--Defensive coordinator Tony Gibson said that the defense played with effort again for the second time and while he joked that redshirt freshman linebacker Dylan Tonkery is going to have to work on some ball drills after letting another interception go through his hands. Gibson said that his unit got a lot of confidence early in the game after they were able to stonewall Kansas State after the interception where they started at the Mountaineers three-yard line. He said that right now they have juice and while he was proud of them last week, this effort was just as good because of how they can create problems with what they do with their schemes. This was the first time in his coaching career that he never drew on the board during a game because he didn’t want to affect what they were doing.
--On the interception by freshman Kenny Robinson it was a cover-0 look with the Mountaineers bringing pressure and he simply read the play and jumped the route for the pick. Gibson said that for a true freshman to be able to do that is pretty impressive.
--On the two big runs, first the 41-yarder by Dalvin Warmack, Gibson said that he was guessing pass and pressured it so it was a bad call on his part. On the second one it was 11-personnel and just a misfit by the defense which led to a big chunk of yards. At halftime, he made an adjustment to stop the lead zone play that kept coming back to the weak side.
--West Virginia held Kansas State to 2-15 on third down and Gibson said a large reason for that was the fact that they were able to make redshirt freshman Skylar Thompson move his feet and step out the pocket. Gibson did feel that the freshman handled the offense well for the Wildcats.
--Offensive coordinator Jake Spavital said that the offense was struggling in the second half when it came to putting drives together. They tried to slow the game down and run some clock and the unit just isn’t where it needs to be when they slow things down. Right now this offense either looks like the best offense hitting for quick scores or the worst going three and out. They decided to go for it on fourth down because they wanted to spread it out. They max protected with the offensive line and had easy catches to Jennings and Sills and tried to make it as easy as possible. Kansas State pressured as well.
--Spavital said a lot of the in-breaking cuts were off the hands of the wide receivers and they appeared to be rattled at times not running through it. The wide receivers have to make a play and they have to be accurate with the ball when throwing it. It takes both to complete those passes.
--On the play before the half, they dialed up a pass play to the end zone with junior wide receiver David Sills that would have taken six to seven seconds off the clock. But Grier held onto it and realized that it was all or nothing and he was lucky that he had a wide receiver open.
--On the usage of senior Justin Crawford ran hard in the game but they have to be able to stay on the field longer and make plays to finish drives.
--Redshirt junior quarterback Will Grier said he had no issues gripping the football in this one.
--Grier said it’s simply a feel play to get the football down the field when he is scrambling to keep plays alive. His job is to distribute the ball. He didn’t want to take a sack and get them out of field goal range on the final play before half so he tried to buy time but couldn’t find the clock but he couldn’t find it. He found White running free and trusted him. He admitted the smarter play would have been to check it down and kick the field goal but it worked out.
--Grier said on the touchdown pass to Sills he couldn’t believe he got his foot down. They don’t rep it much from that hash and got caught in an awkward position but made up for it.
--Kansas State did some things they showed on film but some different things as well. They don’t make a lot of mistakes and pressured more than they had shown on film.
--Redshirt senior wide receiver Ka’Raun White said on the last play before the half he had a ten-yard spot route on but he noticed he was scrambling and like he did last week he took off down the hash. He stopped a bit and was able to get into the end zone and the Wildcats lost track of him. It’s something that they practice a lot and you’ve seen it play out two weeks in a row. He had a feeling time was out.
--White said that in the second half, Kansas State was rushing more and they didn’t have time to get the ball down the field. Grier was able to buy time and trusts his wide receivers so they’re always looking for big plays down the field when he starts to take off with his feet.
--White said that he had on rain gloves but the elements didn’t have any effect on trying to catch the ball. The wide receivers just have to focus and bring the ball in when it’s thrown to them.
--On the first touchdown it was the same thing that unfolded against TCU. The Wildcats brought a cornerback blitz on the man that was covering White and he was running a post so he was able to split the defense and beat the safety down the field.
--Junior defensive end Ezekiel Rose said that the coaches told him that Thompson had a low trajectory on the ball and they instructed him to get his hands up. He simply jumped the route when it was thrown on the screen pass and the former wide receiver was able to make a play. He said he was about to block it but noticed the pass was coming slow so he was able to grab it but couldn’t keep his balance.
--Rose said that the difference for the defense has been mental toughness. He said that the return of redshirt sophomore Adam Shuler was a major boost for the unit and allowed him to get a breather.
--Junior wide receiver David Sills said that the offense left a lot of plays out there with mistakes and dropped passes. They have to improve on that this week.
--When Grier breaks the pocket, Sills said that he always keeps his eyes downfield and is looking to throw the ball. It resulted in a lot of big plays today. He said on his touchdown catch he wasn’t sure if it was a catch because he hit the turf hard but he was able to get his foot down. He said that you just try to get your feet down in those situations but it’s not something you’re consciously doing.
--Senior safety Kyzir White said it’s hard to force turnovers but they had to stay patient. A lot of times you try to make a play and get out of position but it comes down to assignment football.
--On the interception by freshman Kenny Robinson it was a cover-0 look with the Mountaineers bringing pressure and he simply read the play and jumped the route for the pick. Gibson said that for a true freshman to be able to do that is pretty impressive.
--On the two big runs, first the 41-yarder by Dalvin Warmack, Gibson said that he was guessing pass and pressured it so it was a bad call on his part. On the second one it was 11-personnel and just a misfit by the defense which led to a big chunk of yards. At halftime, he made an adjustment to stop the lead zone play that kept coming back to the weak side.
--West Virginia held Kansas State to 2-15 on third down and Gibson said a large reason for that was the fact that they were able to make redshirt freshman Skylar Thompson move his feet and step out the pocket. Gibson did feel that the freshman handled the offense well for the Wildcats.
--Offensive coordinator Jake Spavital said that the offense was struggling in the second half when it came to putting drives together. They tried to slow the game down and run some clock and the unit just isn’t where it needs to be when they slow things down. Right now this offense either looks like the best offense hitting for quick scores or the worst going three and out. They decided to go for it on fourth down because they wanted to spread it out. They max protected with the offensive line and had easy catches to Jennings and Sills and tried to make it as easy as possible. Kansas State pressured as well.
--Spavital said a lot of the in-breaking cuts were off the hands of the wide receivers and they appeared to be rattled at times not running through it. The wide receivers have to make a play and they have to be accurate with the ball when throwing it. It takes both to complete those passes.
--On the play before the half, they dialed up a pass play to the end zone with junior wide receiver David Sills that would have taken six to seven seconds off the clock. But Grier held onto it and realized that it was all or nothing and he was lucky that he had a wide receiver open.
--On the usage of senior Justin Crawford ran hard in the game but they have to be able to stay on the field longer and make plays to finish drives.
--Redshirt junior quarterback Will Grier said he had no issues gripping the football in this one.
--Grier said it’s simply a feel play to get the football down the field when he is scrambling to keep plays alive. His job is to distribute the ball. He didn’t want to take a sack and get them out of field goal range on the final play before half so he tried to buy time but couldn’t find the clock but he couldn’t find it. He found White running free and trusted him. He admitted the smarter play would have been to check it down and kick the field goal but it worked out.
--Grier said on the touchdown pass to Sills he couldn’t believe he got his foot down. They don’t rep it much from that hash and got caught in an awkward position but made up for it.
--Kansas State did some things they showed on film but some different things as well. They don’t make a lot of mistakes and pressured more than they had shown on film.
--Redshirt senior wide receiver Ka’Raun White said on the last play before the half he had a ten-yard spot route on but he noticed he was scrambling and like he did last week he took off down the hash. He stopped a bit and was able to get into the end zone and the Wildcats lost track of him. It’s something that they practice a lot and you’ve seen it play out two weeks in a row. He had a feeling time was out.
--White said that in the second half, Kansas State was rushing more and they didn’t have time to get the ball down the field. Grier was able to buy time and trusts his wide receivers so they’re always looking for big plays down the field when he starts to take off with his feet.
--White said that he had on rain gloves but the elements didn’t have any effect on trying to catch the ball. The wide receivers just have to focus and bring the ball in when it’s thrown to them.
--On the first touchdown it was the same thing that unfolded against TCU. The Wildcats brought a cornerback blitz on the man that was covering White and he was running a post so he was able to split the defense and beat the safety down the field.
--Junior defensive end Ezekiel Rose said that the coaches told him that Thompson had a low trajectory on the ball and they instructed him to get his hands up. He simply jumped the route when it was thrown on the screen pass and the former wide receiver was able to make a play. He said he was about to block it but noticed the pass was coming slow so he was able to grab it but couldn’t keep his balance.
--Rose said that the difference for the defense has been mental toughness. He said that the return of redshirt sophomore Adam Shuler was a major boost for the unit and allowed him to get a breather.
--Junior wide receiver David Sills said that the offense left a lot of plays out there with mistakes and dropped passes. They have to improve on that this week.
--When Grier breaks the pocket, Sills said that he always keeps his eyes downfield and is looking to throw the ball. It resulted in a lot of big plays today. He said on his touchdown catch he wasn’t sure if it was a catch because he hit the turf hard but he was able to get his foot down. He said that you just try to get your feet down in those situations but it’s not something you’re consciously doing.
--Senior safety Kyzir White said it’s hard to force turnovers but they had to stay patient. A lot of times you try to make a play and get out of position but it comes down to assignment football.
