--West Virginia head coach Neal Brown said that they are finishing up their seventh week of winter workouts. They are with Mike Joseph and the strength conditioning staff working on speed, agility and quickness. He really thinks that Mike Joseph is the best in the business and was really impressed with what he did during those first four weeks with the coaches on the road. Now into the second phase of this process they lift on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and Tuesday and Thursday do team workouts. They had one of those workouts today and will go next week through Thursday and then will have spring break and come back and start March 22.
--First true off-season they’ve had since 2019. Last year they only had one and a half of these workouts because they had a COVID-19 outbreak. One thing that really stuck out to him is when you miss a certain part of your offseason you can’t get it back.
--Really excited about this team and this is the most competitive group that they’ve had. Competitiveness is at an all-time high and they’re embracing hard work. The stuff right now isn’t their favorite thing to do but it’s necessary and they are embracing the hard work. It’s the lowest amount of complaining that they’ve had since he’s been here.
--Anytime you play as bad as they did in the bowl game it was a crisis. They made some significant steps by hiring the best available offensive coordinator. Excited about what Graham Harrell is doing and they brought in a former NFL wide receiver in Tony Washington to help.
--They need to transform their roster. It’s not just on the field but in the locker room as well. They have 62 guys on scholarship that’s what’s in this building and hope to add one or two over the next week or so. That’s 74 with the guys that have signed and you can add seven more. They’ll have some attrition between now and spring but they expect them to be around 80 by the time they enter fall camp. They’re going to be really close to where everybody else is at.
--Offensively they have to install a new offense and be more consistent. They have to get better. The thought process on the quarterbacks going in is get three guys getting reps. Why didn’t they go get a transfer quarterback? They wouldn’t have gotten a really good evaluation on the young guys. They have three guys here to show what they have. If that’s not the case they will go find a guy. It’s important to let them have the ability to compete.
--Running back room, he’s excited about them and what Lyn-J Dixon can do. Justin Johnson was one of the bright spots of the bowl game and Jaylen Anderson has changed his body. At tight end, Brian Polendey has been used as a blocker and can do some other things and the young guys will get a chance.
--Ja’Quay Hubbard and Jordan White have had fantastic off-seasons and they are going to put Wyatt Milum at left tackle and Brandon Yates will be at right tackle. At wide receiver, you wanted to have 10-12 guys in the past but what’s become abundantly clear to them is you can’t keep that many happy anymore. The roster numbers have thinned out but they have quality players. Sam James and Bryce Ford-Wheaton can make a significant step and Reese Smith was underutilized. Kaden Prather can be a special player.
--Mike O’Laughlin is out for the spring but is on track to be back in the fall.
--On defense they have to get better fundamentally and situationally. They have to get better in situations on that side of the ball and emphasize those two-minute and four-minute situations. They’re going to be younger on defense but this is the most athletic group they have. Coaches are the worst about getting hung up on experience, but he wants to take talent over experience. They have the most speed and athleticism that they’ve had and they’re versatile.
--Akheem Mesidor will be out for the spring after an upper body injury but will be full go for the summer. Dante Stills will go through spring but won’t have a lot of contact. The guys he wants to see are Sean Martin will be at three and five technique and the other guys that are ready to make significant movements are Jordan Jefferson, Hammond Russell, Taurus Simmons, Jalen Thornton and Zeiqui Lawton. He is excited to see what they can do. Eddie Vesterinen will also miss the spring but be back in the summer. Jared Bartlett and Lanell Carr are in a battle at BANDIT. Exree Loe will miss the spring due to his injury, but Lance Dixon is going to get a majority of those snaps at WILL. Lee Kpogba has come and really established himself since he arrived at MIKE. He’s one of the best teammates. Ja’Corey Hammett also will also play MIKE and they’ll add another there.
--Charles Woods will play corner, while Saint McLeod is at spear. Marcis Floyd will play corner and is very similar in style to Charles Woods. They really believe in the upper trajectory guys like how Woods was an FCS all-American and it translated. They expect the same with Floyd. Nicktroy Fortune is getting back in the flow but they expect him to get back up to speed. They have a lot of hope for Andrew Wilson-Lamp.
--Hershey McLaurin and Aubrey Burks at free, while Davis Mallinger and Caleb Coleman at cat.
--Get the plays installed and they will be a little slower on offense. Less situational stuff and more getting reps with the plays the fundamental aspect.
--The COVID-19 deal affected 30 guys last February and they just went to those really small workout groups. But you don’t get that time back. There’s a pattern to go through the season and when you miss a significant piece of that.
--Harrell has full control of the offense. What he has done is evaluate what they did here and some of that is he’s going to give a new wrinkle to it and he’s going to look at what they were doing well and hold onto those and install what they’ve done in the past.
--Allocations one on special teams for scholarship have to get better at kicking the ball off. Starting field position was one of the worst. Defensively they wanted to add a linebacker and will be best available, do some things from a personnel perspective. Add at least one or two pieces in the secondary. Going through the winter and they want to see them play live football. Go through the spring and let’s see.
--West Virginia has to make roster management where it is truly manageable. They have to get into windows. It’s free agency and what other sport do you have where that is year-round. It has to be into windows where it is open and closed. Two periods month of December and January, post-season so you don’t have guys leaving during the season and you can use numbers accordingly and then go it again through mid-April through the month of May to fill holes and take visits if you’re an athlete. It’s really hard in the current model that you have to keep the roster together.
--You have to do your best assuming when it comes to the roster. You have potential flight risks for a lot of different reasons. Maybe something going on at home, or somebody doesn’t win a starting spot. The ones that are really hard are the ones that have come out of left field. He gets an email from compliance saying somebody went into the transfer portal. These aren’t blindsided deals and they have been able to anticipate and handle it. I don’t think it serves anybody to talk about guys that have left. The attitude they’ve taken is create a great environment and people are excited.
--Redshirting is going to become less and less. They were able to do some with some secondary guys last year. Going back and looking at it for the class coming in and moving forward they’re going to be intentional on playing skills and more to show they’re not ready.
--Ones that stick out the most Brown is excited to see Nicco Marchiol and how quick the game takes to slow down. He’s excited to see what Zeiqui Lawton will do and on defense Lee Kpogba. He went to Syracuse and it didn’t work out and he got humbled and he’s never had a bad day.
--Rosters in general aren’t what they used to be. Brown doesn’t think rule changes affect the game when it comes to limiting contact in practices.
--The three quarterbacks are alpha mentalities. Regardless of what group they’re around you want those guys that are the face of the program to stick out. He’s excited to see how they will progress.
--When it comes to a portal quarterback they will approach that when they get there. It has to be somebody that is an older guy with experience but they aren’t going to focus on that right now.
--Tony Washington will take over in South Florida and North Carolina in recruiting, ShaDon Brown will work South Carolina and Graham Harrell will major in quarterbacks.
--First true off-season they’ve had since 2019. Last year they only had one and a half of these workouts because they had a COVID-19 outbreak. One thing that really stuck out to him is when you miss a certain part of your offseason you can’t get it back.
--Really excited about this team and this is the most competitive group that they’ve had. Competitiveness is at an all-time high and they’re embracing hard work. The stuff right now isn’t their favorite thing to do but it’s necessary and they are embracing the hard work. It’s the lowest amount of complaining that they’ve had since he’s been here.
--Anytime you play as bad as they did in the bowl game it was a crisis. They made some significant steps by hiring the best available offensive coordinator. Excited about what Graham Harrell is doing and they brought in a former NFL wide receiver in Tony Washington to help.
--They need to transform their roster. It’s not just on the field but in the locker room as well. They have 62 guys on scholarship that’s what’s in this building and hope to add one or two over the next week or so. That’s 74 with the guys that have signed and you can add seven more. They’ll have some attrition between now and spring but they expect them to be around 80 by the time they enter fall camp. They’re going to be really close to where everybody else is at.
--Offensively they have to install a new offense and be more consistent. They have to get better. The thought process on the quarterbacks going in is get three guys getting reps. Why didn’t they go get a transfer quarterback? They wouldn’t have gotten a really good evaluation on the young guys. They have three guys here to show what they have. If that’s not the case they will go find a guy. It’s important to let them have the ability to compete.
--Running back room, he’s excited about them and what Lyn-J Dixon can do. Justin Johnson was one of the bright spots of the bowl game and Jaylen Anderson has changed his body. At tight end, Brian Polendey has been used as a blocker and can do some other things and the young guys will get a chance.
--Ja’Quay Hubbard and Jordan White have had fantastic off-seasons and they are going to put Wyatt Milum at left tackle and Brandon Yates will be at right tackle. At wide receiver, you wanted to have 10-12 guys in the past but what’s become abundantly clear to them is you can’t keep that many happy anymore. The roster numbers have thinned out but they have quality players. Sam James and Bryce Ford-Wheaton can make a significant step and Reese Smith was underutilized. Kaden Prather can be a special player.
--Mike O’Laughlin is out for the spring but is on track to be back in the fall.
--On defense they have to get better fundamentally and situationally. They have to get better in situations on that side of the ball and emphasize those two-minute and four-minute situations. They’re going to be younger on defense but this is the most athletic group they have. Coaches are the worst about getting hung up on experience, but he wants to take talent over experience. They have the most speed and athleticism that they’ve had and they’re versatile.
--Akheem Mesidor will be out for the spring after an upper body injury but will be full go for the summer. Dante Stills will go through spring but won’t have a lot of contact. The guys he wants to see are Sean Martin will be at three and five technique and the other guys that are ready to make significant movements are Jordan Jefferson, Hammond Russell, Taurus Simmons, Jalen Thornton and Zeiqui Lawton. He is excited to see what they can do. Eddie Vesterinen will also miss the spring but be back in the summer. Jared Bartlett and Lanell Carr are in a battle at BANDIT. Exree Loe will miss the spring due to his injury, but Lance Dixon is going to get a majority of those snaps at WILL. Lee Kpogba has come and really established himself since he arrived at MIKE. He’s one of the best teammates. Ja’Corey Hammett also will also play MIKE and they’ll add another there.
--Charles Woods will play corner, while Saint McLeod is at spear. Marcis Floyd will play corner and is very similar in style to Charles Woods. They really believe in the upper trajectory guys like how Woods was an FCS all-American and it translated. They expect the same with Floyd. Nicktroy Fortune is getting back in the flow but they expect him to get back up to speed. They have a lot of hope for Andrew Wilson-Lamp.
--Hershey McLaurin and Aubrey Burks at free, while Davis Mallinger and Caleb Coleman at cat.
--Get the plays installed and they will be a little slower on offense. Less situational stuff and more getting reps with the plays the fundamental aspect.
--The COVID-19 deal affected 30 guys last February and they just went to those really small workout groups. But you don’t get that time back. There’s a pattern to go through the season and when you miss a significant piece of that.
--Harrell has full control of the offense. What he has done is evaluate what they did here and some of that is he’s going to give a new wrinkle to it and he’s going to look at what they were doing well and hold onto those and install what they’ve done in the past.
--Allocations one on special teams for scholarship have to get better at kicking the ball off. Starting field position was one of the worst. Defensively they wanted to add a linebacker and will be best available, do some things from a personnel perspective. Add at least one or two pieces in the secondary. Going through the winter and they want to see them play live football. Go through the spring and let’s see.
--West Virginia has to make roster management where it is truly manageable. They have to get into windows. It’s free agency and what other sport do you have where that is year-round. It has to be into windows where it is open and closed. Two periods month of December and January, post-season so you don’t have guys leaving during the season and you can use numbers accordingly and then go it again through mid-April through the month of May to fill holes and take visits if you’re an athlete. It’s really hard in the current model that you have to keep the roster together.
--You have to do your best assuming when it comes to the roster. You have potential flight risks for a lot of different reasons. Maybe something going on at home, or somebody doesn’t win a starting spot. The ones that are really hard are the ones that have come out of left field. He gets an email from compliance saying somebody went into the transfer portal. These aren’t blindsided deals and they have been able to anticipate and handle it. I don’t think it serves anybody to talk about guys that have left. The attitude they’ve taken is create a great environment and people are excited.
--Redshirting is going to become less and less. They were able to do some with some secondary guys last year. Going back and looking at it for the class coming in and moving forward they’re going to be intentional on playing skills and more to show they’re not ready.
--Ones that stick out the most Brown is excited to see Nicco Marchiol and how quick the game takes to slow down. He’s excited to see what Zeiqui Lawton will do and on defense Lee Kpogba. He went to Syracuse and it didn’t work out and he got humbled and he’s never had a bad day.
--Rosters in general aren’t what they used to be. Brown doesn’t think rule changes affect the game when it comes to limiting contact in practices.
--The three quarterbacks are alpha mentalities. Regardless of what group they’re around you want those guys that are the face of the program to stick out. He’s excited to see how they will progress.
--When it comes to a portal quarterback they will approach that when they get there. It has to be somebody that is an older guy with experience but they aren’t going to focus on that right now.
--Tony Washington will take over in South Florida and North Carolina in recruiting, ShaDon Brown will work South Carolina and Graham Harrell will major in quarterbacks.
