West Virginia head coach Neal Brown addressed the media Wednesday and here is a summary of what was discussed during the zoom meeting.
--Brown said that yesterday was a tough day and he is sick about it. He cares deeply about everybody involved and everybody in their program and he will build a culture that is relationship driven. He is confident it will be a quick process and that’s all he can talk about as it’s an ongoing matter.
--High percentage of the players are back in Morgantown taking part in voluntary workouts. Can’t have contact with them right now, but they have full confidence in medical and athletic training staffs. They respect the virus and understand that they’ve gained knowledge about it increasingly. They have been proactive and taking every step to make sure the players are healthy and safe.
--To this point, 167 tests, 33 staff and 134 student athletes with two positive student athletes and neither of them participated in voluntary workouts. They have quarantined a group due to first positive due to contact tracing and all tested again and was negative. Another group will test Friday. The student athletes aren’t in the Puskar facility and they are doing workouts in the concourse and running outside. Guys are practicing social distancing and wearing masks as well as continue to do virtual meetings.
--July 13 will mark the return of the staff and players to the Puskar Center and will be the first time they return to work there as a staff. They will go through the same protocols as the players do.
--The renovations have continued and are on schedule.
--Mike Joseph and strength and conditioning staff has chosen the Iron Mountaineer Awards and that is Dante Bonamico, Noah Guzman, James Gmiter and Bryce Wheaton. Those are earned awards. Also, the winner of top walk-on award was Osman Kamara and was picked by the coaching staff.
--Brown hasn’t asked a whole lot of questions about the workouts other than making sure the protocols are on point and everybody is safe because they are voluntary workouts. This is totally up to the players so it’s not something he is trying to peek into a bunch, but he knows the guys attending are getting good work during these sessions.
--Scheduling piece has been a nightmare because if you leave for vacation you must be on quarantine. They probably won’t do retreats out of safety concerns and there are three important dates with ramping up activity. This won’t be a normal college football year for anybody, and he doesn’t know what it looks like right now as they collect information. Looking at split practices and virtual meetings.
--Brown made a statement shortly before the Black Lives Matter protest and felt the people in charge did it very well. Racism and social injustice are major issues and he supports his players. He didn’t want to be the story, but it was important for him to support them and want to be part of change.
--Always trying to build a roster and evaluating transfer offensive linemen and looking to build and improve the roster. So that’s the biggest need.
--As far taking commitments without being on campus from prospects they are recruiting, he felt strongly and not knowing exactly when they’re moving back from that a bit and doesn’t know how practical that will be. They are getting better with the virtual tours and as people making decisions, they might have to reassess only taking those commitments from guys that have been on campus.
--Brown didn’t have any expectations about the number of positives they could have but he was hesitant to talk about it because it is out of his control.
--Both of the cases in our program are asymptomatic with the virus, but when it comes to numbers they have a plan on how they want to go about trying to keep the guys separated but haven’t gotten to an exact number on how many would need to participate but hopefully they don’t have to. He plans to do a lot of scenario planning next week heading into this unique season.
--There are experts in the coaching profession and athletes that are capable of playing at a high level and they have maximized the virtual learning as much as possible so while the product might be simpler than normal it should still be at the normal level. Brown expects that fans will enjoy it, but the preparation might be a little different heading into the year.
--Brown doesn’t think it’ll be a big adjustment for the players because it will be a combination of virtual meetings and social distance meetings as well as things that can be done in person. The planning to it will be important when it comes to preparing as well as cleaning. They’re thinking through all different scenarios right now.
--They’ve been productive with the online recruiting portion with Katie Guisto and she has done a really good job and done multiple virtual visits with guys. You have can’t come up to country roads West Virginia, so we must take it to you and that’s what we’ve got to do.
--There is a lot of crossover training this year at positions but that will be more focused in meetings than on the field practice. You must have plans ready for anything that could happen. Wide receivers are going to have to learn to play safety and corners and vice versa. You must do that. Brown thinks they will become significantly better teachers out of this.
--They have an open policy with players and continue to learn and get feedback, but he feels confident in being able to talk. His players have a voice and that’s their right.
--It’s challenging times in a lot of careers right now and you just try to navigate it. They’re dealing with issues and things that are complex and you’re going into new territory at all points. You can’t have a plan for everything, so they are learning how they are going and trying to be proactive.
--Brown has been extremely pleased with his quarterbacks during the pandemic and in virtual learning. Both have done an exceptional job with leadership and their accountability teams. He’s proud of how they have gone about the leadership role and learning and growing as players with defensive recognition, coverages and protection. He expects they’ll be ready to go and compete, but they have two guys he has been extremely pleased with and can lead the team.
--Brown didn’t want to discuss any personnel fall out with Vic Koenning on administrative leave.
--Brown said that yesterday was a tough day and he is sick about it. He cares deeply about everybody involved and everybody in their program and he will build a culture that is relationship driven. He is confident it will be a quick process and that’s all he can talk about as it’s an ongoing matter.
--High percentage of the players are back in Morgantown taking part in voluntary workouts. Can’t have contact with them right now, but they have full confidence in medical and athletic training staffs. They respect the virus and understand that they’ve gained knowledge about it increasingly. They have been proactive and taking every step to make sure the players are healthy and safe.
--To this point, 167 tests, 33 staff and 134 student athletes with two positive student athletes and neither of them participated in voluntary workouts. They have quarantined a group due to first positive due to contact tracing and all tested again and was negative. Another group will test Friday. The student athletes aren’t in the Puskar facility and they are doing workouts in the concourse and running outside. Guys are practicing social distancing and wearing masks as well as continue to do virtual meetings.
--July 13 will mark the return of the staff and players to the Puskar Center and will be the first time they return to work there as a staff. They will go through the same protocols as the players do.
--The renovations have continued and are on schedule.
--Mike Joseph and strength and conditioning staff has chosen the Iron Mountaineer Awards and that is Dante Bonamico, Noah Guzman, James Gmiter and Bryce Wheaton. Those are earned awards. Also, the winner of top walk-on award was Osman Kamara and was picked by the coaching staff.
--Brown hasn’t asked a whole lot of questions about the workouts other than making sure the protocols are on point and everybody is safe because they are voluntary workouts. This is totally up to the players so it’s not something he is trying to peek into a bunch, but he knows the guys attending are getting good work during these sessions.
--Scheduling piece has been a nightmare because if you leave for vacation you must be on quarantine. They probably won’t do retreats out of safety concerns and there are three important dates with ramping up activity. This won’t be a normal college football year for anybody, and he doesn’t know what it looks like right now as they collect information. Looking at split practices and virtual meetings.
--Brown made a statement shortly before the Black Lives Matter protest and felt the people in charge did it very well. Racism and social injustice are major issues and he supports his players. He didn’t want to be the story, but it was important for him to support them and want to be part of change.
--Always trying to build a roster and evaluating transfer offensive linemen and looking to build and improve the roster. So that’s the biggest need.
--As far taking commitments without being on campus from prospects they are recruiting, he felt strongly and not knowing exactly when they’re moving back from that a bit and doesn’t know how practical that will be. They are getting better with the virtual tours and as people making decisions, they might have to reassess only taking those commitments from guys that have been on campus.
--Brown didn’t have any expectations about the number of positives they could have but he was hesitant to talk about it because it is out of his control.
--Both of the cases in our program are asymptomatic with the virus, but when it comes to numbers they have a plan on how they want to go about trying to keep the guys separated but haven’t gotten to an exact number on how many would need to participate but hopefully they don’t have to. He plans to do a lot of scenario planning next week heading into this unique season.
--There are experts in the coaching profession and athletes that are capable of playing at a high level and they have maximized the virtual learning as much as possible so while the product might be simpler than normal it should still be at the normal level. Brown expects that fans will enjoy it, but the preparation might be a little different heading into the year.
--Brown doesn’t think it’ll be a big adjustment for the players because it will be a combination of virtual meetings and social distance meetings as well as things that can be done in person. The planning to it will be important when it comes to preparing as well as cleaning. They’re thinking through all different scenarios right now.
--They’ve been productive with the online recruiting portion with Katie Guisto and she has done a really good job and done multiple virtual visits with guys. You have can’t come up to country roads West Virginia, so we must take it to you and that’s what we’ve got to do.
--There is a lot of crossover training this year at positions but that will be more focused in meetings than on the field practice. You must have plans ready for anything that could happen. Wide receivers are going to have to learn to play safety and corners and vice versa. You must do that. Brown thinks they will become significantly better teachers out of this.
--They have an open policy with players and continue to learn and get feedback, but he feels confident in being able to talk. His players have a voice and that’s their right.
--It’s challenging times in a lot of careers right now and you just try to navigate it. They’re dealing with issues and things that are complex and you’re going into new territory at all points. You can’t have a plan for everything, so they are learning how they are going and trying to be proactive.
--Brown has been extremely pleased with his quarterbacks during the pandemic and in virtual learning. Both have done an exceptional job with leadership and their accountability teams. He’s proud of how they have gone about the leadership role and learning and growing as players with defensive recognition, coverages and protection. He expects they’ll be ready to go and compete, but they have two guys he has been extremely pleased with and can lead the team.
--Brown didn’t want to discuss any personnel fall out with Vic Koenning on administrative leave.
