--West Virginia head coach Neal Brown is excited for pro-day and the guys that are working out.
--Day four, the overreaching goals that West Virginia is talking about is establishing the standards for walk throughs and practices. And they want to figure out who they can win with on the roster right now. It’s their opportunity to show that they’re ready to go play against Pittsburgh and the rest of the Big 12 schedule. Then they’ll have 14 practices in the summer for the newcomers to sort it out.
--Brown likes the demeanor of this team and the youth. Austin Brinkman has had a tremendous first three days and he’s gotten stronger, his times are lower than any point last fall. Wyatt Milum at left tackle has impressed, he’s added weight and strength. Zach Frazier continues to play at a high level and he’s easy to forget because he’s so consistent. The other guy that has had a good first week is Jordan White. His fundamentals have vastly improved and they need him to be one of the top seven guys. Bryce Ford-Wheaton had the best practice he’s ever had here Saturday and he’s playing well. Tony Mathis is being patient and getting downhill. He is strong enough to run through tackles and improved lateral agility. Jarel Williams is standing out while being ahead and Brian Polendey is really going to help them with blocking. He is growing as a pass catcher. Lyn-J Dixon had his best practice today and gives the ability to hit the home run. On defense, Jalen Thornton has played well and they need him to come on. Lance Dixon has been more physical and he’s always been one of the fastest guys. Charles Woods is playing like they expect him to play. Naim Muhammad has played well and had practices with back-to-back picks. Aubrey Burks and Davis Mallinger are both starting to come on as well. Mallinger is at spear and Burks is at safety. Mumu Bin-Wahad had two picks today, and Lee Kpogba is impressive, while Marcis Floyd and Zeiqui Lawton are ahead of where he expected them to be.
--West Virginia tries to create pressure situations and make sure they uphold those fundamentals. The scheme, Brown is pleased with how they’re teaching defensively and it’s the first time with Harrell’s scheme and they haven’t had a lot of missed assignments. They just put the ball down and played today for really the first time and their awareness of down and distance has to get better.
--Brown said that this team has to have a sense of urgency. They didn’t do a good enough job on the build up into Maryland and they didn’t play very well. They are being intentional about their buildup into this game. They’ve got to have a sense of urgency.
--Want to see is not repeating the same exact mistakes. Effort can overcome some fundamental errors.
--Kaden Prather had three really good days but took a step back today, he’s on the verge of being a special player. Sam James and Bryce Ford-Wheaton have been consistent, while Reese Smith was off to a good start and got hurt and will be out a week. Preston Fox catches the football.
--Thursday will be the scrimmage for an extended period of time. They’ll do 15-minute periods where they put it down and play and will bring in a full crew of officials.
--Up and down at quarterback. Garrett Greene is the oldest and has been the most consistent without as many highs and lows. Nicco Marchiol had a great day on Thursday, then had a welcome to college football moment on Saturday. Goose Crowder has been the same with the ups and downs.
--Tony Washington has been hungry to learn and Brown likes what he has been in the NFL, has been in numerous winning programs and has developed players. He has proven recruiting wise and there are a lot of positives. He likes what he has seen so far.
--More experimental stuff defensively. They are doing some situational things to grow the package and also anticipating what the personnel will be like in the fall. Even if they don’t have what they need right now, they’re still trying to get some reps. They might not have the 11 bodies they want, but you’re getting quality reps for some of them that are there. Offensively they are trying to install the offense and being intentional about getting the looks they are going to see from the teams they play.
--One of the strengths of the scheme they run defensively is they can mold it around their strengths. At Troy they were fortunate to have players at that spot, but they had four years in a row they had good players at the bandit spot. They’ve played good but they have to make a steady jump. Jared Bartlett and Lanell Carr are making some strides this spring. They want to have more flexibility out of the spear, they want to play more man coverage than they have in the past.
--Ja’Quay Hubbard is getting better, his play strength is better and he has steadily improved. He has gone under a big transformation with his body but he has good ball get off but has to continue to improve. Nick Malone has grown to 300-pounds and he isn’t sure he won’t be a factor.
--When you have an older team those are sometimes the hardest groups to coach because nothing is new to them. When you have youth, they’re eager for everything and want to prove themselves. You want to have a mix between the two that are both mature in their approach and the youth that has great energy. Last year offensively they were pretty young throughout and defensively they were an older group. Now, they have an older offense and a younger defense in the back end and experience up front. It’s fun to coach young guys because you see them progress day-by-day.
--Day four, the overreaching goals that West Virginia is talking about is establishing the standards for walk throughs and practices. And they want to figure out who they can win with on the roster right now. It’s their opportunity to show that they’re ready to go play against Pittsburgh and the rest of the Big 12 schedule. Then they’ll have 14 practices in the summer for the newcomers to sort it out.
--Brown likes the demeanor of this team and the youth. Austin Brinkman has had a tremendous first three days and he’s gotten stronger, his times are lower than any point last fall. Wyatt Milum at left tackle has impressed, he’s added weight and strength. Zach Frazier continues to play at a high level and he’s easy to forget because he’s so consistent. The other guy that has had a good first week is Jordan White. His fundamentals have vastly improved and they need him to be one of the top seven guys. Bryce Ford-Wheaton had the best practice he’s ever had here Saturday and he’s playing well. Tony Mathis is being patient and getting downhill. He is strong enough to run through tackles and improved lateral agility. Jarel Williams is standing out while being ahead and Brian Polendey is really going to help them with blocking. He is growing as a pass catcher. Lyn-J Dixon had his best practice today and gives the ability to hit the home run. On defense, Jalen Thornton has played well and they need him to come on. Lance Dixon has been more physical and he’s always been one of the fastest guys. Charles Woods is playing like they expect him to play. Naim Muhammad has played well and had practices with back-to-back picks. Aubrey Burks and Davis Mallinger are both starting to come on as well. Mallinger is at spear and Burks is at safety. Mumu Bin-Wahad had two picks today, and Lee Kpogba is impressive, while Marcis Floyd and Zeiqui Lawton are ahead of where he expected them to be.
--West Virginia tries to create pressure situations and make sure they uphold those fundamentals. The scheme, Brown is pleased with how they’re teaching defensively and it’s the first time with Harrell’s scheme and they haven’t had a lot of missed assignments. They just put the ball down and played today for really the first time and their awareness of down and distance has to get better.
--Brown said that this team has to have a sense of urgency. They didn’t do a good enough job on the build up into Maryland and they didn’t play very well. They are being intentional about their buildup into this game. They’ve got to have a sense of urgency.
--Want to see is not repeating the same exact mistakes. Effort can overcome some fundamental errors.
--Kaden Prather had three really good days but took a step back today, he’s on the verge of being a special player. Sam James and Bryce Ford-Wheaton have been consistent, while Reese Smith was off to a good start and got hurt and will be out a week. Preston Fox catches the football.
--Thursday will be the scrimmage for an extended period of time. They’ll do 15-minute periods where they put it down and play and will bring in a full crew of officials.
--Up and down at quarterback. Garrett Greene is the oldest and has been the most consistent without as many highs and lows. Nicco Marchiol had a great day on Thursday, then had a welcome to college football moment on Saturday. Goose Crowder has been the same with the ups and downs.
--Tony Washington has been hungry to learn and Brown likes what he has been in the NFL, has been in numerous winning programs and has developed players. He has proven recruiting wise and there are a lot of positives. He likes what he has seen so far.
--More experimental stuff defensively. They are doing some situational things to grow the package and also anticipating what the personnel will be like in the fall. Even if they don’t have what they need right now, they’re still trying to get some reps. They might not have the 11 bodies they want, but you’re getting quality reps for some of them that are there. Offensively they are trying to install the offense and being intentional about getting the looks they are going to see from the teams they play.
--One of the strengths of the scheme they run defensively is they can mold it around their strengths. At Troy they were fortunate to have players at that spot, but they had four years in a row they had good players at the bandit spot. They’ve played good but they have to make a steady jump. Jared Bartlett and Lanell Carr are making some strides this spring. They want to have more flexibility out of the spear, they want to play more man coverage than they have in the past.
--Ja’Quay Hubbard is getting better, his play strength is better and he has steadily improved. He has gone under a big transformation with his body but he has good ball get off but has to continue to improve. Nick Malone has grown to 300-pounds and he isn’t sure he won’t be a factor.
--When you have an older team those are sometimes the hardest groups to coach because nothing is new to them. When you have youth, they’re eager for everything and want to prove themselves. You want to have a mix between the two that are both mature in their approach and the youth that has great energy. Last year offensively they were pretty young throughout and defensively they were an older group. Now, they have an older offense and a younger defense in the back end and experience up front. It’s fun to coach young guys because you see them progress day-by-day.
