West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez addressed the media following practice four of spring football . WVSports.com provides a summary of what was said.
--Some good things and some bad things. The guys are still learning how to practice the way they want them to.
--If you haven't played a whole lot, the terminology will be new to you and they are teaching a lot. They go at a different pace offensively so the learning curve is not slow. They teach it as fast as they can and hope it sinks in.
--Rodriguez felt that they kicked O.K. but need to put field goal kickers under pressure. They did field goal and punt and got to see them punt and it was O.K.
--There was some good but also some ugliness, too. The rest of the backs have to learn to run with some more authority.
--The defense is eager but not a lot of them have played a whole lot. It's a whole new system and Zac Alley does a lot. Rodriguez didn't feel like they practiced well defensively today.
--The offensive line coach is important because the technique and fundamentals have to be on point. He got to work with Jack Bicknell a year at Mississippi. He played against them when he was a player at Boston College. Derek Dressler has been a huge plus and even though Bicknell knows the system he has been a big help.
--Rodriguez said that the eagerness to learn and the want to on the offensive line is there. There isn't a whole lot of experience so that's a concern but he's seeing a lot of steps to get better. He loves the attitude and the athleticism is O.K. He doesn't know if they have a Zach Frazier in there, but they have some pretty good players up front.
--Rodriguez believes they are more efficient with how they practice. They've tried to get more done in a two-hour practice. Most important time of the day is the time with the players and he doesn't want to waste their time. Rodriguez doesn't like a lot of standing around and they can still get better with that. He would rather move at a faster tempo.
--Mentally the offensive line isn't as tough as one would think but sometimes it's harder because there is not a lot of time to think about it. They don't have a lot of plays. There are different variations of the same play.
--Rodney Gallagher has competition but Rodriguez likes him. They have other guys that have transferred in and they're looking for more there. Wide receiver is one of the thinnest positions so far. If Rodney is playing both ways then they did a crappy job of filling their defensive back roster because they have enough guys.
--Rodriguez didn't feel that they tackled well today. And they gave up some stuff but he didn't know if they gave up stuff because it was busted coverage or bad technique.
--Rodriguez said that he owes it to them to be honest with the 105 roster limits and how they are going to cut players to fit that. They're already over the limit and have guys coming in that are signed and they need to add more in the portal.
--They do drills where the offensive line and defensive line hold each other so they do drills to run things fast and avoid that.
--Rodriguez said it's no different coaching a left or right hand quarterback because in the shotgun there is no backside. It has changed what is front side and back side because you're able to see everything.
--Rodriguez said that it looks pretty coming off a lefty's hand but he doesn't know if it's any different. The quarterbacks are in a good battle and they're rotating them in so much they have six guys practicing and trying to give everybody a fair amount of reps.
--Don Nehlen had a good ability to make everybody on staff feel important. And that's something he took away from him. But they're polar opposite personality wise in how they run practices.
--Rodriguez came as a walk-on and he thought he was going to be a wide receiver, but they moved him to safety. People were quitting in front of him and he got to be second team after his first year and wound up playing. Bill McConnell was his position coach and he learned a lot from him about hard edge and practice habits and more.
--Fairly athletic at the tight end spot. They haven't done a lot of live and he's anxious to see how some of those guys block. He likes the room and they're using so many of them now in a different role that they've got to find four guys. They got to be a big physical guy that can block defensive end and backers but athletic enough to run in space.
--Rodriguez says that they won't announce any quarterback decision until right before the first game. Why would they announce a depth chart or starter? But he hopes to have three guys to win with. He isn't going to force the issue and he wants them all to be good so he can win with them.
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