--Offensive coordinator Gerad Parker said the bye week was on the standards of what they want to be, and they’re trying to develop consistency and continue to develop the run game. They wanted to get a feel for who they could be in the pass game but right now it’s about them and learning how to respond to negative results.
--All three Ali Jennings, Sean Ryan and Isaiah Esdale are working back into it. Jennings had a significant hamstring issue, while Ryan has been inconsistent and the same can be said for Esdale. All three are still battling for reps but they’re going to have to try to earn time.
--It’s on all of the coaches to continue to grow the screen game and it gives the offensive line a good change of pace. It’s something they are putting an emphasis on.
--West Virginia trusts Jarret Doege and more than anything he just has to trust himself to be decisive in the pocket and trust his training. You saw on the first series he was able to move his feet and extend plays, so he has to continue to trust his progressions and fix things with his feet while being a decisive decision maker. Those things will grow the offense the right way.
--Sam Brown has a chance to show great promise, but the biggest thing is if you’re not careful it puts a thought in many people’s heads that it’s that easy and that’s not fair. Coaching is good parenting and he has to continue to grow upon habits and he has to be a great player all the time. He is growing like any freshman right now and has to learn how to do the routine. He has a chance to be special, but he has to continue to develop trust and breaks those habits that is preventing him from being a consistent detailed player on and off the field. He has really embraced that the last two weeks and they have his best interest at heart. You can’t ignore the little things now because it will crop up later.
--Parker said they better have some good results and improve over the next five-game stretch when it comes to pushing the ball vertically down the field in the passing game. They have to be very careful of what stats you let into your mental space because it can affect you. They have to find ways to push it downfield and get the ball vertically better and then it’s picking the time to do it. You have to be confident that if you’re not going to hit one, you’ll get the next one. It’s all a mentality.
--Doege didn’t lose trust in himself but anytime you don’t have the successful outcomes you’re prepared for it will stun you. It happens to anybody, but greatness lies in bouncing back.
--Defensive line coach Jordan Lesley said defense starts with effort. If you don’t have that you don’t have anything defensively. Watching last week, Lesley felt his guys played extremely hard. Consistency is one of the things they’ve struggled with, especially up front, but if they can get that they will play like they did against Baylor a lot.
--Pooka Williams presents everything for a defense to prepare for on a weekly basis. He is one of the best in the league because he can make mistakes and make it look good. He can score a touchdown from anywhere on the field. He’s just a different type of back.
--The first time they saw Akheem Mesidor when they were able to do the mega camps. They were at Mercer and stature wise there were some good kids there, but his skill set stuck out immediately. They knew where he was from and had some information on him at the time, but he was extremely raw. The first rep he does of one-on-one pass rush it looked like he had been doing it for ten years. Some guys have it and some don’t, but he’s definitely got it. Mesidor wants to be good at it and succeed at it.
--They chart and track tackles for loss for each individual guy, but they don’t do it as a team. They try to base their defense around those type of plays, but they don’t necessarily talk about them as a goal. It’s just part of the defense and the guys that make those plays they’ll get the accolades for it.
--Lesley believes you have to plan for at least two of the three quarterbacks. If he’s played before, you have to plan for it and look for differences in the set of plays you could see depending on who is under center. You have to know where Pooka Williams is at all times.
--Darius Stills tackling is something that they talked about coming out of last season. They discussed not looking at the plays they made, instead the ones he didn’t. There were twice the amount he made that he didn’t make and it’s really just learning how to deal with it. They’ve worked on controlling his body at the point of contact to improve.
--Sean Martin is getting closer. He is a big kid and anytime you’re that big the one thing that has to catch up is his strength to body weight ratio. His body has to catch up but with his length and his hands he is coming along. He will probably be a guy at some point that they have to use. He is progressing well, but he needs to get his strength where he needs to be.
--Secondary coach Jahmile Addae felt that Jake Long did a nice job of trying to make sure he was prepared when an opportunity presented itself. He got the opportunity against Baylor and he was able to execute. The hope is he can gain some confidence if they need him in the future.
--They have to be balanced and make sure they can have the numbers in the run and pass game. Kansas has wide receivers that can go vertical and create plays for themselves. It’s up to the staff to put the guys in position to make those plays.
--The one thing they’ve done in camp is getting hands on guys. You want to match routes but if you can eliminate the route it’s even better.
--They’ve got some guys up front that can make some plays. Coach Lesley also has done a great job last year and he hopes this year when it comes to putting those guys in position to do it. They will see some things that have some wrinkles in it from Kansas and they have to match what they give them.
--Don’t fall asleep on Andrew Parchment. He has big play ability but doesn’t have the numbers yet. The challenge that’s presented there is one that West Virginia is looking forward to.
--Daryl Porter has really impressed since day one. You’d like to have the ability to let him mature and he played well in practice this past week. He’s continuing to play well, and he has no problem playing him if it would come down to that. Jackie Matthews got some meaningful time this week and they feel good.
--David Vincent-Okoli is a very talented young kid that is needing to go through some maturation. It has come a little slower since he played offense in high school, but he has to continue to develop. The final product will be what they want but it just takes some time to get there.
--Addae thinks that both guys he puts on the field he can win with, so they won’t play a strictlly left or right corners. Sometimes a match up will dictate but not often.
--All three Ali Jennings, Sean Ryan and Isaiah Esdale are working back into it. Jennings had a significant hamstring issue, while Ryan has been inconsistent and the same can be said for Esdale. All three are still battling for reps but they’re going to have to try to earn time.
--It’s on all of the coaches to continue to grow the screen game and it gives the offensive line a good change of pace. It’s something they are putting an emphasis on.
--West Virginia trusts Jarret Doege and more than anything he just has to trust himself to be decisive in the pocket and trust his training. You saw on the first series he was able to move his feet and extend plays, so he has to continue to trust his progressions and fix things with his feet while being a decisive decision maker. Those things will grow the offense the right way.
--Sam Brown has a chance to show great promise, but the biggest thing is if you’re not careful it puts a thought in many people’s heads that it’s that easy and that’s not fair. Coaching is good parenting and he has to continue to grow upon habits and he has to be a great player all the time. He is growing like any freshman right now and has to learn how to do the routine. He has a chance to be special, but he has to continue to develop trust and breaks those habits that is preventing him from being a consistent detailed player on and off the field. He has really embraced that the last two weeks and they have his best interest at heart. You can’t ignore the little things now because it will crop up later.
--Parker said they better have some good results and improve over the next five-game stretch when it comes to pushing the ball vertically down the field in the passing game. They have to be very careful of what stats you let into your mental space because it can affect you. They have to find ways to push it downfield and get the ball vertically better and then it’s picking the time to do it. You have to be confident that if you’re not going to hit one, you’ll get the next one. It’s all a mentality.
--Doege didn’t lose trust in himself but anytime you don’t have the successful outcomes you’re prepared for it will stun you. It happens to anybody, but greatness lies in bouncing back.
--Defensive line coach Jordan Lesley said defense starts with effort. If you don’t have that you don’t have anything defensively. Watching last week, Lesley felt his guys played extremely hard. Consistency is one of the things they’ve struggled with, especially up front, but if they can get that they will play like they did against Baylor a lot.
--Pooka Williams presents everything for a defense to prepare for on a weekly basis. He is one of the best in the league because he can make mistakes and make it look good. He can score a touchdown from anywhere on the field. He’s just a different type of back.
--The first time they saw Akheem Mesidor when they were able to do the mega camps. They were at Mercer and stature wise there were some good kids there, but his skill set stuck out immediately. They knew where he was from and had some information on him at the time, but he was extremely raw. The first rep he does of one-on-one pass rush it looked like he had been doing it for ten years. Some guys have it and some don’t, but he’s definitely got it. Mesidor wants to be good at it and succeed at it.
--They chart and track tackles for loss for each individual guy, but they don’t do it as a team. They try to base their defense around those type of plays, but they don’t necessarily talk about them as a goal. It’s just part of the defense and the guys that make those plays they’ll get the accolades for it.
--Lesley believes you have to plan for at least two of the three quarterbacks. If he’s played before, you have to plan for it and look for differences in the set of plays you could see depending on who is under center. You have to know where Pooka Williams is at all times.
--Darius Stills tackling is something that they talked about coming out of last season. They discussed not looking at the plays they made, instead the ones he didn’t. There were twice the amount he made that he didn’t make and it’s really just learning how to deal with it. They’ve worked on controlling his body at the point of contact to improve.
--Sean Martin is getting closer. He is a big kid and anytime you’re that big the one thing that has to catch up is his strength to body weight ratio. His body has to catch up but with his length and his hands he is coming along. He will probably be a guy at some point that they have to use. He is progressing well, but he needs to get his strength where he needs to be.
--Secondary coach Jahmile Addae felt that Jake Long did a nice job of trying to make sure he was prepared when an opportunity presented itself. He got the opportunity against Baylor and he was able to execute. The hope is he can gain some confidence if they need him in the future.
--They have to be balanced and make sure they can have the numbers in the run and pass game. Kansas has wide receivers that can go vertical and create plays for themselves. It’s up to the staff to put the guys in position to make those plays.
--The one thing they’ve done in camp is getting hands on guys. You want to match routes but if you can eliminate the route it’s even better.
--They’ve got some guys up front that can make some plays. Coach Lesley also has done a great job last year and he hopes this year when it comes to putting those guys in position to do it. They will see some things that have some wrinkles in it from Kansas and they have to match what they give them.
--Don’t fall asleep on Andrew Parchment. He has big play ability but doesn’t have the numbers yet. The challenge that’s presented there is one that West Virginia is looking forward to.
--Daryl Porter has really impressed since day one. You’d like to have the ability to let him mature and he played well in practice this past week. He’s continuing to play well, and he has no problem playing him if it would come down to that. Jackie Matthews got some meaningful time this week and they feel good.
--David Vincent-Okoli is a very talented young kid that is needing to go through some maturation. It has come a little slower since he played offense in high school, but he has to continue to develop. The final product will be what they want but it just takes some time to get there.
--Addae thinks that both guys he puts on the field he can win with, so they won’t play a strictlly left or right corners. Sometimes a match up will dictate but not often.
