West Virginia defensive coordinator Zac Alley has some characteristics that he prefers to see out of his players on that side of the football.
The physical ones are basic, such as being long, fast and of course tough.
“That usually works out pretty well, no matter where you play them,” he said. “Big guys usually beat up little guys and fast guys usually out run slow guys.”
But there’s more to it than just what players bring in that aspect and he goes back to a quote by Michael Jordan to describe its importance when searching for potential fits.
“Talent wins games. Talent plus intelligence wins championships,” he said.
That means identifying those players that not only can but want to learn football. Obviously already having an understanding of things is a plus as well as the game often moves slower for them when they’re equipped with depth and knowledge about what is required of them.
Some players just have that naturally or have been coached into them at their previous destinations. But it’s different for every situation as a high school kid coming into a program is going to be dealing more with the adjustment than an incoming transfer or returning player that has plenty of experience.
“We’re always trying to evaluate that kind of intelligence level of anybody we find,” he said.
But Alley doesn’t shy away from the fact that it’s his job to mesh the two qualities. But that starts with a strong baseline of those physical qualities that can be developed on the mental side as well.
“Our job is to find our best players with the physical attributes and teach them the game or help them find a way to perform at an elite level intelligently as well,” he said.
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