Cogdell said Lewis will get game reps this fall, where as Maduewesi is a project. Maduewesi is new to football since he was born in Africa. While hikills are really raw, Cogdell thinks down the road, he can be similar to Baylor's Shawn Oakman especially considering the size.
-Wide receivers coach Lonnie Galloway said he is glad to have two weeks left to determine his depth chart. It’s clear that Daikiel Shorts and Jordan Thompson will start on the inside with KJ Myers backing them up but the outside is still a toss up to who gets to start or even who will play the most reps. Galloway echoed Dana Holgorsen’s statement that this could be a production by committee on the outside for at least the first few games of the season.
-Shorts and Thompson are perfect compliments for each other on the inside and both have the experience and timing with quarterback Skyler Howard. You could see Shorts play in the red zone this fall due to the trust there. One will be Shorts but the other is still up in the air.
-Galloway said that Ka’Raun White has a lot of potential but it’s a matter if he is ready to show that in a game. He still has some work to do, but he is a good blocker. White is an aggressive kid and Galloway made it clear that you won’t play this fall unless you do.
-Asked Galloway specifically about the scrimmages and he said that there is still things to work on to improve. Right now they’ve played against their own team so much it’s a matter of seeing how his group will respond once the lights are turned on. The two true freshmen are freshmen Galloway reminds and said that he considers anything they get out of them this fall to be a bonus.
-Shelton Gibson can be his own worst critic at times and Galloway said he is trying to get him to focus on playing as opposed to thinking too much.
-Defensive line coach Bruce Tall said he is repping nine right now but he wants to trim that down by the time the season rolls around. I asked him about the freshmen and he told me that they’ve done some great things and will continue to be monitored but the plan right now is to avoid redshirt. “You don’t want to play a guy a few plays when you can get him reps later on.”
-Tall confirmed that Larry Jefferson will likely be used in a situational pass rusher role but they are working to improve with him in other areas to become a more complete player.
-Assistant Mark Scott said the main three guys on the punt return team are KJ Dillon, Jovon Durante and Gary Jennings. They are still working on putting each of them in difficult situations with players bearing down on them and attempting to field purposeful bad kicks. It seems that a lot will really depend on how Dillon is used but it’s apparent that Durante has really impressed. His confidence also has impressed Scott and it’s something they really need back there after the past couple years and some of the struggles. Scott said he is explosive and dynamic with the ball in his hands and the way he figures out the rotation will be decided on the usage.
-The kick return unit is KJ Dillon and Shelton Gibson on the first team but both Jovon Durante and Gary Jennings are in the mix for that unit as well.
-Running backs coach JaJuan Seider said right now Elijah Wellman is going to be the third player to go into the game in the backfield because he has been consistent. Seider said Donte Thomas-Williams hasn’t done enough in camp and everybody has been caught up on the run he made at the Greenbrier. Jacky Marcellus has really put a lot of pressure on himself but Seider said his job has been to let those guys know that they don’t need to do that because they aren’t starting but they need to play a role on this team when Wendell Smallwood or Rushel Shell need to come out of the game.
-Smallwood continues to receive praise from Seider. He said it hasn’t even been close which running back has been the best player since the spring.
-Bruce Tall is basically the only assistant coach on staff with recent coaching experience against an option offense. With West Virginia gearing up to play Georgia Southern, Tall has been helping DC Tony Gibson scheme for the Eagles. Gibson's last time prepping for an option offense came in 2005 when he was getting his guys ready to play Wofford. Joe DeForest couldn't even remember the last time he faced an option offense. He said it was sometime before his 15 plus seasons in the Big 12, but Tall, who was at Charlotte last fall faced Citadel, who runs option.
-DeForest says against Georgia Southern the three safeties will be vital in slowing down the option offense. Now, DeForest says the team isn't sure if they'll play Karl Joseph and KJ Dillon up in the box throughout the game, but they're working that in practice to see how it would look against Georgia Southern's offense.
-Special teams wise, DeForest says he think KJ Dillon will be able to handle punt return duties in addition to all of what West Virginia asks him to do as their spur. He says since he talks to Dillon throughout the game and watches everything Dillon does, that he'll have a good feel for whether or not Dillon is too tired to catch a punt. Overall, DeForest feels Dillon can handle it.
-Gibson feels Georgia Southern's running back Matt Breida actually reminds him a lot of the way Wendell Smallwood runs. He says Breida and Smallwood are about the same size and have similar speed. Breida ran for 1485 yards last season. Gibson says Breida could be the fastest back his defense faces all year.
-Mark Scott says Justin Arndt, Al-Rasheed Benton, Sean Walters, Isaiah Bruce, Jeremy Tyler and Jarrod Harper are on most of the big four (punt, punt return, kickoff, kickoff return) special teams units. Scott says Isaiah Bruce has taken a leadership role with the special teamers. Even though Bruce has fallen behind on the depth chart at linebacker, he has embraced the special teams role. Scott says Bruce actually has taught a lot of the younger players to want to contribute on special teams.
-Quarterback Skyler Howard says he's in a great spot right now. He says the he and the receivers just have to fine-tune their timing and make sure they find "the grass" According to Howard "the grass" is anywhere that doesn't have a defender standing by. Howard thinks he has a pretty good feel with Daikiel Shorts and Jordan Thompson, but wants an outside guy to step up.
-The biggest difference for Bosch has been the fact that the switch really flipped for him when he found out he was eligible for this season and overall he’s a tough, physical football player and really craves hitting and getting nasty on the field. There are some differences in the style of offense he’s been used to and technique but he has really made the efforts to improve there and has started to gain an understanding of what he’s being asked to do.
-Crook once again hit home on the fact that he doesn’t want to see a situation like last season where he’s forced to count on five guys for so many snaps. They want to use some rotations but who and where will depend on how the next two weeks develop.
-The hardest thing when it comes to protection wise for blitz pick-up with the difference between a three man and four-man defensive front like Georgia Southern uses is in the three-man front you can slide four-guys to pick up blitzes, while the four-man only allows you to slide three. They have really focused on different technique and footwork to help pick up what they could see in the opener.
-Defensive coordinator Tony Gibson said that they are keeping a few unnamed players in the back of their mind in the instance of injury but do not expect to see any true freshmen on the field on defense if the unit stays healthy this fall.
-Gibson said that David Sills was picked as the scout team quarterback to imitate the Georgia Southern quarterback because he is good with the football in his hands and can hide it well, on top of being very athletic so he can run and do some things when he gets to the edge.
-What’s different with this scout team is the fact that you have to have a quarterback that will run the football and Sills has really took to this position and asked a lot of questions on how to attack. Gibson has worked with Sills to really prepare him to give the defense looks that they will see.
-Gibson said that Georgia Southern is not like Navy or some of the other triple option teams because instead of cutting up front they like to chop at the second level because of their zone scheme. They want to open up lanes and avoid clogging up holes. Most teams use double-wing and tailback sets under center but Georgia Southern is working predominantly out of the shotgun. They spread the ball all over in their option and every single guy has to be accounted for because they aren’t afraid to give the ball.
-It does help West Virginia that they are predominantly shotgun because the defense is used to seeing that style of offense in order to prepare.
-Right now Cornerbacks coach Brian Mitchell told me he is getting close to naming his six cornerbacks that will play this fall and it’s safe to say right now that if he’s able to he wants to redshirt true freshmen Tyrek Cole and Jordan Adams. That means outside the obvious two-starters, Ricky Rumph, Nana Kyeremeh, Khairi Sharif and newcomer Rasul Douglas will be called upon at that spot.
-While Douglas had informed me that he had three years to play two, defensive coordinator Tony Gibson said he only has two years remaining. That means he will be playing this fall but the only question right now is when he will see the field. The plan is to get him into the games early in the season and hopefully he will be a productive player off the bench by the time Big 12 season begins with obviously the hope that he will become a bigger part of the defense.
-Mitchell told me that what really stands out about Douglas is the fact that he has the experience and length in the secondary and he could help solve some of the mismatch problems with the bigger wide receivers they play on a weekly basis in the Big 12.
-Nana Kyeremeh has really impressed this fall and put together his best camp of his career and could really take a step in that rotation at the cornerback position.
-West Virginia defensive line coach Damon Cogdell has a pretty good idea of where his position group is at right now going into game week against Georgia Southern. Of course, he expects Christian Brown, Kyle Rose and Noble Nwachukwu to start. Cogdell also considers Eric Kinsey as the next guy up at either defensive end position. Darrien Howard behind Kyle Rose at the nose tackle spot. To this point, Cogdell says Larry Jefferson is essentially a third-down option. The hope is Jefferson can turn into an every down player eventually this season, but he'll begin the year as a pass rush specialist.
-During the two team scrimmages, Cogdell was also impressed with Jon Lewis and CJ Maduewesi. Lewis is a walk-on from University High and Maduewesi stands six-foot-nine, 245-pounds. Cogdell said Lewis will get game reps this fall, where as Maduewesi is a project. Maduewesi is new to football since he was born in Africa. While hikills are really raw, Cogdell thinks down the road, he can be similar to Baylor's Shawn Oakman especially considering the size.
-Wide receivers coach Lonnie Galloway said he is glad to have two weeks left to determine his depth chart. It’s clear that Daikiel Shorts and Jordan Thompson will start on the inside with KJ Myers backing them up but the outside is still a toss up to who gets to start or even who will play the most reps. Galloway echoed Dana Holgorsen’s statement that this could be a production by committee on the outside for at least the first few games of the season.
-Shorts and Thompson are perfect compliments for each other on the inside and both have the experience and timing with quarterback Skyler Howard. You could see Shorts play in the red zone this fall due to the trust there. One will be Shorts but the other is still up in the air.
-Galloway said that Ka’Raun White has a lot of potential but it’s a matter if he is ready to show that in a game. He still has some work to do, but he is a good blocker. White is an aggressive kid and Galloway made it clear that you won’t play this fall unless you do.
-Asked Galloway specifically about the scrimmages and he said that there is still things to work on to improve. Right now they’ve played against their own team so much it’s a matter of seeing how his group will respond once the lights are turned on. The two true freshmen are freshmen Galloway reminds and said that he considers anything they get out of them this fall to be a bonus.
-Shelton Gibson can be his own worst critic at times and Galloway said he is trying to get him to focus on playing as opposed to thinking too much.
-Defensive line coach Bruce Tall said he is repping nine right now but he wants to trim that down by the time the season rolls around. I asked him about the freshmen and he told me that they’ve done some great things and will continue to be monitored but the plan right now is to avoid redshirt. “You don’t want to play a guy a few plays when you can get him reps later on.”
-Tall confirmed that Larry Jefferson will likely be used in a situational pass rusher role but they are working to improve with him in other areas to become a more complete player.
-Assistant Mark Scott said the main three guys on the punt return team are KJ Dillon, Jovon Durante and Gary Jennings. They are still working on putting each of them in difficult situations with players bearing down on them and attempting to field purposeful bad kicks. It seems that a lot will really depend on how Dillon is used but it’s apparent that Durante has really impressed. His confidence also has impressed Scott and it’s something they really need back there after the past couple years and some of the struggles. Scott said he is explosive and dynamic with the ball in his hands and the way he figures out the rotation will be decided on the usage.
-The kick return unit is KJ Dillon and Shelton Gibson on the first team but both Jovon Durante and Gary Jennings are in the mix for that unit as well.
-Running backs coach JaJuan Seider said right now Elijah Wellman is going to be the third player to go into the game in the backfield because he has been consistent. Seider said Donte Thomas-Williams hasn’t done enough in camp and everybody has been caught up on the run he made at the Greenbrier. Jacky Marcellus has really put a lot of pressure on himself but Seider said his job has been to let those guys know that they don’t need to do that because they aren’t starting but they need to play a role on this team when Wendell Smallwood or Rushel Shell need to come out of the game.
-Smallwood continues to receive praise from Seider. He said it hasn’t even been close which running back has been the best player since the spring.
-Bruce Tall is basically the only assistant coach on staff with recent coaching experience against an option offense. With West Virginia gearing up to play Georgia Southern, Tall has been helping DC Tony Gibson scheme for the Eagles. Gibson's last time prepping for an option offense came in 2005 when he was getting his guys ready to play Wofford. Joe DeForest couldn't even remember the last time he faced an option offense. He said it was sometime before his 15 plus seasons in the Big 12, but Tall, who was at Charlotte last fall faced Citadel, who runs option.
-DeForest says against Georgia Southern the three safeties will be vital in slowing down the option offense. Now, DeForest says the team isn't sure if they'll play Karl Joseph and KJ Dillon up in the box throughout the game, but they're working that in practice to see how it would look against Georgia Southern's offense.
-Special teams wise, DeForest says he think KJ Dillon will be able to handle punt return duties in addition to all of what West Virginia asks him to do as their spur. He says since he talks to Dillon throughout the game and watches everything Dillon does, that he'll have a good feel for whether or not Dillon is too tired to catch a punt. Overall, DeForest feels Dillon can handle it.
-Gibson feels Georgia Southern's running back Matt Breida actually reminds him a lot of the way Wendell Smallwood runs. He says Breida and Smallwood are about the same size and have similar speed. Breida ran for 1485 yards last season. Gibson says Breida could be the fastest back his defense faces all year.
-Mark Scott says Justin Arndt, Al-Rasheed Benton, Sean Walters, Isaiah Bruce, Jeremy Tyler and Jarrod Harper are on most of the big four (punt, punt return, kickoff, kickoff return) special teams units. Scott says Isaiah Bruce has taken a leadership role with the special teamers. Even though Bruce has fallen behind on the depth chart at linebacker, he has embraced the special teams role. Scott says Bruce actually has taught a lot of the younger players to want to contribute on special teams.
-Quarterback Skyler Howard says he's in a great spot right now. He says the he and the receivers just have to fine-tune their timing and make sure they find "the grass" According to Howard "the grass" is anywhere that doesn't have a defender standing by. Howard thinks he has a pretty good feel with Daikiel Shorts and Jordan Thompson, but wants an outside guy to step up.
