West Virginia DBs must keep best feet forward

Co-defensive coordinator and secondary coach ShaDon Brown focuses on one area of the body when it comes to initially judging his defensive backs.

And it isn’t the one you’d think.

Eyes are typically the body part associated with defensive backs because it is how they often recognize their keys on each snap, but to Brown it’s somewhere on the opposite end of things.

“I always look at a player’s feet and how their feet move on the field during plays,” he said.

That’s because Brown recognizes that panicked feet often means confusion, while smooth ones is a direct translation of confidence and knowledge of what each player is doing. And if that knowledge is in place, it allows players to play each snap at a higher speed than if it wasn’t.

The feet are the transient system of the body and confidence in the movements and what needs to be done shows that the player understands where they need to be in that situation.

It’s one of the first things that Brown notices at the start of camp in order to see if a player needs more coaching in certain areas and how they react to different situations.

The position coach likens it to when you lose at item at home and you go back and forth looking for it instead of moving with a purpose. The same is true on the football field.

“If their feet is smooth and moving steady I know that guy has knowledge of what he’s doing and he can play from A to B and make plays,” he said.

That’s not to say that the eyes aren’t important because ultimately they take the feet where they need to go on each play, but if they are panicked it shows Brown everything he needs to see.

“It means my eyes are bad as well because they’re not in the right spot,” he said.

That is the test that Brown puts all of his players through and it has helped him sort out where certain players are at when it comes to understanding their responsibilities.

That’s why it’s critical in camp in the defensive backfield those players put their best feet forward.

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