Seeking a spark or two from WVU coach Neal Brown’s presser
OK, I’m making an effort.
Because I’m a Public Relations Strategist with Wheelhouse Creative LLC these days and not a sports columnist, I am no longer obligated to drum up energy and enthusiasm for covering WVU football.
I’m like most Mountaineer fans now.
Show me.
That said, with WVU basketball (both men and women) making an NCAA tournament exit faster than a peregrine falcon dive (look it up, peregrine falcons are the fastest creatures on earth, diving at 200 miles per hour – waay faster than cheetahs), I’m kind of lost.
Yet I pushed past my bout with apathy. I downloaded WVU head coach Neal Brown’s pre-spring football practice news conference.
“C’mon,” I thought, “catch my interest. Conjure up a few sparks.”
I was hoping because Brown has been and continues to be an upbeat coach he would. And I will say after watching and researching a bit, my interest is at least piqued. I’m not blown away or ready to run through every coach’s proverbial wall with enthusiasm, but a few things did catch my attention.
First, there was Brown taking a page from Bob Huggins’ book following last season’s 5-7 record.
“[Spring drills] is the first opportunity to get it fixed,” Brown said. “We’re not trying to hide from last year not being good enough.”
He continued.
“This comes from one of our data analytics companies, which talks about the three E’s. The first is efficiency. We have to get better at first-down, third-down and red-zone efficiency. Then it’s about explosives. Last year we gave up way too many explosive plays. And we have to figure out a way offensively to utilize our ability to run the ball to create explosive plays down the field. The third E would be to eliminate errors. Offensively, that’s procedure penalties, turnovers, TFLs, sacks. Defensively, it’s alignment issues and communication and missed tackles.
“When we talk about fixing it, which we have to do – I know that’s a term Huggs uses – is efficiency, explosive and errors.”
I guess, as is said, the first step is admitting there’s a problem.
Then there’s the move offensively. Obviously, Brown is pinning his job security to quarterbacks Nicco Marchiol, a lefty, and Garrett Greene, a righty. Both run the ball. (By the way, Brown said he won’t make a decision on a starter until the fall “unless it’s really clear.”) With the return of running back CJ Donaldson and most of an offensive line, WVU “will be different,” said Brown. He means leaning on the running game.
Then there was this comment from Brown regarding receivers, the offense and philosophy. Remember, Brown was hired at WVU to replace Dana Holgorsen with an Air Raid background and items on his resume like improving offenses at Texas Tech (under Tommy Tuberville no less) and Kentucky as well as Troy, from where he was hired. Last year, Graham Harrell was in place as OC before exiting. Ex-running backs coach Chad Scott is now in charge.
“It’s a little bit different,” Brown said. “Your thought process changes. How you practice changes. We don’t have a large number of wideouts. From a philosophy standpoint, the old-school approach of having 10, 12 scholarship receivers on your roster is not the best way to do it now. You have six or eight, some guys you feature and solid backups. You just can’t keep the guys happy. So, what happens is they become sour and make a bad deal in the locker room. With shorter numbers, you have to practice smarter.
“We’ve had to make some changes and evolve, or it doesn’t work out.”
It seems the loss of receivers Sam James (trying NFL), Bryce Ford-Wheaton (trying NFL), Kaden Prather (Maryland) and Reece Smith (Liberty) – the top four WVU pass catchers last season – plays into the move as well. Tight end Mike O’Laughlin is joining Holgorsen in Houston.
So, yeah, returning receivers Cortez Braham (14 catches for 147 yards) and Jeremiah Aaron (12 for 124) will have to step up. Maybe Ceredo native Graeson Malashevich can help after returning from lower leg problems. Redshirt sophomore Davis Mallinger is moving from safety to wideout.
But signee Rodney Gallagher, a freshman who was not an early enrollee, will have to be an impact player. Also, N.C. State transfer Devin Carter almost certainly will have to lead the corps.
I was intrigued how the name of tight end Kole Taylor, a 6-7 junior transfer from LSU, kept surfacing. Brown said he wants to get tight ends more “involved.” Taylor played a lot under Brian Kelly with 32 game appearances and seven starts.
Defensively, Brown said it’s “back to basics” and that the scheme has been “simplified.”
Of course, leader Dante Stills is gone along the defensive line. Jefferson Jordan and Lanell Carr provided gut punches by transferring to LSU and Indiana, respectively.
So, Brown called it “a point of emphasis” in recruiting and improving there this spring. Legacy Jalen Thornton, whose father John was a Mountaineer standout, will be limited this spring. South Charleston native Zeiqui Lawton, who first went to Cincinnati, is out this spring.
The good news for WVU fans is Brown called freshman James Heard of Camden, N.J., “as good of a pass rusher as we’ve brought in here.” Also, Bluefield native Sean Martin, who Brown points to as a terrific leader, returns after starting eight games with at least 1.5 tackles for loss in four of those games.
Behind the line, linebacker Lee Kpogba (All-Big 12 honorable mention last season) and safety Aubrey Burks (league honors from the A.P. and PFF) will have to lead the way. Brown added that bandit Jared Bartlett “had one of the best winters” and called freshman linebacker Josiah Trotter a leader despite his youth.
Aside from those notes, Brown said since the team only had four interceptions last season the secondary staff “will be doing difference things to give the DBs chances at more.”
He mentioned a field goal and kickoff competition with Michael Hayes transferring in from Georgia State. He even said a return man was recruited in Ja’Shaun Poke, who transferred in from Kent State.
So, was I blown away by Brown’s briefing? No. He simply said he wants the team to establish an identity this spring via discipline (alignments, assignments), strain, physicality and smart play.
Seems like he has a lot of work to do before visiting Penn State on Sept. 2.
Yet here’s wishing him the best in getting it done.
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Mitch Vingle covered sports in West Virginia for 38 years. Follow Mitch on Twitter at @MitchVingle and be sure to check out the rest of Wheelhouse Creative’s website for your marketing and advertising needs. If interested, call us at 304-905-6005.
