West Virginia head coach Neal Brown held his first edition of the weekly Neal Brown Radio Show Thursday and here are some of the highlights of what was discussed.
--Brown felt that his team was “pretty healthy,” going into week one which is the biggest thing that a coach worries about heading into the first game. But the Mountaineers are ready to go and find out what the program has in the match up against Penn State.
–Brown went through the guys that will play meaningful snaps in the game and the Mountaineers have very few that have not been in this type of atmosphere before. Brown confirmed that DayDay Farmer will play Saturday as a true freshman and Nick Malone will start at right tackle.
–Brown called this the deepest and the most talented team he has had since arriving in Morgantown and you will see more subbing than in the past. It’s a group that has experience and talent but they will play a talented team Saturday and he’s excited to see where they are in comparison to them.
–Brown felt like this is the most talented wide receiver group since he has been here and there could be four NFL players in that room. They need to go perform, but there could be four guys in that room that could be in a camp. Brown also praised the job that position coach Bilal Marshall has done.
–Rodney Gallagher can potentially play 35 snaps on offense and 20 on defense in sub-packages. Gallagher can play man coverage, he isn’t a better man defender than the corners but the guys that play in the slot he’s the best, if not one of the best, that can cover there.
–On defense, Brown said they will play six defensive linemen for sure but could play eight. They will play upwards to five linebackers and three or four cornerbacks along with three safeties.
–Garnett Hollis is a true press corner and is physical at his size. Ayden Garnes is a good football player that has versatility and will play a lot of football for West Virginia and will be a guy that the Mountaineers love to watch play. Jacolby Spells will be available for the game but he has been limited in practice and it is to be determined how he will play.
--Brown said on the recruiting front this will be the highest end top talent since he has been here in attendance for the Penn State game.
–Darian DeVries was in attendance and gave a brief recap on the Italy trip where the Mountaineers were able to get a test run against some live opponents. He also expressed excitement for the atmosphere inside the football stadium this coming weekend. He also said that even after signing Haris Elezovic, he might have one more surprise up his sleeve in terms of additions.
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