West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez felt that his team got some work done on the fifth day of spring practice, although there still remains quite a bit left to accomplish.
Due to the colder temperatures the Mountaineers moved back inside in the indoor facility, but it’s going to be a process when it comes to learning the schemes and techniques of the new staff as well as how they want to play.
That simply takes time and fortunately West Virginia has that on its side.
“Plus, you’re never really in shape in spring ball. Conditioning takes place in the summer and August camp so right now we’re not in good enough shape to run our stuff the way we want but we’ll get there,” he said.
At this early junction of the spring, Rodriguez said he isn’t quite sure yet what his team does well and what they can’t but that’s part of the goal during the spring to unlock that information. That starts up front with what they can do and then the quarterbacks and rest of the positions.
The head coach admitted that he truly won’t have a feel for that aspect until once they’re into fall camp.
Rodriguez has liked that his team has worked hard, but the efficiency aspect of practice will need to continue to improve not only with the players, but the coaches as well given the fact that the entire group has only worked with each other for five practices to date.
That’s especially important because while an average coaching staff might run anywhere from 5-8 plays over a five-minute period, Rodriguez wants that number to be closer to 15-16.
“It’s a little bit different,” he said.
Rodriguez once again said the scheme and techniques have plenty of time to develop, but loafing and being soft is an every day thing which must be something that is done every day. Some of that is due to guys not being in shape, but the mentality aspect is a huge concern that might not even realize it until it’s pointed out.
That is an area that Rodriguez wants his assistant coaches to be more assertive, so he doesn’t need to be pointing it out at all times.
“I’m getting tired of yelling already,” he said.
At the cornerback spot, Rodriguez believes that West Virginia attacked the position in the transfer portal and have some young guys on the roster but admitted that if it doesn’t work out they’ll be aggressive once again in the next portal window.
For now, he likes how the position has performed in five practices, but he wants to be able to challenge them more in the spring in order to see what he has at the position.
When it comes to the roster, Rodriguez said that they are starting to get an idea of how many players are going to be given at each position but that is going to continue to be adjusted moving forward once things are trimmed down to 105 total spots.
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