West Virginia wants versatility between defined secondary roles
ShaDon Brown wants the players in the secondary to be able to fill multiple roles.
It’s part of the reasoning behind making the co-defensive coordinator the sole voice of the entire room this off-season. That way players will know what to expect regardless of whether they’re lining up at cornerback, safety or even spear.
That's important not only from a continuity standpoint but to help with the adjustment of trying to allow players to learn different positions.
And while there are pieces that can bounce back and forth between the various spots such as Ayden Garnes there are some major differences between the responsibilities of the two primary positions in the secondary.
Brown considers the safeties the quarterbacks of the defense given their responsibilities. That includes communicating what to do on each play to the various linebackers and cornerback on your side of the field. That isn’t a role for everybody.
“You have to have a quarterback mentality,” he said.
There also is the challenge of fitting the run as safeties have more fits in the box similar to a linebacker so they’ll need to know their various fits and again communicate it to others.
“You have to know your run fit, your pass fit and have to tell everybody else what they’re doing,” Brown said. “If you have knowledge, you’ll have confidence which allows you to play faster.”
At cornerback, the responsibility on one end is simpler as they are only required to listen to and execute the call. But the challenge there is that you are often required to play with your back to the play with the ball often being thrown behind you.
It might seem easy enough at times but is certainly isn’t especially with the speed that is required to play out on an island at the power four level of football.
“So, you have to play the ball behind you,” Brown said.
That’s in comparison to the safety positions where you play the ball in front and it’s more top down. Still, with all of the cross-training going on Brown hopes that players prove capable at multiple spots to provide even more versatility to the defense.
And with an experienced group, that’s exactly what Brown expects to occur.
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