--Well it was a spring game. There were some ups, some downs and some in between. The one thing I do want to stress is that it was a spring game and while I fully expect a lot of discussion now isn’t the time for gross over reactions on how this game is going to play out in regards to this fall. I know it’s hard, but you have to remember that there is still quite a bit of changes that are going to unfold over the next couple of weeks and months leading up to the season opener August 31. So with that being said, let’s take a look at the good, the bad and basically everything in between.
--There were 18,865 in attendance. If that seems like a big deal, well because it is considering that the largest ever was in 2011 with 22,000 and the second largest was 21,029 the year before. That atmosphere not only looked great but played well on the recruiting trail as each prospect that I’ve spoken to thus far has told me how impressed they were with the crowd.
--Quarterbacks weren’t consistent enough. That’s just being honest at this stage but I’ll admit I didn’t really expect them to be either given the comments from the coaches heading into the game. Right now out of the two primary contenders for the job I felt Austin Kendall had the better day of the two and completed 5-8 passes for 109 yards and a score. He also looked impressive when it came to his ball fakes on the read option and RPO looks and showed that athleticism that the coaches have raved out. He still didn’t look comfortable enough in the pocket and was slow to trigger at times but some of that can be worked out with more reps in the summer and fall. As for Jack Allison, he had some really nice throws at times including his touchdown and some down the sideline that likely should have been caught but weren’t. Still he seemed to be having trouble with his ball placement and putting it where his receivers could make plays after catching it and also at times seemed slow to trigger it. He finished 11-24 in this game (remember a few untimely drops) with a touchdown and an interception.
--Kendall certainly brings an element in the run game that Allison does not possess. That was clear heading into the game but it still needs to be noted.
--The third option in Trey Lowe had some impressive plays and some not so impressive plays in this one. His interception would have been a pick six had they not blown it dead and is exactly the type of big mistakes that Brown and his coaches have guarded against the entire spring at that spot.
--West Virginia couldn’t get much going in the run game which is more of a reflection of how it was blocked than what the program has in the backfield. Redshirt senior Kelby Wickline didn’t dress so that could have had an effect but in the battle of the two lines the defensive one was victorious today. That has to get better, although they did seem to hold up better in pass protection. Yes, the quarterbacks were sacked six times but some of that is squarely on their shoulders for not getting the ball out. The three top running backs in this scrimmage had 30 carries for 69 yards. That’s not going to cut it when that is the strength of your team and again that starts by doing a better job up front.
--Interesting how West Virginia did indeed use two-backs in order to get them on the field and that is something I fully expect that you’ll see quite a bit once the season rolls around.
--If you weren’t excited about the potential of redshirt freshman Sam James as a deep-threat it’s time to at least consider it now as he was by far the most effective of the younger options on the team. He had generated buzz even prior to this game and finished with four catches for 85 yards, two of which were huge shots down the field where he made the adjustment and caught the ball.
--Ricky Johns was very close to having a big game as well. He just narrowly wasn’t able to haul in two passes down the field which could have given him a much more plentiful stat line than the 3 for 33 he put up. Still he was able to get open down the field now he just needs to make the catch.
--Two turnovers forced, one interception by each team, and two three and outs – one on each team for the defense, which kept things really vanilla and didn’t blitz. Still between the two defenses 12 tackles for loss and six sacks but they did give up some big plays which has to improve.
--Just a note, but only one pass caught by a tight end for five yards.
--When it comes to efficiency, the gold team was 5-12 on third down (42-percent) while the blue team struggled at 3-13 (23-percent). The first number isn’t all too bad, the second has to change. A big reason for the differences is the average third down to go was five yards less for the gold team. Key to that? Well the gold team averaged over 7 yards per play on first down, blue? Only 1.8 yards. Penalties were relatively clean when spread out between the two teams with 3-18 on the gold and 4-45 on the blue with one of those being the now infamous throat slash after an interception in a spring game.
--Gold team had 286 total yards or 5.6 yards per play, but the blue team had only 97 yards for 2.2 yards per play. That is going to have to get better.
--Punting has to get better. With no rush, West Virginia punted six times for an average of 34.8 yards. That was saved by a long of 49 but overall not a pretty day in that department.
--There were 18,865 in attendance. If that seems like a big deal, well because it is considering that the largest ever was in 2011 with 22,000 and the second largest was 21,029 the year before. That atmosphere not only looked great but played well on the recruiting trail as each prospect that I’ve spoken to thus far has told me how impressed they were with the crowd.
--Quarterbacks weren’t consistent enough. That’s just being honest at this stage but I’ll admit I didn’t really expect them to be either given the comments from the coaches heading into the game. Right now out of the two primary contenders for the job I felt Austin Kendall had the better day of the two and completed 5-8 passes for 109 yards and a score. He also looked impressive when it came to his ball fakes on the read option and RPO looks and showed that athleticism that the coaches have raved out. He still didn’t look comfortable enough in the pocket and was slow to trigger at times but some of that can be worked out with more reps in the summer and fall. As for Jack Allison, he had some really nice throws at times including his touchdown and some down the sideline that likely should have been caught but weren’t. Still he seemed to be having trouble with his ball placement and putting it where his receivers could make plays after catching it and also at times seemed slow to trigger it. He finished 11-24 in this game (remember a few untimely drops) with a touchdown and an interception.
--Kendall certainly brings an element in the run game that Allison does not possess. That was clear heading into the game but it still needs to be noted.
--The third option in Trey Lowe had some impressive plays and some not so impressive plays in this one. His interception would have been a pick six had they not blown it dead and is exactly the type of big mistakes that Brown and his coaches have guarded against the entire spring at that spot.
--West Virginia couldn’t get much going in the run game which is more of a reflection of how it was blocked than what the program has in the backfield. Redshirt senior Kelby Wickline didn’t dress so that could have had an effect but in the battle of the two lines the defensive one was victorious today. That has to get better, although they did seem to hold up better in pass protection. Yes, the quarterbacks were sacked six times but some of that is squarely on their shoulders for not getting the ball out. The three top running backs in this scrimmage had 30 carries for 69 yards. That’s not going to cut it when that is the strength of your team and again that starts by doing a better job up front.
--Interesting how West Virginia did indeed use two-backs in order to get them on the field and that is something I fully expect that you’ll see quite a bit once the season rolls around.
--If you weren’t excited about the potential of redshirt freshman Sam James as a deep-threat it’s time to at least consider it now as he was by far the most effective of the younger options on the team. He had generated buzz even prior to this game and finished with four catches for 85 yards, two of which were huge shots down the field where he made the adjustment and caught the ball.
--Ricky Johns was very close to having a big game as well. He just narrowly wasn’t able to haul in two passes down the field which could have given him a much more plentiful stat line than the 3 for 33 he put up. Still he was able to get open down the field now he just needs to make the catch.
--Two turnovers forced, one interception by each team, and two three and outs – one on each team for the defense, which kept things really vanilla and didn’t blitz. Still between the two defenses 12 tackles for loss and six sacks but they did give up some big plays which has to improve.
--Just a note, but only one pass caught by a tight end for five yards.
--When it comes to efficiency, the gold team was 5-12 on third down (42-percent) while the blue team struggled at 3-13 (23-percent). The first number isn’t all too bad, the second has to change. A big reason for the differences is the average third down to go was five yards less for the gold team. Key to that? Well the gold team averaged over 7 yards per play on first down, blue? Only 1.8 yards. Penalties were relatively clean when spread out between the two teams with 3-18 on the gold and 4-45 on the blue with one of those being the now infamous throat slash after an interception in a spring game.
--Gold team had 286 total yards or 5.6 yards per play, but the blue team had only 97 yards for 2.2 yards per play. That is going to have to get better.
--Punting has to get better. With no rush, West Virginia punted six times for an average of 34.8 yards. That was saved by a long of 49 but overall not a pretty day in that department.
