WVSports.com looks at the weekly press conference from West Virginia head coach Neal Brown and determines the five most interesting topics of discussion.
We examine what was said as well as what it means for the football team both this week and moving ahead as the Mountaineers navigate the 2021 schedule.
Next up is a road trip to TCU with West Virginia at 2-4 and the head coach dove into some key topics not only for this week but the rest of the season.
1—Productive bye week. West Virginia not only was able to get some valuable time recruiting current commitments and top targets in 2022 and 2023 hitting the road for four days during the week but spend some valuable time going good-on-good in practice with the current team for three more days.
West Virginia head coach Neal Brown said his team was mentally exhausted and physically beat up heading into the bye week after being bulldozed at Baylor and it allowed his team to get their feet under them on both fronts. Players seemed refreshed in both aspects and the coaches used the bye week as well to evaluate the current situation and figure out solutions.
That involved self-scouting and seeing what the team has done well and what their capable of doing as well as where they’ve made mistakes at this point of the year. Whether that is schematically, or personnel wise you have to see where you can avoid those miscues. You have to put players in the best position to play to their strengths and looking at what works and what doesn’t work matters. Just because it’s a scheme that you’ve used in the past and feel strong about doesn’t necessarily mean it will work with the current personnel on the roster or can execute it.
You have to find the things that fit to your personnel and the bye week was essential in trying to uncover some of those things moving forward.
2—Freshmen that will continue to play. Now is the time that college coaches are forced to start making decisions on which true freshmen are going to play past the four-game redshirt rule and which ones will sit out the remainder of the year to preserve a season of eligibility. For the Mountaineers, this past week allowed the coaches to get a look at three scrimmages with around 80-plays to see how those young players are developing and which ones could make a run at finishing the year on the field.
In terms of the offensive standouts, quarterback Goose Crowder, offensive lineman Tomas Rimac and some others that won’t be factors this year stood out. And same can be said on defense others like linebacker Caden Biser and some of the other freshmen.
But while those scrimmages were more about the future of the program, those that can play now and will play for the remainder of the year are starting to emerge as well. On the offensive side, wide receiver Kaden Prather, running back Justin Johnson, offensive lineman Wyatt Milum and
On the defensive side, cornerback Andrew Wilson-Lamp and defensive lineman Hammond Russell are two that the coaches still must make calls on but safety Davis Mallinger, safety Saint McLeod, defensive lineman Eddie Vesterinen are those that will see the field.
3—Plan for Greene and the backfield. One thing that’s certain is that redshirt sophomore quarterback Garrett Greene is going to get on the field this weekend, but how much is going to largely be up to him. The Mountaineers have essentially used Greene as the second running back this season rushing for 230 yards and 4 touchdowns while the rest of the backs outside Leddie Brown have combined for only 90 yards and a touchdown. His 6.1 yards per carry is the highest on the team and has proven to be a weapon on that front with the ability to his legs to generate offense.
The problem has been the fact that Greene must do a better job going through his progressions when he is asked to throw the football instead of simply taking off and running. While Brown has encouraged the ability of Greene to free-lance, there is a certain trade off that must occur to be effective. An open 20-yard pass down the field is a more effective play than a 7-yard run and finding that balance to go through the reads and trust the scheme instead of simply taking off is critical especially with how the wide receiver group as a whole has been playing through the first half of the year.
There is an opportunity here for Greene to seize a larger role, but he must continue to show growth in all areas not just simply his ability to run the football.
Behind Greene, freshman Justin Johnson leads the team with 18 rushes, but Tony Mathis had a good week during the bye and has put himself in position to challenge for that post. That is expected to be decided this week in practice leading up to the game.
4—The situation at spear. Arizona transfer Scottie Young started the first five games of the season for West Virginia prior to not making the trip for the Baylor game due to an injury. That opened the door for defensive back Jackie Matthews to fill the role and he did just that playing 56 snaps and finishing with 6 tackles and one of the highest grades on the entire defense according to PFF.
Brown announced that Matthews will continue to start against TCU and the position is tailormade for his skill set as it allows him to be closer to the ball and also opens the door for West Virginia to play man coverage more. He has been one of the most consistent performers on defense and brings a level of aggression at the position as well as a good blitzer.
But even with all that being said depth is key and Young will be back this week for West Virginia which is a good turn after not playing prior to the bye week.
5—TCU defense creates problems. The Horned Frogs defense has been known for making subtle tweaks over the years on a week-to-week basis in order to take away what the opposing offense does best. The 4-2-5 coverage matching look is multiple and allows the defense to keep the same personnel on the field regardless of what the offense throws at it.
It doesn’t just spread to the pre-game planning either as TCU does an excellent job adjusting even in-game when opposing offenses are able to find some success on certain looks and schemes. That’s in large part because head coach Gary Patterson has been running the scheme so long he knows how to fix certain issues that arise during the course of games.
It’s a copycat profession and West Virginia of course will look at what other teams have had success with but again it must fit into what the Mountaineers can do from a personnel standpoint. Even in a year where the unit has been hit with injuries and inconsistency, it still presents problems.
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