One of the benefits of what unfolded in the very unordinary time period leading up to the season last year is that West Virginia was able to discover the benefits of split squads.

The style of practice essentially splits the Mountaineers football team into different groups which was a necessity last year due to the restrictions placed on larger numbers with social distancing and other measures.

That way the players can essentially have two different shorter practices but allows them to have more one-on-one reps due to the smaller numbers.

It isn’t going to be the benchmark for what West Virginia does leading into the 2021 season, but it is something that has carried over according to head coach Neal Brown.

“We found out it was real popular,” he said. “…The guys are out there for a shorter amount of time but you get more total reps and our young guys it really helps them because they get more one-on-one coaching and more reps. I think you always learn better by doing rather than watching.”

That method is admittedly harder on the coaches, but is better for the players in their overall development. It's harder because coaches essentially run the same practice with the same plays on two different ends of the field, but a coaching then has to go back and watch then cutup tape to see how each of the players in his unit performed.

"It's a challenge but it's the right challenge. It's harder on us than it is on them," offensive coordinator Gerad Parker said.

It's challenging, but something that has led to positive results.

That was apparent last year when Brown and the rest of the coaches uncovered some things that without the use of split squads they like would have overlooked.

“We found some guys that really helped us at the year went on in special teams and we wouldn’t have recognized that because they would have been on scout team early on in camp,” he said. “But because we were in split squad they got live reps and were very proficient in the drills.”

And because this year won’t be a free season as it was for student athletes during last year, it also could serve another major bonus when it comes to preparing freshman. Not only for possible roles, but in determining how to use their four-game redshirt windows.

Because each player is afforded the ability to play in up to four games it means that they can log quality reps now to have them ready if they’re needed for those games down the line.

“So, now when we have to use them in their four games they’re more prepared to do that,” he said.

There’s a lot of things that were different last season, but the split squad approach seems to at least be one positive that has emerged from the challenges of that campaign.

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