WVU must slow down, to speed up return game

In case you’re curious Gary Jennings can fair catch a punt. He has no problem with the concept and he even plans to exercise the option at times in future games.

“Oh, definitely,” the sophomore replied.

But understandably there is a time and place when to utilize it and when to field the football. Jennings was the recipient of several shots from the Missouri gunners while fielding punts on Saturday but lived up to his billing as a dependable option by safely securing and holding onto the ball each and every time.

It’s a chess match that the returner must play in his mind understanding how much help is, or isn’t, there, how much time he has and maintaining an aggressive approach to tracking and fielding the ball.

It’s that fearlessness that Jennings displayed in the season opener that initially made him the clear cut option for the Mountaineers in the first place and it’s something that isn’t discouraged as long as it's thought out.

“I don’t want him to have to relax at all. I like that he’s fearless and that he goes after the ball understanding the situation. He can help himself out and protect himself a little bit but we have to do a better job up front and really on the outside to give him a chance,” Scott said.

And therein lies the problem.

While much of focus was pointed at Jennings the true root of the problem was in the coverage units for the Mountaineers. And one a day when special teams was near perfect, the one true black eye came in the unit’s ability to slow down the defenders from getting to Jennings.

Some of that was credited to alignment issues, but in the end the real issue came down to simply not getting hands on people coming down the field to slow them up before they got to the returner.

“We’ve got to get our hands on guys. I understand they’re trying to back pedal, turn and run while those guys have a full head of steam but we have to slow those guys up to give ourselves a chance,” Scott said.

It has been a focus throughout the course of the week already, with Scott breaking down each snap of the return unit and even challenging players that worked that unit during the game. The assistant also has opened up the race for more competition at those spots as well.

Part of that comes with emphasizing to those on the unit that special teams is an integral part of the game and it requires the same effort as a play on offense or defense.

During the game the Mountaineers made several changes to the players on the field for a spark and it worked as Jennings had a clean opportunity to return the football albeit for only eight yards.

“It’s not a play off. It’s not time to relax you have to give the same effort and execute the same way you would on defense,” Scott said.

But another major component is the fact that special teams is the most difficult aspect of the game to simulate and that is something that comes with time. Still, in the meantime the goal is to keep Jennings healthy and attempt to spring some returns in the process.

“The more shots he takes the scarier it gets. The other ten guys on the field have to give him a chance,” Scott said. “But when we’re in safe or going after a punt he has to understand that.”