--Cue the Aladdin music, "a whole new world," because that was what today was like being able to walk onto the field and watch the entire West Virginia practice. Every snap that happened today, I watched it and while that won't happen every practice it was still refreshing to see it all unfold in real time. One thing that is noticeably different from the jump is that Neal Brown is very, very involved the entire practice and everything is so structured. He quite literally wears a microphone around and alerts the team when the next period is coming and what each unit will be doing during that period. Today there were 18 periods I believe split between team, individual groups, special teams and various other aspects. His main talking point? Reminding his team to stay off the ground throughout the drills especially those that were team based. There's a lot of coaching going on in the position drills and it was interesting to just listen to Brown instruct his players at various times throughout the session. No pads today, but still it was a unique look at how West Virginia will practice and how the coaches attack it. It was very to the point but players and coaches seemed to be having fun as well throughout the course of the two-hours.
--Some of that fun? At the start the coaches split the teams into offense and defense and the drill involved a single player representing the entire unit running down and going through a pile of pads to find a football and then racing back and taking a knee past the finish line. The defense won that battle 2-1 and the offense did up-downs, while the defense celebrated. It's definitely something geared toward team building and the players really responded to it early.
--I'm not going to say there is any sort of depth chart at this point because there really isn't. Players were moving in and out with different groups and you could honestly tell there is some real trial and error in order to see who is fitting where at various spots on both sides.
--Early snapping the ball was a mix of Chase Behrndt, Briason Mays, Adam Stilley and Kelby Wickline. However, once the team broke off it was typically Behrndt that was getting the first crack there today with Mays playing left guard. He had issues at times with ball placement on his snaps, but I saw him working with Orlosky after during a period. The key to efficiency and good ball placement with snaps is repetition. One thing that Moore does like about Behrndt is that when he messes up, he’ll do it confidently. It's way too early to look at any of this as a depth chart or who is first or second team but those are the four snapping right now, although they could all play other spots if needed. That number of four is exactly that Moore said he wanted.
--West Virginia broke the wide receivers into two groups at the start with the outside options going one way and the inside and tight ends going another. As for the wide receiver break down, Isaiah Esdale and Tevin Bush both worked with the inside group during that portion.
--Outside linebackers featured players like JoVanni Stewart, Kwantel Raines, Josh Chandler and Deamonte Lindsay when the groups split off to do work.
--No immediate position changes jumped out at me during the practice as Quondarius Qualls was indeed working with the defensive line as was previously reported but the rest seemed pretty cut and dry although with so many moving bodies at once it could be easy to miss something.
--Quarterback Austin Kendall flashed a strong arm and the ball jumps off his hand quickly when he is throwing it. He was mostly accurate throughout the day but you can tell that he is still sorting out some timing issues, as were the rest of the quarterbacks. Jack Allison also has some nice throws but at times the ball did get away from him, as well as the rest. Trey Lowe was able to make some impressive deep throws and put the ball out there for his wide receivers to get. Overall, it was a solid day from what I observed from that room. The quarterbacks rotated and there was a fourth as well in Trent Jackson. They even broke up each of the quarterbacks with their own small group of wide receivers and running backs running various drills.
--As Brown alluded to the other day, a lot of special teams work mixed in and out throughout the practice. Field goal block, field goal, punting, punt return and more were all a part of it. As for punting itself, West Virginia used several different guys including Evan Staley, Casey Legg and Evan Matthes. The punt returners today were Isaiah Esdale, Marcus Simms, TJ Simmons and Tevin Bush.
--Really felt Simmons made some nice catches and was able to get open at times. Also could feel the presence of Sam James, who flashed his speed on some short catches and definitely looks bigger than he did last year. Catch of the day? Might have been one Leddie Brown snared on a short throw where he skied and got the ball.
--Offensive line worked on picking up twists and stunts in pairs in the early stages of practice and Matt Moore really is big on technique and driving it home. He stopped the drill once to show how what he was saying would play out trying to get one of his offensive linemen to go straight back instead of widening. "See how much easier that was to pickup?" He said.
--Again not a depth chart but a list of players working at each spot on offensive line: offensive tackles: Kelby Wickline, Colton McKivitz, Tyler Thurmond, Junior Uzebu -- Guards: Josh Sills, Briason Mays, Zach Davis, Mike Brown -- Centers: Chase Behrndt, Adam Stilley.
--In the defensive backfield, Josh Norwood had a really impressive almost interception, while also getting his hands on a ball and knocking it to the turf. He was playing with a lot of confidence.
--Just from a physical standpoint newcomers Taijh Alston at defensive end and Dreshun Miller at cornerback definitely pass the eye test.
--For those that have asked, yes Vandarius Cowan was dressed and participating spending all of his reps at the inside linebacker spots during the course of the practice.
--The coaches stayed true to their word regarding performing tackling drills. The staff really emphasized tackling the right way and got on players about bending their knees and not their waist when going for a tackle. Missed tackles are what has hurt West Virginia’s defense over the past few seasons.
--Thought it was interesting that the Defensive backs and linebackers had a period dedicated to the RPO. They went through reads and what to do
--Needless to say, this new coaching staff reiterated their commitment to being detail oriented. The above are examples of that and another I noticed was Jordan Lesley explaining to the field goal block team during the special teams period what to do when the kick is blocked and bounces back towards the line of scrimmage. Of course, the coaches emphasize he fundamentals which was seen in just about every period during practice today.
--Offensive line coach Matt Moore instructed the unit by having them split between the right side and left side players. He and Tyler Orlosky worked with both sides. From what I saw, Moore and Orlosky were emphasizing communication at the line and going through stunt and blitz keys and reads. Centers were identifying where the MLB was located and called out other calls at the line.
--On the recruit side of things, West Virginia hosted a pair in Fairmont (W.Va.) Senior lineman Zach Frazier and Nashville (Tn.) Father Ryan 2021 quarterback DC Tabscott. While Frazier was recruited as a defensive lineman under the old staff, it is becoming increasingly clear that he will be an offensive lineman under this one and really spend the bulk of his day following them around and watching the drills and taking it all in.
--Some of that fun? At the start the coaches split the teams into offense and defense and the drill involved a single player representing the entire unit running down and going through a pile of pads to find a football and then racing back and taking a knee past the finish line. The defense won that battle 2-1 and the offense did up-downs, while the defense celebrated. It's definitely something geared toward team building and the players really responded to it early.
--I'm not going to say there is any sort of depth chart at this point because there really isn't. Players were moving in and out with different groups and you could honestly tell there is some real trial and error in order to see who is fitting where at various spots on both sides.
--Early snapping the ball was a mix of Chase Behrndt, Briason Mays, Adam Stilley and Kelby Wickline. However, once the team broke off it was typically Behrndt that was getting the first crack there today with Mays playing left guard. He had issues at times with ball placement on his snaps, but I saw him working with Orlosky after during a period. The key to efficiency and good ball placement with snaps is repetition. One thing that Moore does like about Behrndt is that when he messes up, he’ll do it confidently. It's way too early to look at any of this as a depth chart or who is first or second team but those are the four snapping right now, although they could all play other spots if needed. That number of four is exactly that Moore said he wanted.
--West Virginia broke the wide receivers into two groups at the start with the outside options going one way and the inside and tight ends going another. As for the wide receiver break down, Isaiah Esdale and Tevin Bush both worked with the inside group during that portion.
--Outside linebackers featured players like JoVanni Stewart, Kwantel Raines, Josh Chandler and Deamonte Lindsay when the groups split off to do work.
--No immediate position changes jumped out at me during the practice as Quondarius Qualls was indeed working with the defensive line as was previously reported but the rest seemed pretty cut and dry although with so many moving bodies at once it could be easy to miss something.
--Quarterback Austin Kendall flashed a strong arm and the ball jumps off his hand quickly when he is throwing it. He was mostly accurate throughout the day but you can tell that he is still sorting out some timing issues, as were the rest of the quarterbacks. Jack Allison also has some nice throws but at times the ball did get away from him, as well as the rest. Trey Lowe was able to make some impressive deep throws and put the ball out there for his wide receivers to get. Overall, it was a solid day from what I observed from that room. The quarterbacks rotated and there was a fourth as well in Trent Jackson. They even broke up each of the quarterbacks with their own small group of wide receivers and running backs running various drills.
--As Brown alluded to the other day, a lot of special teams work mixed in and out throughout the practice. Field goal block, field goal, punting, punt return and more were all a part of it. As for punting itself, West Virginia used several different guys including Evan Staley, Casey Legg and Evan Matthes. The punt returners today were Isaiah Esdale, Marcus Simms, TJ Simmons and Tevin Bush.
--Really felt Simmons made some nice catches and was able to get open at times. Also could feel the presence of Sam James, who flashed his speed on some short catches and definitely looks bigger than he did last year. Catch of the day? Might have been one Leddie Brown snared on a short throw where he skied and got the ball.
--Offensive line worked on picking up twists and stunts in pairs in the early stages of practice and Matt Moore really is big on technique and driving it home. He stopped the drill once to show how what he was saying would play out trying to get one of his offensive linemen to go straight back instead of widening. "See how much easier that was to pickup?" He said.
--Again not a depth chart but a list of players working at each spot on offensive line: offensive tackles: Kelby Wickline, Colton McKivitz, Tyler Thurmond, Junior Uzebu -- Guards: Josh Sills, Briason Mays, Zach Davis, Mike Brown -- Centers: Chase Behrndt, Adam Stilley.
--In the defensive backfield, Josh Norwood had a really impressive almost interception, while also getting his hands on a ball and knocking it to the turf. He was playing with a lot of confidence.
--Just from a physical standpoint newcomers Taijh Alston at defensive end and Dreshun Miller at cornerback definitely pass the eye test.
--For those that have asked, yes Vandarius Cowan was dressed and participating spending all of his reps at the inside linebacker spots during the course of the practice.
--The coaches stayed true to their word regarding performing tackling drills. The staff really emphasized tackling the right way and got on players about bending their knees and not their waist when going for a tackle. Missed tackles are what has hurt West Virginia’s defense over the past few seasons.
--Thought it was interesting that the Defensive backs and linebackers had a period dedicated to the RPO. They went through reads and what to do
--Needless to say, this new coaching staff reiterated their commitment to being detail oriented. The above are examples of that and another I noticed was Jordan Lesley explaining to the field goal block team during the special teams period what to do when the kick is blocked and bounces back towards the line of scrimmage. Of course, the coaches emphasize he fundamentals which was seen in just about every period during practice today.
--Offensive line coach Matt Moore instructed the unit by having them split between the right side and left side players. He and Tyler Orlosky worked with both sides. From what I saw, Moore and Orlosky were emphasizing communication at the line and going through stunt and blitz keys and reads. Centers were identifying where the MLB was located and called out other calls at the line.
--On the recruit side of things, West Virginia hosted a pair in Fairmont (W.Va.) Senior lineman Zach Frazier and Nashville (Tn.) Father Ryan 2021 quarterback DC Tabscott. While Frazier was recruited as a defensive lineman under the old staff, it is becoming increasingly clear that he will be an offensive lineman under this one and really spend the bulk of his day following them around and watching the drills and taking it all in.
