--West Virginia head coach Neal Brown said that they're on a little bit of a different schedule and had their last scrimmage on Thursday night and met on Friday. They are entering a mock game week and will get into Pittsburgh as they go. They will really get into Pittsburgh prep on Friday and a mock game on Thursday. They're going to work Pitt this week, but real in-depth will be Friday.
--A lot of special teams work in the scrimmage. Thought they were a little further ahead from a special team's standpoint. He likes where they are at, Austin Brinkman has done a good job snapping and from a returner's standpoint they are comfortable. Parker Grothaus has been a huge addition on kickoffs. Justin Johnson, Tony Mathis and CJ Donaldson all had good snaps. They are confident Mike O'Laughlin will be ready for week one but he didn't go with team. Offensive line they are moving guys around and made some plays downfield at wide out. Reese Smith has had a very solid fall camp and he has really made a move and Cortez Braham has been impressive. Defensively, they wanted to get a lot of guys that hadn't played a lot of snaps and Exree Loe played well. Sean Martin has continued to have a nice camp and Mike Lockhart probably had his best day on Thursday. All three of the transfers had nice scrimmages in the secondary and all of them are going to play a lot in the game. Lance Dixon and Marcis Floyd have had good camps and he likes the way they run athletically.
--Brown said that he isn't going to announce anything on quarterback yet but will before the game. They are not to that point yet although he feels good about the present and the future.
--Brown said they know who they're going to play at certain spots and they feel good about the depth on offensive line. They're going to play seven guys up front and will let the battle go until game week to determine who will go out first. Justin Johnson and Tony Mathis have been the most consistent at running back. At receiver, they know who has been consistent but want to see the new guys. They want to see who will be the first group in the secondary and they're going to let those battles play out.
--Nicco Marchiol has shown a lot of progression from the spring to fall camp. A lot of freshmen haven't got a lot of game like reps but he's gotten a bunch. The game is slowing down for him and he had a really nice scrimmage. Garrett Greene has matured but needs to continue to work on his ball security. JT Daniels is experienced and very mature, he is intelligent and his timing has improved. Summer workouts are different but he's had 14-15 practices to get his timing down and you can see the improvement. Goose Crowder has been steady and throws a very catchable ball.
--Trying to get some young guys ready for those specialty roles in the six defensive back packages. This is a big week for Andrew Wilson-Lamp.
--Playing time in general is about trust and you want consistency in performance. Can this guy make a big play? You have to be able to project a little bit and be prepared to play more guys early on in the year to get them experience down the road.
--They have a really good idea on what it will look like at quarterback.
--It makes it more difficult when you open up against a really good opponent. It's going to be a really big environment. You try to create as much pressure as you can to see if the guys on the fence are ready or not to perform.
--The good thing about it is you go back to the Oklahoma game with Garrett Greene and Nicco Marchiol's game with Bishop Gorman was a highly watched high school game.
--CJ Donaldson has proven he is ready to go, Asani Redwood is a freshman that has a lot of ability. He is going to make a lot of plays here and in the future. Jacolby Spells, Raleigh Collins will make an impact on special teams and those guys are the main ones that could play this year.
--That's a battle between Kolton McGhee and Oliver Straw and that might play out through their last full speed practice.
--Donaldson has gotten more live action that the other running backs and he has more carries against the first team defense. They have a good idea of how he's handled that and he played at a really good high school program. He's proven himself in practice but they want to grow his role as he goes through. He's going to play but not sure how he'll be featured.
--Hammond Russell is progressing and he's a really good heavy handed guy that does a good job playing double teams. He'll be in the rotation.
--Justin Johnson is stronger and has added strength. He is a guy that going back into the winter that was competitive. He has taken advantage and gotten faster. They liked him in high school and sometimes it takes a little bit longer. He's a guy that will get some carries and be ready to play and will surprise some people.
--You have to study what they did last year and most coaches have a good feel for that. Pull from a lot of areas to get a good feel but you're always going to be guessing game one.
--They're going to play seven offensive linemen in week one. They've gotten a bunch of reps with guys at all different spots including Jordan White.
--A lot of special teams work in the scrimmage. Thought they were a little further ahead from a special team's standpoint. He likes where they are at, Austin Brinkman has done a good job snapping and from a returner's standpoint they are comfortable. Parker Grothaus has been a huge addition on kickoffs. Justin Johnson, Tony Mathis and CJ Donaldson all had good snaps. They are confident Mike O'Laughlin will be ready for week one but he didn't go with team. Offensive line they are moving guys around and made some plays downfield at wide out. Reese Smith has had a very solid fall camp and he has really made a move and Cortez Braham has been impressive. Defensively, they wanted to get a lot of guys that hadn't played a lot of snaps and Exree Loe played well. Sean Martin has continued to have a nice camp and Mike Lockhart probably had his best day on Thursday. All three of the transfers had nice scrimmages in the secondary and all of them are going to play a lot in the game. Lance Dixon and Marcis Floyd have had good camps and he likes the way they run athletically.
--Brown said that he isn't going to announce anything on quarterback yet but will before the game. They are not to that point yet although he feels good about the present and the future.
--Brown said they know who they're going to play at certain spots and they feel good about the depth on offensive line. They're going to play seven guys up front and will let the battle go until game week to determine who will go out first. Justin Johnson and Tony Mathis have been the most consistent at running back. At receiver, they know who has been consistent but want to see the new guys. They want to see who will be the first group in the secondary and they're going to let those battles play out.
--Nicco Marchiol has shown a lot of progression from the spring to fall camp. A lot of freshmen haven't got a lot of game like reps but he's gotten a bunch. The game is slowing down for him and he had a really nice scrimmage. Garrett Greene has matured but needs to continue to work on his ball security. JT Daniels is experienced and very mature, he is intelligent and his timing has improved. Summer workouts are different but he's had 14-15 practices to get his timing down and you can see the improvement. Goose Crowder has been steady and throws a very catchable ball.
--Trying to get some young guys ready for those specialty roles in the six defensive back packages. This is a big week for Andrew Wilson-Lamp.
--Playing time in general is about trust and you want consistency in performance. Can this guy make a big play? You have to be able to project a little bit and be prepared to play more guys early on in the year to get them experience down the road.
--They have a really good idea on what it will look like at quarterback.
--It makes it more difficult when you open up against a really good opponent. It's going to be a really big environment. You try to create as much pressure as you can to see if the guys on the fence are ready or not to perform.
--The good thing about it is you go back to the Oklahoma game with Garrett Greene and Nicco Marchiol's game with Bishop Gorman was a highly watched high school game.
--CJ Donaldson has proven he is ready to go, Asani Redwood is a freshman that has a lot of ability. He is going to make a lot of plays here and in the future. Jacolby Spells, Raleigh Collins will make an impact on special teams and those guys are the main ones that could play this year.
--That's a battle between Kolton McGhee and Oliver Straw and that might play out through their last full speed practice.
--Donaldson has gotten more live action that the other running backs and he has more carries against the first team defense. They have a good idea of how he's handled that and he played at a really good high school program. He's proven himself in practice but they want to grow his role as he goes through. He's going to play but not sure how he'll be featured.
--Hammond Russell is progressing and he's a really good heavy handed guy that does a good job playing double teams. He'll be in the rotation.
--Justin Johnson is stronger and has added strength. He is a guy that going back into the winter that was competitive. He has taken advantage and gotten faster. They liked him in high school and sometimes it takes a little bit longer. He's a guy that will get some carries and be ready to play and will surprise some people.
--You have to study what they did last year and most coaches have a good feel for that. Pull from a lot of areas to get a good feel but you're always going to be guessing game one.
--They're going to play seven offensive linemen in week one. They've gotten a bunch of reps with guys at all different spots including Jordan White.
