Accountability matters and for the West Virginia defense that has been a key component in their turnaround.
After allowing a pair of 300-yard passing performances and struggling on that side of the ball in the first three games, the players held a meeting amongst one another without the coaching staff involved.
There was a sense of urgency from the players on the roster as what unfolded against Pittsburgh with the Mountaineers giving up two touchdowns in the final five minutes to lose that game was still fresh on everybody on the team’s mind.
But before things could translate into games, the Mountaineers wanted to ensure it was happening on the practice field as well so that was a focus of the meeting. The players simply didn’t want to accept what was happening on the field and needed to change things.
“We knew we weren’t playing up to our standard, so we had to come together. No coaches, just players and we had to talk to each other,” safety Jaheem Joseph said. “If we want to do what we want to do and go where we want to go we’ve got to pick up the intensity in practice.”
The leads on the defense spoke during the meeting with players such as Tyrin Bradley, Josiah Trotter and Aubrey Burks taking a lead, but the floor was open for all of them to offer their thoughts.
The purpose of the meeting was for the players to be open and honest with each other, even when it was blunt. The coaches play a key role, but the players realize that it had to come from them as well.
“We’re the guys out there so we’ve got to execute,” Joseph said. “We got to make the plays.”
And the end result was simple as the Mountaineers wanted to change the narrative of their unit.
“We got to treat every day like it’s a game,” Joseph said.
That sense of urgency has led to strong defensive results on the field as West Virginia closed the game with two consecutive stops to complete their own comeback against Kansas, while the Mountaineers held Oklahoma State to just 14 points and 227 total yards.
The accountability aspect is important and while head coach Neal Brown isn’t sure that the meeting is the only catalyst he was encouraged by his team taking ownership of what unfolded. It’s something that he tries to do in his own approach with the team and the trickle down is what you want to see.
“So, when you do make a mistake as a player, you can take ownership of that, and then you hope that you have older guys and better guys that'll hold other people accountable,” Brown said.
Defensive coordinator Jordan Lesley clearly wasn’t involved in the meeting but was encouraged by the fact that his unit was taking the player-led approach that the coaches discussed all off-season. And the more that occurs, the more that the unit can continue to grow together.
“And I think they, nobody wants to more than them. And I think they took it and they've taken it on their own. I think it's definitely helped,” Lesley said.
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