-GA Dan Gerberry spoke a bit about the appreciation he has for Dana Holgorsen based on the fact that Holgorsen trusts him enough to have his own meeting room. Gerberry is essentially the tight ends coach with the label of grad assistant. With his position group, Gerberry feels he brings simply a specialization in the position. Gerberry feels blocking has been large part of his life and he can help West Virginia in the run game because of his past experiences.
-Gerberry says he'll always draw from his playing experience to coach and relate to his players. Gerberry says he's had great coaches to learn from like Brady Hoke (Ball State) and Jeremiah Washburn (Detroit Lions) from his playing days.
-As for the guys in his meeting room, Gerberry says Cody Clay has helped him out with some of the terminology and everyone, Clay included has developed. He says everyone from the spring until now are different players. He says Michael Ferns is still learning the tight end position because he's transition from playing linebacker last year at Michigan. Gerberry credited Darren Ardnt for maturing a bit as a player. Finally he says Stone Wolfley has done a great job right away in his short time on campus. Gerberry says Wolfley is engaged and has major potential.
-Like Gerberry, GA Michael Burchett is basically the quarterback position coach with the grad assistant label. It's unique because this is the first season since before Holgorsen was at Houston that he doesn't have an assistant on staff with the label of quarterback coach. Burchett doesn't feel any added pressure to be the next great quarterback coach under Holgorsen, but loves the fact that he has plenty of responsibility. Burchett always kept a good relationship with Holgorsen from his time as a walk-on player at West Virginia. When Burchett transferred to West Virginia to play, he knew then that eventually he wanted to coach in the offense.
-Burchett has a full room between starter Skyler Howard, backup William Crest and the true freshmen David Sills and Chris Chugunov. Burchett says Howard has done a great job and is going to be good because he's shown in his limited action that he doesn't turn the ball over. He says Crest has all the tools to be a big time quarterback and that Sills is probably one of the most athletic players on the entire team. Burchett added that Chugunov can really spin the ball. He says if those young guys can continue to lean the offense, they'll be okay.
-OL coach Ron Crook said he likes the direction his offensive line is going and right now it's the same five across the board with LT Cajuste, LG Pankey, C Orlosky, RG Matteo and RT Lucas. However, Crook told me that there are guys that are pushing all along the front and that is a lot different than it was a year ago when West Virginia struggled to find six or seven lineman. Top to bottom they are in a much better place.
-Crook said that Michigan transfer Kyle Bosch came back with a different attitude since he was deemed immediately eligible in May. He has really turned it up and is a lot more focused than he was during the spring. Right now they are letting him go through adjusting but at some point they will have to speed things up.
-As for Yodny Cajuste, Crook said that he is very young but is playing at a high level. The thing that Crook has noticed is that he doesn't let his body get out of position and is always under control. It's now about working on technique and assignments but the direction he is going in is exciting.
-Crook did say that Grant Lingafelter could play tackle if he wanted to.
-Asked about Dantae Angus and Crook said it was his size that helped the move from the defensive side to offense. Crook said if you could draw up an offensive lineman it would look a lot like Angus. He understands how to strike and move people but is nowhere near understanding the offense, terminology or how to call a play but that's Crook's job to get him the rest of the way in the future.
-CB coach Brian Mitchell said that they are excited about Tyrek Cole and Jordan Adams and both of them are expected to be great players in the future because they have such great upside. Both come with all the natural given ability you want in a cornerback, but the competitive fire they have shown to date and willingness to learn has been most impressive.
-Mitchell said he is looking for around six cornerbacks this fall to go with the special teams, nickel and dime packages and right now obviously Daryl Worley, Terrell Chestnut and Ricky Rumph have three of those spots so there will be opportunities for the younger players to crack into the lineup. He would like to ensure he has four that he is comfortable with to put out there in any given situation and there won't be any drop off.
-WR coach Lonnie Galloway said that Shelton Gibson is playing hard and running fast. There are technique things he needs to clean up but the wide receivers coach said that he will likely "be a guy."
-It's still to early to make determinations on who will play outside the top three options but Galloway said hopefully out of the 12 wide receivers he has he can get six to eight ready to go for the reason. Around 70-percent of the offense is gone so they are under the radar right now, but there is a lot of potential. Galloway said he has a lot of big guys that can run but it's about getting on the same page.
-Galloway was able to watch Ka'Raun White and Gary Jennings the past couple days and he said that White is a good player that can run, Gary is a big thick kid that can move around but now its about finding where they fit in because you don't want to move them around too much.
-DL coach Bruce Tall said that Larry Jefferson is very quick off the ball and athletic and he has the intangibles that you want to make sure you use off the edge. On the other hand, Xavier Pegues is a bigger, more physical lineman but it's hard to get a feel for what he can do with limited time.
-Tall said that there is a lot of potential with DE Adam Shuler and DE Tyree Owens but it's about developing each of them to be ready to step into those roles.
-Because it's five on three when the defensive line matches up against opposing offenses, Tall said the focus will be on technique and how to win those battles. If they're double teamed, they have to win one twice and there are ways of doing it to have a lot of success because Tall has coached nose guards that have ended up with multiple sacks.
-Tall said that he wants to have a pair and a spare at each position. He would like six to eight traveling in order to keep them fresh up front.
-DC Tony Gibson said that his decision to bring Bruce Tall back was in large part because of his trust with him and his overall understanding of the scheme.
-Gibson said that he's tried to motivate his players with his comments about his defense being very good but he stands by his comments and believes that his group could be a great group. He's tried to instill confidence with his unit and he wants them to have a different experience with the expectations being something other than negative. From the minute he walked into the position he said he wanted to change the culture and he's told his team he wants them to walk like they're great, talk like they're great and perform like they're great so it rubs off.
-Gerberry says he'll always draw from his playing experience to coach and relate to his players. Gerberry says he's had great coaches to learn from like Brady Hoke (Ball State) and Jeremiah Washburn (Detroit Lions) from his playing days.
-As for the guys in his meeting room, Gerberry says Cody Clay has helped him out with some of the terminology and everyone, Clay included has developed. He says everyone from the spring until now are different players. He says Michael Ferns is still learning the tight end position because he's transition from playing linebacker last year at Michigan. Gerberry credited Darren Ardnt for maturing a bit as a player. Finally he says Stone Wolfley has done a great job right away in his short time on campus. Gerberry says Wolfley is engaged and has major potential.
-Like Gerberry, GA Michael Burchett is basically the quarterback position coach with the grad assistant label. It's unique because this is the first season since before Holgorsen was at Houston that he doesn't have an assistant on staff with the label of quarterback coach. Burchett doesn't feel any added pressure to be the next great quarterback coach under Holgorsen, but loves the fact that he has plenty of responsibility. Burchett always kept a good relationship with Holgorsen from his time as a walk-on player at West Virginia. When Burchett transferred to West Virginia to play, he knew then that eventually he wanted to coach in the offense.
-Burchett has a full room between starter Skyler Howard, backup William Crest and the true freshmen David Sills and Chris Chugunov. Burchett says Howard has done a great job and is going to be good because he's shown in his limited action that he doesn't turn the ball over. He says Crest has all the tools to be a big time quarterback and that Sills is probably one of the most athletic players on the entire team. Burchett added that Chugunov can really spin the ball. He says if those young guys can continue to lean the offense, they'll be okay.
-OL coach Ron Crook said he likes the direction his offensive line is going and right now it's the same five across the board with LT Cajuste, LG Pankey, C Orlosky, RG Matteo and RT Lucas. However, Crook told me that there are guys that are pushing all along the front and that is a lot different than it was a year ago when West Virginia struggled to find six or seven lineman. Top to bottom they are in a much better place.
-Crook said that Michigan transfer Kyle Bosch came back with a different attitude since he was deemed immediately eligible in May. He has really turned it up and is a lot more focused than he was during the spring. Right now they are letting him go through adjusting but at some point they will have to speed things up.
-As for Yodny Cajuste, Crook said that he is very young but is playing at a high level. The thing that Crook has noticed is that he doesn't let his body get out of position and is always under control. It's now about working on technique and assignments but the direction he is going in is exciting.
-Crook did say that Grant Lingafelter could play tackle if he wanted to.
-Asked about Dantae Angus and Crook said it was his size that helped the move from the defensive side to offense. Crook said if you could draw up an offensive lineman it would look a lot like Angus. He understands how to strike and move people but is nowhere near understanding the offense, terminology or how to call a play but that's Crook's job to get him the rest of the way in the future.
-CB coach Brian Mitchell said that they are excited about Tyrek Cole and Jordan Adams and both of them are expected to be great players in the future because they have such great upside. Both come with all the natural given ability you want in a cornerback, but the competitive fire they have shown to date and willingness to learn has been most impressive.
-Mitchell said he is looking for around six cornerbacks this fall to go with the special teams, nickel and dime packages and right now obviously Daryl Worley, Terrell Chestnut and Ricky Rumph have three of those spots so there will be opportunities for the younger players to crack into the lineup. He would like to ensure he has four that he is comfortable with to put out there in any given situation and there won't be any drop off.
-WR coach Lonnie Galloway said that Shelton Gibson is playing hard and running fast. There are technique things he needs to clean up but the wide receivers coach said that he will likely "be a guy."
-It's still to early to make determinations on who will play outside the top three options but Galloway said hopefully out of the 12 wide receivers he has he can get six to eight ready to go for the reason. Around 70-percent of the offense is gone so they are under the radar right now, but there is a lot of potential. Galloway said he has a lot of big guys that can run but it's about getting on the same page.
-Galloway was able to watch Ka'Raun White and Gary Jennings the past couple days and he said that White is a good player that can run, Gary is a big thick kid that can move around but now its about finding where they fit in because you don't want to move them around too much.
-DL coach Bruce Tall said that Larry Jefferson is very quick off the ball and athletic and he has the intangibles that you want to make sure you use off the edge. On the other hand, Xavier Pegues is a bigger, more physical lineman but it's hard to get a feel for what he can do with limited time.
-Tall said that there is a lot of potential with DE Adam Shuler and DE Tyree Owens but it's about developing each of them to be ready to step into those roles.
-Because it's five on three when the defensive line matches up against opposing offenses, Tall said the focus will be on technique and how to win those battles. If they're double teamed, they have to win one twice and there are ways of doing it to have a lot of success because Tall has coached nose guards that have ended up with multiple sacks.
-Tall said that he wants to have a pair and a spare at each position. He would like six to eight traveling in order to keep them fresh up front.
-DC Tony Gibson said that his decision to bring Bruce Tall back was in large part because of his trust with him and his overall understanding of the scheme.
-Gibson said that he's tried to motivate his players with his comments about his defense being very good but he stands by his comments and believes that his group could be a great group. He's tried to instill confidence with his unit and he wants them to have a different experience with the expectations being something other than negative. From the minute he walked into the position he said he wanted to change the culture and he's told his team he wants them to walk like they're great, talk like they're great and perform like they're great so it rubs off.
