--Brown is excited for the opportunity on Thursday night football against Baylor. Matt Rhule has done a great job and their quarterback Charlie Brewer has a great personality and it has rubbed off on the team with his toughness. His brother Michael was his first commitment at Texas Tech. They recruited Brewer in 2010 and he came to camps several times. The two brothers look alike, they are mobile and have quick releases. Baylor has great team speed and play three running backs, with likely the most speed at the wide receiver spot. They can run the football and pass it as a well-rounded offense.
--There are 10 upperclassmen on defense and they are creating negative plays. They are 16th in turnover margin and have changed schematics on that side of the ball from last year.
--The West Virginia players are excited about the opportunity of being the only game on television as he grew up watching those games as well.
--Baylor doesn’t call a lot of running plays for Brewer, it’s more taking advantage of broken plays and extending them so he is difficult to account for in that regard. He is a player that’s had pressure on him since he’s been playing even in high school and has played since he was a true freshman. He has progressed and he has gotten better and better. He’s played at a high level in some of their biggest games this season.
--The Big 12 is a league that is good from top to bottom and every team is capable of beating any others on a given week.
--Linebacker Quondarius Qualls is questionable, maybe doubtful. Keith Washington will play this week though after missing the past two games. All of the others such as Sean Ryan and Josh Chandler are out.
--Rhule has done a great job and has his team playing with confidence and belief. When he watches them in all three phases you see the tough-nosed style and they play with an edge. Their whole team has that right now and it shows on tape.
--Baylor has been ahead in games so teams have had to throw which allows them to get opponents behind the sticks. They play relentless up front and play a lot in coverage with two or three safeties so the quarterback has to hold onto the ball which allows those defenders to get there without the blitz.
--Brown believes they have a lot of hope on offense. The future is really bright for them and they’ve started as many as six first time players (freshmen) but there is a lot of hope for the future. He realizes they haven’t played really well but there is a lot of hope with that moving forward given the youth. Right now, he just wants his team to get better. They were making strides but took a step back in the second half against Oklahoma as that was bad football.
--More good on good work during the first bye. Some guys are making significant increases and he thinks that they made some improvement. Brown says playing freshmen is a built in excuse, and they don’t want to be that kind of staff. It’s time for them to rise up.
--If I had to pick one guy that really stood out it was Tony Mathis last week in practice. He had a knee injury and he was out for three weeks but he practiced full speed in Monday night football. You are going to see him down the stretch but the plan is to redshirt him.
--At bandit, Jared Bartlett is going to play in the game and they have some flexibility with the mike linebackers and Zach Sandwisch.
--Redshirt junior Jovani Haskins has been injured which has limited his ability to run. Brown thinks that both of his tight ends have really good hands and can stretch the seams.
--It’s always important to get a win but the kids know they have to stop the streak. There is a renewed focus and renewed energy but there is a huge challenge going on the road to play that team.
--There is always consistency and the approach is the same after a win or a loss. This week in preparation they’ve gone back and evaluated how they are doing things in a practice standpoint and a meeting standpoint. Try to have the guys over here as much and be fast and efficient in those practices.
--The seniors are really playing their best football. Reese Donahue is playing the best football of his career. The schematics are different up front and they were gap holders which leads to more penetration and in one-on-one situations which has helped. He plays really hard and does what he is coached to do on a week-to-week basis.
--Brown likes mid-week games and they are showcase games. Players in general enjoy playing in them and because it’s a late kick you have to be creative because there is not a lot to watch on mid-day T.V. They’ll tie in an academic window on Thursday with a normal routine because of the missed time in the classroom.
--There are 10 upperclassmen on defense and they are creating negative plays. They are 16th in turnover margin and have changed schematics on that side of the ball from last year.
--The West Virginia players are excited about the opportunity of being the only game on television as he grew up watching those games as well.
--Baylor doesn’t call a lot of running plays for Brewer, it’s more taking advantage of broken plays and extending them so he is difficult to account for in that regard. He is a player that’s had pressure on him since he’s been playing even in high school and has played since he was a true freshman. He has progressed and he has gotten better and better. He’s played at a high level in some of their biggest games this season.
--The Big 12 is a league that is good from top to bottom and every team is capable of beating any others on a given week.
--Linebacker Quondarius Qualls is questionable, maybe doubtful. Keith Washington will play this week though after missing the past two games. All of the others such as Sean Ryan and Josh Chandler are out.
--Rhule has done a great job and has his team playing with confidence and belief. When he watches them in all three phases you see the tough-nosed style and they play with an edge. Their whole team has that right now and it shows on tape.
--Baylor has been ahead in games so teams have had to throw which allows them to get opponents behind the sticks. They play relentless up front and play a lot in coverage with two or three safeties so the quarterback has to hold onto the ball which allows those defenders to get there without the blitz.
--Brown believes they have a lot of hope on offense. The future is really bright for them and they’ve started as many as six first time players (freshmen) but there is a lot of hope for the future. He realizes they haven’t played really well but there is a lot of hope with that moving forward given the youth. Right now, he just wants his team to get better. They were making strides but took a step back in the second half against Oklahoma as that was bad football.
--More good on good work during the first bye. Some guys are making significant increases and he thinks that they made some improvement. Brown says playing freshmen is a built in excuse, and they don’t want to be that kind of staff. It’s time for them to rise up.
--If I had to pick one guy that really stood out it was Tony Mathis last week in practice. He had a knee injury and he was out for three weeks but he practiced full speed in Monday night football. You are going to see him down the stretch but the plan is to redshirt him.
--At bandit, Jared Bartlett is going to play in the game and they have some flexibility with the mike linebackers and Zach Sandwisch.
--Redshirt junior Jovani Haskins has been injured which has limited his ability to run. Brown thinks that both of his tight ends have really good hands and can stretch the seams.
--It’s always important to get a win but the kids know they have to stop the streak. There is a renewed focus and renewed energy but there is a huge challenge going on the road to play that team.
--There is always consistency and the approach is the same after a win or a loss. This week in preparation they’ve gone back and evaluated how they are doing things in a practice standpoint and a meeting standpoint. Try to have the guys over here as much and be fast and efficient in those practices.
--The seniors are really playing their best football. Reese Donahue is playing the best football of his career. The schematics are different up front and they were gap holders which leads to more penetration and in one-on-one situations which has helped. He plays really hard and does what he is coached to do on a week-to-week basis.
--Brown likes mid-week games and they are showcase games. Players in general enjoy playing in them and because it’s a late kick you have to be creative because there is not a lot to watch on mid-day T.V. They’ll tie in an academic window on Thursday with a normal routine because of the missed time in the classroom.
