ADVERTISEMENT

WVU Release Quotes from WVU's players and coaches 9/25/18

Vernon

The Legend
Staff
May 29, 2001
172,697
263,540
718
Beyond The Sun
wvsports.com
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (September 25, 2018) - West Virginia University associate head coach/defensive coordinator Tony Gibson, offensive coordinator Jake Spavital and select members of the West Virginia University football team met with the media on Tuesday, Sept. 25, at the Milan Puskar Center Team Room.


Associate Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator Tony Gibson


On how he’s been sleeping heading into the matchup with Texas Tech

Not well, especially this week with watching this Texas Tech offense.


On what he sees as Texas Tech’s biggest strength

Just their formations. They put a lot of stress with their tempo, their unbalanced sets. They go with quads, empty – they do all kinds of different things. They’re so fast with it, that’s how they get their big plays.


On last year’s game against Texas Tech

We weren’t successful until about mid-way through the third quarter. Then, we finally calmed down a little bit. But early on, they had us on the ropes. I thought we ended the game well, but we did not start off very well. The second play of the game went for a touchdown. So, it wasn’t good.


On how Texas Tech’s tempo and quick game helped them beat Oklahoma State

It was quick game, and it was tempo and getting lined up. Oklahoma State wasn’t able to line up to their formations, and they were able to throw the ball downfield. They took some shots and hit on them. They do a nice job.


On how the defense needs to prepare for Texas Tech’s offense

We’ll be simple game plan-wise. We won’t have a lot of calls. That’s been our recipe for the last four years with this team. It’s so we can get lined up quick. The one thing that helps us is that we’re not a field and a boundary defense. That’s the one advantage we have is that we play against tempo teams. Then, also, we get to go against our offense every day and during camp. We don’t do a lot of formation stuff, but we can go really fast as well.

On Texas Tech freshman quarterback Alan Bowman and how he manages the game

He doesn’t hold the ball long enough to see. He gets it out quick and does a really good job of it. I think they’ve only given up four sacks on the year. So, they’re not going to let you hit their quarterback.


On how the defense can put the pressure on Texas Tech’s offense

What we have to do is win up front. That’s easy to say, but it’s a lot harder to do when you only have three down. This week is probably not going to be a time where you see four down, just because of what they do and their personnel groupings.


On team tackles for loss and the success of creating negative plays

I think that it all starts up front with our guys up there creating negative plays, and also holding their gap and letting linebackers run through and make negative plays. That’s where it all stems from. A lot of the stuff last weekend was coming off pressures. I blitzed a lot last Saturday, and I thought we could be effective with that. It turns out that we were.


On what he knows and doesn’t know about the defense to this point

What we don’t know yet, because we haven’t been in the situation, is passing attempts. I think the most attempts we have seen is 30 or 35. Hell, they (Texas Tech) may have that by halftime. We all know, in this league, you’re going to give up yards. The key for us is, when the get in the red zone, to make them attempt field goals and not give up touchdowns. That’s key for us. We have to be able to tighten up inside the 20 and hold them out of the end zone as best as we can.


On what has been the biggest factor to the defense’s success

I thought the one thing for our kids, right now, is that they’re bought in and are confident in what we do, and they’re flying around. Hopefully, we can hold up. The biggest thing, I hate to even mention it, is that we’re tackling well right now. That’s the key to eliminating big plays. We have to make sure we keep doing that, and if we do, then we’ll be okay. We’re made for to face this kind of offense, and hopefully, our kids will be up for the test. It’s going to be a tough one, but we have to stand up and go fight them.


On being able to run down plays on defense

The other day I called a blitz coming from the boundary, coming from the SPUR. (Redshirt senior safety) Dravon (Askew-Henry) blitzed, dove, missed the quarterback, let his man run free, took out our corner on the blitz and our d-line chased the quarterback out of bounds and threw it away. So yes, it’s they’re able to do that.


On if he’s happy with the defense’s ability to run down plays

Yeah, and I’ve said this before, this is the fastest defense that I have coached. Anywhere I have ever been, there’s top-line speed for all those guys. We have d-linemen that can run. (Senior defensive lineman Ezekiel) Zeke (Rose) can run as well as our linebackers. (Redshirt senior defensive lineman) Jabril (Robinson) can move well. (Redshirt senior defensive lineman Kenny) Bigelow (Jr.) in a small space is very quick. (Junior defensive lineman) Reese (Donahue) just strains. Our linebackers can all run. Our DBs (defensive backs) are pretty fast. All 11 guys are as fast as I’ve been around.


On sophomore Darius Stills’ display of speed against Kansas State

He was moving. I would have like to have seen that collision, but he was huffing and puffing when he came to the sideline. He said, ‘Coach, I thought I had him.’ I told him that I did too, but it was good to see. That’s where I think you see us playing with so much more effort and guys straining. It all goes back to that they care. They care about this program.


On how the defense can lessen their frustrations when playing Texas Tech

I won’t put it in those words, but what I’ll tell them is, ‘Look, they’re going to get some plays and we have to buckle down at some point.’ The key to stopping these kinds of offenses is you have to be good on first down, because if you’re good on first down, then the first thing they’re going to do is slow down. They don’t want to go three-and-out that quick. We have to have success on first down. Then, we have to get lined up to all their adjustments – their FSLs, their unbalance, their empty sets and different things like that. If we can do that, when we’ve had success against them, we were able to do those kinds of things. Two years ago, that was the key – we were really good on first down.


Assistant Coach (Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks) Jake Spavital


On the importance of ball security against Texas Tech

That’s a big emphasis, especially this week. Coming off our past performance of having four turnovers, that was the message to the team Sunday night. When you get further into conference play and you get into tighter games, those turnovers are going to be very important to our success, not just as an offense but as a win-loss record as well. It’s an emphasis where we’re going to add extra ball security periods this week and just make sure we’re covering all the bases, because this is a team that takes a lot of pride in the extracurricular in terms of stripping the ball out. We just have to be on point with that. We have to take care of the football.


On Texas Tech’s defense

I think they’re playing at an extremely hard level. They’re playing with great energy. They have great enthusiasm out there. It looks like they love playing the game, and when you play with that enthusiasm and that effort, you’re going to naturally cause turnovers. I thought, at the beginning of the game versus Oklahoma State, they were in a tight battle, and they just kept consistently playing with great effort throughout the course of the game. It got to the point where I just thought they wanted it more than Oklahoma State. It is an aggressive defense. They play a lot of man (coverage). There’s going to be added hats in the run fit, and it’s going to be a team who makes you earn everything you do. If you come out there and you’re not accurate with the football and you’re not accurate in one-on-one battles and you’re not, at least, matching what they’re doing, it can be a long night for any offense that plays against them.


On Texas Tech’s defensive line

They play a lot of different bodies – they do. I think they do a really good job in terms of keeping those guys fresh. If you look at the Houston game or the Oklahoma State game, they played a lot of players, and also in the Ole Miss game. They’re playing a lot of snaps, and they do a good job with keeping fresh bodies. But you can tell with (Broderick) Washington out there, he’s going to get everybody lined up. They’ve got a lot of bodies across the board. They kind of remind us of how we are on offense. Even their backup guys started a couple games last year. They’re just a very experienced group. They play a lot of different guys, but we’re expecting their best game, and we’re expecting a lot of different people out there playing against us.


On getting ball carriers into the second level against Texas Tech

There’s going to be a lot of one-on-one battles, talking with our running back coach. As a coordinator, you’re trying to get into the perfect play call and try to get in a successful run scheme. He looked at me and said, ‘At some point, we have to make a guy miss.’ We have to be on point, because they make it hard. They make us earn everything that we have to throw out there. Those running backs are going to be in for a challenge, because there’s a free hitter in a lot of the run game. That’s what they did to Oklahoma State. They took away their run game, which Justice Hill is a phenomenal running back. They took away the run game and forced the quarterback and the skill (positions) to be accurate with the ball. I think they won that battle.


On if redshirt senior quarterback Will Grier and his freedom to check plays at the line of scrimmage

I thought Davis Webb at Cal was like that. Again, they’re coaches’ kids and guys that had a unique senior year. Being around the facility for the entire day, that helps out a lot to when these kids have online classes. In Will’s case, he finished up his degree and he’s working on another one. When you have all that time when you’re around the building, you’re going to give that guy a little bit more freedom. But if it’s a freshman or a sophomore that’s hitting those 15 hours a semester, and they’re not around as much, I’d probably hold off on that. From Will’s standpoint, we give him a lot of freedom. He can do whatever. The greatest example of that is the two plays to (junior wide receiver) Marcus (Simms) where he had 92 yards receiving on that drive. That was all Will and his checks. We had discussed that throughout the course of the game. We didn’t expect to get to that that early, but with him being around and the discussions that we had, he was ready for it, and he exposed them when he could.


On how many plays redshirt senior quarterback Will Grier has checked off this year

That’s a good question. I’d have to go through and look at that. Now, I’m pretty curious about that as well. We do look at that, and we have the initial play call and what the check is. Tennessee wasn’t as much, but he had a few. He had a lot in the Kansas State game. It was probably very minimal against Youngstown (State). It just depends on what they’re trying to do to you. If you start getting into that cat and mouse game of expecting what they’re trying to give you, then there’s probably going to be a lot more checks than usual. This is a team that is going to play. They’re going to get after you, they’re going to blitz you, play man (coverage) and they’re going to drop eight, at times. So, it’s a good mixture. I think it’s going to be a good game for Will in terms of having him understand what they’re trying to do to him.


On if he or head coach Dana Holgorsen what play redshirt senior quarterback Will Grier checks in to at the line of scrimmage

Sometimes. I have a pretty good feel for what he’s doing, because of all the conversations we’ve had through the course of the week. The two plays to (junior wide receiver) Marcus (Simms) for example, I knew exactly what he was going to. I just was surprised that he got the same look back-to-back, then he got to the second call, which was a double move, that Marcus scored on. That’s just part of the conversations we’ve had. We go through a lot of discussions in terms of what checks we like in a certain look. We practice that throughout the course of the week. So, we have a general idea for what he’s trying to accomplish. He did get baited a couple of times against Kansas State. One of the sacks that happened, there was a protection issue that he got baited on, which that’s going to happen when you give a quarterback that much freedom. That’s just what you have to live, because the majority of the time, Will gets those kids in the right spot.


On how pre-snap checks have expanded in recent years for quarterbacks

A lot; just because defenses now know how to play spread offenses. I think that’s just natural. It’s hard because, as a coordinator, you can’t call perfect plays all the time. You have to get that quarterback on the same wavelength as you to make sure that you’re getting them in the proper call, because the way teams are playing us now, it’s so multiple. The way it used to be back in the day where you’d just get a quarters look, especially against Kansas State. You’d get quarters the whole game. Regardless of what you’re doing, you could take the same RPO every time, and they’d never take it away. Now, you do something in the middle of the game and they adjust immediately during that drive. So, if you get back to that same call and they make that adjustment, you have to make sure the kids understand where they’re going and what their next progression in the check is. When I was with Dana (Holgorsen) in 2011-12 with Geno (Smith), when we’d call a run, it was a run to the right and we’d have an RPO to the left. Then, it started evolving to where you’d have RPOs to the right and to the left. Then, you got into the point where you got into protection checks. So, it’s kind of evolved as defenses have evolved to stop us.


Redshirt Senior Safety Dravon Askew-Henry


On sharing his past experiences of Texas Tech with teammates

I just feel like if we get lined up every play, everyone knows their job and what they’re supposed to do that play, I feel like we will be in good hands. They move fast so it’s going to be key to get lined up quickly.


On what the defense sees as the biggest area of work to prepare for Texas Tech

When we have gotten up by 20 points, I have seen that we start to play lackadaisical. We need to start having that same chip come into the second half every play. I feel that if we do that going into next week, then we’ll be all good.


On Texas Tech freshman quarterback Alan Bowman’s quick throw strategy

I feel like if we’re lined up and everyone is doing their job in the right place we will eliminate a lot of big plays from them.


On what he sees as Texas Tech’s strength

They move fast, they get a lot of first downs. I feel like if we win on first down that will be the key for us.


Senior Defensive Lineman Ezekiel Rose


On the defense’s level of preparedness for Texas Tech’s offense

I feel like we are as ready as we can be right now. Moving forward in the future, I feel like we will become more prepared for what’s going on and what’s going to happen. As of right now, we’re watching film. So, we know some of the checks and some of the routes, and we’re going to see what happens.


On how the defense can stop Texas Tech’s up-tempo offense

That’s one of our major areas of emphasis when we’re at practice – win first down, win this play every time you get on the field. If you win first down, there is a greater chance that’ll you win the whole series.


On what Texas Tech does well

I feel like their passing game is really good, but their running backs are not to be slept on. I feel like their running backs are really good and very versatile. They just have some really good receivers. So, I feel like we’re just going to have to step our game up a bit more.


Redshirt Senior Quarterback Will Grier


On his comfortability with checking plays

Absolutely, it comes from spending time with those guys, and there’s a certain level of trust that comes with what we’ve built and mental reps on the practice field. I think they have a lot of trust in me that goes both ways through our discussions and the way they give me that freedom.


On how he and senior wide receiver David Sills V developed their own form of communication

Over time in practice through reps. We are able to communicate very subtly to each other. It grows, it’s a living thing – this silent communication. It goes both ways and it’s something, through practice, we can almost look at each other and know what we want.


On what he expects to see from Texas Tech’s defense

They play really hard. They get after it. They have some really talented players. They were good last year; and having a lot of those guys back, they have experience, they have leadership. They are a very inspired team. Their scheme is good, they have good coaches. This is going to be a competitive battle. I expect them to do a lot of different things. I expect them to use their experience and get in to different coverages, blitzes – just jump in and out of things. I think they have the ability to do that. They are very used to going against (Texas Tech head coach) Kliff (Kingsbury) and their offense in practice. There is not a whole lot they probably haven’t seen through what they go against in practice. So, we are going to have to execute and make tough plays. That’s the name of the game is making good decisions, and this is going to be a very competitive game. They are a good team.


Junior Running Back Kennedy McKoy


On the run game against Kansas State

We had a little trouble during the first half running the ball inside because of their scheme and how they were putting things together. We made some adjustments in the locker room at halftime. The way we could exploit their defense was to get around the outside, instead of running in between the tackles. So, we set it up by running a little outside first and then coming back to the inside later in the game.


On one-on-one matchups against Texas Tech

We took a look at (Texas) Tech yesterday, and I’ve been watching a little bit of film. The looks they get in on defense, especially with what they do with their linebackers, it puts people in one-on-one situations. If you get through there and make the safety miss, you might see a lot of people running through there.


On how to make defenders miss tackles and gain extra yardage

When Coach Black (assistant coach/running backs Marquel Blackwell) got here, he really focused on all of us running with better pad height. Instead of being so tall and upright while going through contact, you lower your pads and lower your surface area and you’ll be able to bounce off some of the hits that come from the side and things like that.
 
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest posts

ADVERTISEMENT