MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (March 30, 2019) – West Virginia University football coach Neal Brown addressed members of the media on Saturday, March 30, at Milan Puskar Stadium.
Opening Statement
How about this weather? I made some notes, so I could make some quality thoughts from this scrimmage, so I don’t have to give you an ‘I don’t know.’ I thought it was a good day overall. We went half a normal practice and half scrimmage. It’s the most live work we’ve done. There’s give-and-take on both sides, which is what you expect. Obviously, the defense is a little further ahead than the offense. Some of that is because of experience, some of that is just because that’s the way it works early in fall camp or early in spring ball. I thought the defense dominated early in the open field, and, really, the defensive line really controlled the early parts of the scrimmage. I thought the offense came on late in the situational work we did – third downs, red zone, goal line – the offense was really good in the goal-line and red-zone area.
Here are some guys I thought stood out; I’ll talk about defense first. I thought our defensive line, I talked about them briefly, but as a whole, (junior defensive lineman) Darius and (sophomore defensive lineman) Dante Stills both made several plays in the backfield, which is a positive. I’m excited about those guys, I think they’ve made a lot of improvement the first two weeks. (Redshirt sophomore defensive lineman) Taijh Alston is going to be a player. He has the right mindset, he has good ball get-off, he’s strong, he’s coachable, he’s been really good. (Redshirt junior linebacker) (Dylan) Tonkery is back, and he looks full speed to me. We’re being controlled with him, he’s probably been on the limited reps is the best way to say it, but there’s a significant difference when he’s in the game compared to when he’s not. (Sophomore linebacker) Josh Chandler is a guy that has been really consistent through two weeks. And in the secondary, (redshirt senior cornerback) (Josh) Norwood is really competitive, and then (junior safety) Kenny Robinson (Jr.). Kenny is playing with good energy, he’s learning, and I think he’s doing a good job communicating in the back end. So, those are some guys defensively.
Offensively, (redshirt junior wide receiver) T.J. Simmons has really been the catalyst offensively, I’m pleased with his progress. The offense was really struggling early, and he had about a 75, 80-yard touchdown to get the offense going – a 69-yarder. (Redshirt freshman wide receiver) Dillon Spalding made a couple of really nice plays down in the red zone, which was good to see. (Senior running back) Kennedy McKoy had a really, really good goal-line session. I thought he did a good job getting behind his pads. (Redshirt sophomore running back) (Alec) Sinkfield had a couple of big runs; he was probably the most productive running back in the open-field session, that was good to see. (Redshirt freshman wide receiver) Sam James had a really good double-move touchdown down in the red zone, and then Sam also had a couple nice plays on screens. But then (redshirt freshman wide receiver) Bryce Wheaton had a long touchdown of 35, 40 yards, something like that.
We have a long ways to go, but we’re making progress. Like I said, the defense controlled early, offense picked it up late.
On the timing aspect of the offense
It’s not where you need it to be. It’s improving, part of it is we’re repping three quarterbacks, and we have a lot of young receivers. But it was better. You could see the difference with the very beginning to the very end. (Redshirt junior quarterback) (Austin) Kendall connected with (redshirt freshman wide receiver) Sam James on a pass that, I thought, was really good timing. It was a double move, a little post-corner route. That was really good. I think (redshirt junior quarterback) Jack (Allison) had a really nice play with (redshirt freshman wide receiver) Bryce Wheaton.
On how different this team is from his teams at Troy
It’s different. The biggest thing is, maybe not for the kids as much as the coaches, particularly the head coach, because you see something, and patience is hard. It probably is in you all’s profession, too. I’m not a very patient person, so my last memories when I was at Troy is the group that we had for three and four years. Everything is new here, so sometimes my expectations are probably a little unrealistic. But, to me, I think you like to set your standards early on, and you don’t give on your standards. You have to raise to the standards. To our guys’ credit, they’re really trying. I like the way they compete, I like the way they have energy. We have to get more discipline, really, in all phases.
On competition between redshirt freshman wide receiver Sam James and redshirt freshman wide receiver Bryce Wheaton
Well, we’re playing them opposite right now. We have that group of redshirt freshmen, there’s four of them, and they all redshirted last year. A couple of them got to play in games, Sam did, Bryce played a little bit. I think both of them have really good skill sets, and they play off each other really well. Bryce is a big guy that has a huge catch radius, which quarterbacks like to throw to, especially down in the red zone. Sam is explosive. So, we’re playing them opposite right now. (Redshirt junior wide receiver) T.J. (Simmons) is moving around, playing a little inside and outside. So, I’m pleased with them, I think both of them have a long way to go to be go-to guys, but they both had some bright spots today.
On how he will line up the receivers
It’s very similar to the way that’s been done here before. We have an ‘X’ and ‘Z’. We move them around by formation, so they aren’t stuck on the left or right every time, so people can’t necessarily scheme for them. But it’s very similar to the way it’s been done here in the past with an ‘X’, ‘H’, a ‘Z’ and a ‘Y’.
On if anyone is being held out for the entire spring
Other than (redshirt junior linebacker) (Charlie) Benton and (senior linebacker) (Adam) Hensley, they are coming off ACL’s, (redshirt sophomore linebacker VanDarius Cowan) has a little bit of a hamstring. How long he’s going to be out, I’m not really sure. I hope that he’ll be back for that last week. (Redshirt junior offensive lineman) (Josh) Sills, we really dodged a big bullet with him, because he got rolled up from the back. It really looked bad on film, but we got a good prognosis, so, I think if we get the swelling down, I think he can come back in maybe a week. Those are the guys coming back.
On senior wide receiver Marcus Simms
He’s dealing with a personal issue.
On if it’s a blessing to get other guys reps while redshirt junior Josh Sills recovers
I don’t know, I wouldn’t go that far. What I mean by that is, we’ve been moving (redshirt freshman offensive lineman Briason Mays) around a lot. He’s been playing some guard and some tackle. So, I would love for him to be getting some reps. But, more than anything, from a leadership perspective, we have (redshirt senior offensive lineman) Colton (McKivitz) on one side, and we’re playing Sills on the other. Our communication is so much different just because they’ve played, and they have leadership capabilities. So, when we have Colton on the left, and he’s really communicating on that side, and then we have Sills on the right, then he’s communicating that side. So, it’s good Briason is getting reps, but I’d rather Sills be out there, too, though.
On elevating players after multiple good days
I think with (sophomore linebacker) (Josh) Chandler, you’re right on. We do a ‘best’ and ‘worst’ every single day because I think it creates a culture of accountability. He’s been on that best list a lot. Another guy from a football standpoint is (redshirt senior cornerback) Josh Norwood, he’s been on that list a lot. (Redshirt freshman wide receiver) Sam James has been a guy. You get on that list by paying attention to detail, playing with really good effort, doing what you’re coached to do. (Redshirt junior linebacker) (Dylan) Tonkery is a guy that’s been on that list a lot, which you probably expect that from him because he’s played a bunch of football. (Redshirt sophomore running back) (Alec) Sinkfield, going back to the winter, I just like the way he approaches everything he does.
On placing guys on the ‘worst list’
For right now, I think the hardest position, especially transition-wise, offensively, is on the offensive line. We need to be better there, especially in the run game. We need to be better. You all have heard me talk about maybe our most talented position is at running back. Well, if we don’t give them space to run the ball, it voids our strength. So, I think we have to make some positive strides there. And our kicking game, we’ve been working a lot. I think its our specialists, some of the things we’re asking them to do is a little bit different. We’re breaking in a new holder, which nobody thinks about, but it’s a big deal for (redshirt junior kicker) (Evan) Staley. So, without getting into the worst, I think those are two areas we can improve on, at the offensive line and the specialty department.
Opening Statement
How about this weather? I made some notes, so I could make some quality thoughts from this scrimmage, so I don’t have to give you an ‘I don’t know.’ I thought it was a good day overall. We went half a normal practice and half scrimmage. It’s the most live work we’ve done. There’s give-and-take on both sides, which is what you expect. Obviously, the defense is a little further ahead than the offense. Some of that is because of experience, some of that is just because that’s the way it works early in fall camp or early in spring ball. I thought the defense dominated early in the open field, and, really, the defensive line really controlled the early parts of the scrimmage. I thought the offense came on late in the situational work we did – third downs, red zone, goal line – the offense was really good in the goal-line and red-zone area.
Here are some guys I thought stood out; I’ll talk about defense first. I thought our defensive line, I talked about them briefly, but as a whole, (junior defensive lineman) Darius and (sophomore defensive lineman) Dante Stills both made several plays in the backfield, which is a positive. I’m excited about those guys, I think they’ve made a lot of improvement the first two weeks. (Redshirt sophomore defensive lineman) Taijh Alston is going to be a player. He has the right mindset, he has good ball get-off, he’s strong, he’s coachable, he’s been really good. (Redshirt junior linebacker) (Dylan) Tonkery is back, and he looks full speed to me. We’re being controlled with him, he’s probably been on the limited reps is the best way to say it, but there’s a significant difference when he’s in the game compared to when he’s not. (Sophomore linebacker) Josh Chandler is a guy that has been really consistent through two weeks. And in the secondary, (redshirt senior cornerback) (Josh) Norwood is really competitive, and then (junior safety) Kenny Robinson (Jr.). Kenny is playing with good energy, he’s learning, and I think he’s doing a good job communicating in the back end. So, those are some guys defensively.
Offensively, (redshirt junior wide receiver) T.J. Simmons has really been the catalyst offensively, I’m pleased with his progress. The offense was really struggling early, and he had about a 75, 80-yard touchdown to get the offense going – a 69-yarder. (Redshirt freshman wide receiver) Dillon Spalding made a couple of really nice plays down in the red zone, which was good to see. (Senior running back) Kennedy McKoy had a really, really good goal-line session. I thought he did a good job getting behind his pads. (Redshirt sophomore running back) (Alec) Sinkfield had a couple of big runs; he was probably the most productive running back in the open-field session, that was good to see. (Redshirt freshman wide receiver) Sam James had a really good double-move touchdown down in the red zone, and then Sam also had a couple nice plays on screens. But then (redshirt freshman wide receiver) Bryce Wheaton had a long touchdown of 35, 40 yards, something like that.
We have a long ways to go, but we’re making progress. Like I said, the defense controlled early, offense picked it up late.
On the timing aspect of the offense
It’s not where you need it to be. It’s improving, part of it is we’re repping three quarterbacks, and we have a lot of young receivers. But it was better. You could see the difference with the very beginning to the very end. (Redshirt junior quarterback) (Austin) Kendall connected with (redshirt freshman wide receiver) Sam James on a pass that, I thought, was really good timing. It was a double move, a little post-corner route. That was really good. I think (redshirt junior quarterback) Jack (Allison) had a really nice play with (redshirt freshman wide receiver) Bryce Wheaton.
On how different this team is from his teams at Troy
It’s different. The biggest thing is, maybe not for the kids as much as the coaches, particularly the head coach, because you see something, and patience is hard. It probably is in you all’s profession, too. I’m not a very patient person, so my last memories when I was at Troy is the group that we had for three and four years. Everything is new here, so sometimes my expectations are probably a little unrealistic. But, to me, I think you like to set your standards early on, and you don’t give on your standards. You have to raise to the standards. To our guys’ credit, they’re really trying. I like the way they compete, I like the way they have energy. We have to get more discipline, really, in all phases.
On competition between redshirt freshman wide receiver Sam James and redshirt freshman wide receiver Bryce Wheaton
Well, we’re playing them opposite right now. We have that group of redshirt freshmen, there’s four of them, and they all redshirted last year. A couple of them got to play in games, Sam did, Bryce played a little bit. I think both of them have really good skill sets, and they play off each other really well. Bryce is a big guy that has a huge catch radius, which quarterbacks like to throw to, especially down in the red zone. Sam is explosive. So, we’re playing them opposite right now. (Redshirt junior wide receiver) T.J. (Simmons) is moving around, playing a little inside and outside. So, I’m pleased with them, I think both of them have a long way to go to be go-to guys, but they both had some bright spots today.
On how he will line up the receivers
It’s very similar to the way that’s been done here before. We have an ‘X’ and ‘Z’. We move them around by formation, so they aren’t stuck on the left or right every time, so people can’t necessarily scheme for them. But it’s very similar to the way it’s been done here in the past with an ‘X’, ‘H’, a ‘Z’ and a ‘Y’.
On if anyone is being held out for the entire spring
Other than (redshirt junior linebacker) (Charlie) Benton and (senior linebacker) (Adam) Hensley, they are coming off ACL’s, (redshirt sophomore linebacker VanDarius Cowan) has a little bit of a hamstring. How long he’s going to be out, I’m not really sure. I hope that he’ll be back for that last week. (Redshirt junior offensive lineman) (Josh) Sills, we really dodged a big bullet with him, because he got rolled up from the back. It really looked bad on film, but we got a good prognosis, so, I think if we get the swelling down, I think he can come back in maybe a week. Those are the guys coming back.
On senior wide receiver Marcus Simms
He’s dealing with a personal issue.
On if it’s a blessing to get other guys reps while redshirt junior Josh Sills recovers
I don’t know, I wouldn’t go that far. What I mean by that is, we’ve been moving (redshirt freshman offensive lineman Briason Mays) around a lot. He’s been playing some guard and some tackle. So, I would love for him to be getting some reps. But, more than anything, from a leadership perspective, we have (redshirt senior offensive lineman) Colton (McKivitz) on one side, and we’re playing Sills on the other. Our communication is so much different just because they’ve played, and they have leadership capabilities. So, when we have Colton on the left, and he’s really communicating on that side, and then we have Sills on the right, then he’s communicating that side. So, it’s good Briason is getting reps, but I’d rather Sills be out there, too, though.
On elevating players after multiple good days
I think with (sophomore linebacker) (Josh) Chandler, you’re right on. We do a ‘best’ and ‘worst’ every single day because I think it creates a culture of accountability. He’s been on that best list a lot. Another guy from a football standpoint is (redshirt senior cornerback) Josh Norwood, he’s been on that list a lot. (Redshirt freshman wide receiver) Sam James has been a guy. You get on that list by paying attention to detail, playing with really good effort, doing what you’re coached to do. (Redshirt junior linebacker) (Dylan) Tonkery is a guy that’s been on that list a lot, which you probably expect that from him because he’s played a bunch of football. (Redshirt sophomore running back) (Alec) Sinkfield, going back to the winter, I just like the way he approaches everything he does.
On placing guys on the ‘worst list’
For right now, I think the hardest position, especially transition-wise, offensively, is on the offensive line. We need to be better there, especially in the run game. We need to be better. You all have heard me talk about maybe our most talented position is at running back. Well, if we don’t give them space to run the ball, it voids our strength. So, I think we have to make some positive strides there. And our kicking game, we’ve been working a lot. I think its our specialists, some of the things we’re asking them to do is a little bit different. We’re breaking in a new holder, which nobody thinks about, but it’s a big deal for (redshirt junior kicker) (Evan) Staley. So, without getting into the worst, I think those are two areas we can improve on, at the offensive line and the specialty department.
