MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (September 19, 2017) - West Virginia University assistant coaches and select members of the West Virginia University football team met with the media on Tuesday, September 19, 2017, at the Milan Puskar Center Team Room.
Associate Head Coach (Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers) Tony Gibson
On his thoughts entering Big 12 play
Yeah, it’s just another opportunity for us to go out and compete and play. It’s good, there is motive for guys now. Coming off of the last two games, obviously with lopsided scores and guys were only playing really a half. It is an opportunity to go out and compete against another Big 12 opponent. We are going to have to play four quarters of football.
On what he likes about how redshirt senior linebacker Al-Rasheed Benton plays the game
The biggest thing with Al is that he understands our defense, playing in it the last few years. He knows where the ball is going to hit in our defense and certain fronts, coverages and what to do from a scheme standpoint. He is very knowledgeable, he is a leader, works extremely hard. He is just a really good football player and really smart.
On if he likes what he has seen from the younger guys the last two weeks
Yeah, I have. They still have a lot of work to do. I wish I would have been able to get them in earlier and I probably should have East Carolina. We are up 49-3 and came out and had a couple of series with our ones and then put them in. I wish I would have started the half out with those guys and got them more reps at that time. They are doing good things. They just have to keep playing because as we all saw last week they gave up a couple of plays and a couple of long drives. I would have liked for them to play a little cleaner, but we didn’t get to that. We have to continue to keep playing guys to get depth.
Assistant Coach (Cornerbacks) Doug Belk
On how freshman cornerback Kenny Robinson did in his first start
He did well. He is a competitor, long, athletic guy. He has to continue to work on his fundamentals and some of the detail things that are different at corner than safety, out on the island. He is ready for the challenge. This will be a good test for him. He got in the East Carolina game, he got in the Delaware State game, but these guys present a different challenge for him with different skill sets with quick guys, fast guys and they have guys with experience. This will be his third game playing at the position and it will be a good test for him.
On if freshman cornerback Kenny Robinson is on the field because he is aggressive
Yeah, there is some element to being a football player. Whether it is the competitive spirit or athleticism, which is a good combination. He is still young, still has a lot to work on, but obviously he is always up for the challenge.
On senior cornerback Elijah Battle and redshirt sophomore cornerback Hakeem Bailey becoming more consistent
With Battle, he just needs to work on becoming more consistent. He has experience, he plays hard when he is out there. We have kind of rolled those guys in. With Bailey, just getting caught up to the Big 12 speed, and the Division I speed. He was a really good player in JuCo (junior college), was probably our best guy over a six-month span from spring over into fall camp. He’ll be fine, we just have to continue to work with him and develop him so he is ready for those moments when he gets his opportunity.
Assistant Coach (Defensive Line) Bruce Tall
On how Kansas’ offense looks
I really like their offensive line. Real athletic type of guys, big, long, what you expect in the Big 12. That will be the challenge just getting after them in that regard. Their quarterback does a nice job, great poise in the pocket so you also have to get after him quite a bit. It will be a good challenge for us. We are seeing some solid players up front, it will be a nice challenge.
On how he is preparing for Kansas
It is like anything else you would like to be able to have an opportunity to get after the quarterback. We faced a team last week that ran the ball all the time; it is a little bit different approach in how we are going to go about it. We had things ready for last week, but we were never able to utilize them because of how they changed the game and what they were doing. It would be nice to see those guys get out there in passing situations and be able to see what they can do.
Assistant Coach (Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks) Jake Spavital
On the amount of percentage of plays in his offense that he has ran
I have held back a lot. I couldn’t give you an exact percentage. For instance, last week I called run and I called shots, that was it. I motioned the first play of the game, kept it pretty base. We have been practicing a lot of things throughout the course of the past three weeks, but it depends where you are at in the flow of the game and how far you want to get into it. We have multiple packages, multiple things to do. We are ready for that at any given moment. You try to hold off on your good stuff because it is a long season and you want to call those plays in the perfect moment.
On if he is satisfied with redshirt junior quarterback Will Grier’s reads
I have been. Last week there was a couple where he was forcing the run into some bad looks just to see what we are capable of doing. A lot of that is him figuring out what we are capable of in terms of really like if it is a third and short situation, if we are capable of getting that into a bad look. He was messing with certain plays. Last week we ran all sorts of zones and powers and counters. The way that he has handled it over the first three games; he has been pretty good in terms of getting out on the perimeter and handing it off. When you look at the stats overall you have the Big 12’s leading rusher and you have a couple of receivers in the top 10. He is moving it around pretty good. He has pretty good balance right now.
On redshirt senior halfback Elijah Wellman brings to the table
He does a great job. He is one of the most important guys that you have on our offensive unit. He is the guy that makes us more multiple. If you take Eli out of the game, you are going to see a lot more spread sets because we do not have enough of those body types. What he does and the mentality and leadership that he has you can see why he is the team captain because he really makes our offense go.
Assistant Coach (Running Backs) Tony Dews
On if senior running back Justin Crawford has been consistent so far
So far, yes. He has been pretty consistent in doing the things that we are asking him to do. When you win you are pleased with all of those things. The things that I am not so happy about, at least it is a little easier to correct when you win.
On if he has been conscious with how he has used senior running back Justin Crawford
No, just the way the games have gone. Again, it is a long season and it has been well-documented that we have a couple of backs who can play. It is nice to be able to get the other guys reps and get them in the game, as well as being able to get Justin out of the game. As the season goes and we understand that people get nicked up or bruised, it is a little easier when someone has to miss a game when you have two guys that have gotten game reps and game speed. It is also helping all of the other guys that are playing on special teams. Everyone is getting in the game and getting the feel of the game. That is going to be a positive thing for us going forward throughout the season.
On if he tries to spread out all of the carries
I haven’t thought of it in that way. I have been trying more to see if we could get them a couple of series and then get them out and get another guy in for a series. We told them if you are in a series and it gets to be a long series and you need a blow tap yourself out, and you can put yourself back in. I have said all along, this has been a pretty selfless group. There was one time, (sophomore running back) (Martell) Pettaway caught a ball the other day, the one ball he caught, he was running and he looked at the sideline and (senior running back) (Justin) Crawford is running out on the white, where he shouldn’t be, cheering for Pettaway. Those are great things to see as a coach.
Assistant Coach (Wide Receivers) Tyron Carrier
On what he has in place at the wide receiver position that allows the offense to throw the deep ball
Just typical receiver stuff, getting a good release stacking their guy, if the ball is thrown a little short, slow up and put yourself between the defender and the ball.
On redshirt junior quarterback Will Grier’s talent helps with the deep ball
That helps a lot. He is comfortable with those guys. He throws it up there and he knows they are going to make a play on it.
On what he sees when he watches redshirt junior quarterback Will Grier
He is talented, man. He makes it a lot easier for my guys. He always puts it in a position to make that play. He trusts those guys to make that play, most importantly. Plus, they do it all day in practice so it makes it easy to trust in that in a game situation.
Redshirt Senior Offensive Lineman Kyle Bosch
On redshirt sophomore Matt Jones’ development
He is doing really well. From last week to this week, obviously, we went from one holding penalty last week to zero so more progress. The communication is becoming much better, he is starting to come into his own. After your first time you do a little better each time so he is really progressing day-by-day, game-by-game.
On if he was matched up on Kansas junior defensive tackle Daniel Wise last year
I can’t really remember last year against Kansas. The only game I remember against Kansas was when we played there and it was negative 15 degrees and I had a 103-degree fever. That was the most miserable game of my life. Other than that, I can’t really remember who the heck I played last year. We just started watching a little bit of film. I don’t know if they changed numbers. 91 or 96? 96. I think number two (Dorance Armstrong Jr.) is the good d-end. Kansas has a lot of opportunity to grow at certain positions and for whatever reason their d-line has always been very, very good. Their defense has always been very disciplined and very aggressive. We have a challenge this week, this will be our first, besides Virginia Tech, that was a challenge for our o-line. Going into game four playing Virginia Tech would be much harder than playing Virginia Tech game one because you start to getting those snaps under your belt, you start getting that development. Kansas’ d-line is going to be really hungry after that loss to Ohio, they are going to come out swinging. We have to really meet the challenge and take this week very serious and go to the bye.
On his last trip to Lawrence, Kansas
The last trip to Lawrence, it was a noon game in late November, early November in the middle of Kansas. I am from Illinois and I am used to flat and cold and windy but that was a whole different type of cold. The sun was so close it looked like you could touch it, but it was like negative 10, negative 15 with a wind chill and I had a 103-degree fever. I was dying the whole game and we get to the third quarter we were up by quite a bit and i finally got pulled. I just buried myself in a jacket, a blanket on the sideline. It was terrible, I had like body aches for a like a week after that.
Redshirt Senior Wide Receiver Ka’Raun White
On if his timing with redshirt junior quarterback Will Grier has improved
Yeah definitely. He is on target with me for the most part. It is just come game time, I have to work my technique, get open and hopefully get the ball from time to time and make some plays. I say our connection is pretty good so far.
On how the connection with redshirt junior quarterback Will Grier improved
Just reps in practice, doing a lot of routes on air during practice so we can work on timing. Stuff like that.
On what he and redshirt junior quarterback Will Grier needed to learn about each other
With my speed, knowing when to throw the ball and knowing when not to throw the ball and back shoulder and stuff like that. As far as him, I have to give him indicators on when I am breaking on routes and when I am coming back down for a route, just little things.
Redshirt Senior Halfback Elijah Wellman
On the mentality heading into Kansas
The thoughts are the same as the first games we had. Coach says to go in there and attack every week as if it is the biggest opponents. We aren’t going to take anybody lightly this week just like we have the last couple. That is how we are going to attack the week. Big 12 is more important than the first three. It’s that much more important to make a statement.
On what he has seen out of Kansas this far
They have a good defense. Worrying about us more and what we do and perfecting our craft will be the main thing for us.
On how much it helps knowing your opponent
Like you said, I have been everywhere so going into Kansas we know what to expect and we have to create our own energy there. The schemes are similar year in and year out, we have to adjust on that. We are going there to take care of business and get out of Kansas
Redshirt Senior Linebacker Xavier Preston
On if he saw improvement out of the defense on Saturday
I liked some things; I didn’t like a couple of things. It’s not my place to call that, honestly. I liked who was out there; I like how we are playing. We can always get better. I’m not going to say that it was completely horrible or anything like that.
On how important it is to have guys who can play together
That just gets better as you go. As you play you recognize certain guy’s strength. You can see things that they don’t see and help each other out. We have been playing with each other for a long while, we had a long camp. We are three games in and most of the guys out there right now have been playing with each other different times during their career here. It isn’t a big deal with us. We all know each other; we are familiar with each other and we see each other every day. We worked all summer so that it is not a big thing as far as chemistry.
On the communication on the field
There is a lot of guys out there that is more vocal than others and we just look to those guys. Guys just assume their role, whoever wants to talk talks, but we make sure we get things communicated that need to be communicated.
Redshirt Junior Safety Dravon Askew-Henry
On heading into Big 12 play
We are ready to get it started. We had three warmup games and now it is time for Big 12 play. We are very anxious to get into it.
On the chemistry of the defense
We have to keep improving. We are taking it game-by-game, that’s what I like. We have to keep getting better each week.
On redshirt senior linebacker Al-Rasheed Benton
He is a leader out there and when things get tough he is definitely going to speak up.
Redshirt Sophomore Defensive Lineman Adam Shuler II
On what more he believes that he can do better
There is a lot more. I don’t think that I have played to my full potential yet.
On being held during a game
It is kind of obvious that I get held a couple of times a game. I have to find ways to get around it. It is going to happen.
On how the defensive line has performed the last couple games
I feel all right. We could all do a little bit better, but we are making progress so that is what matters.
On if he likes to play on the road
Yeah, I like playing on the road and winning on the road. It feels that much better when you beat somebody at their place.
Associate Head Coach (Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers) Tony Gibson
On his thoughts entering Big 12 play
Yeah, it’s just another opportunity for us to go out and compete and play. It’s good, there is motive for guys now. Coming off of the last two games, obviously with lopsided scores and guys were only playing really a half. It is an opportunity to go out and compete against another Big 12 opponent. We are going to have to play four quarters of football.
On what he likes about how redshirt senior linebacker Al-Rasheed Benton plays the game
The biggest thing with Al is that he understands our defense, playing in it the last few years. He knows where the ball is going to hit in our defense and certain fronts, coverages and what to do from a scheme standpoint. He is very knowledgeable, he is a leader, works extremely hard. He is just a really good football player and really smart.
On if he likes what he has seen from the younger guys the last two weeks
Yeah, I have. They still have a lot of work to do. I wish I would have been able to get them in earlier and I probably should have East Carolina. We are up 49-3 and came out and had a couple of series with our ones and then put them in. I wish I would have started the half out with those guys and got them more reps at that time. They are doing good things. They just have to keep playing because as we all saw last week they gave up a couple of plays and a couple of long drives. I would have liked for them to play a little cleaner, but we didn’t get to that. We have to continue to keep playing guys to get depth.
Assistant Coach (Cornerbacks) Doug Belk
On how freshman cornerback Kenny Robinson did in his first start
He did well. He is a competitor, long, athletic guy. He has to continue to work on his fundamentals and some of the detail things that are different at corner than safety, out on the island. He is ready for the challenge. This will be a good test for him. He got in the East Carolina game, he got in the Delaware State game, but these guys present a different challenge for him with different skill sets with quick guys, fast guys and they have guys with experience. This will be his third game playing at the position and it will be a good test for him.
On if freshman cornerback Kenny Robinson is on the field because he is aggressive
Yeah, there is some element to being a football player. Whether it is the competitive spirit or athleticism, which is a good combination. He is still young, still has a lot to work on, but obviously he is always up for the challenge.
On senior cornerback Elijah Battle and redshirt sophomore cornerback Hakeem Bailey becoming more consistent
With Battle, he just needs to work on becoming more consistent. He has experience, he plays hard when he is out there. We have kind of rolled those guys in. With Bailey, just getting caught up to the Big 12 speed, and the Division I speed. He was a really good player in JuCo (junior college), was probably our best guy over a six-month span from spring over into fall camp. He’ll be fine, we just have to continue to work with him and develop him so he is ready for those moments when he gets his opportunity.
Assistant Coach (Defensive Line) Bruce Tall
On how Kansas’ offense looks
I really like their offensive line. Real athletic type of guys, big, long, what you expect in the Big 12. That will be the challenge just getting after them in that regard. Their quarterback does a nice job, great poise in the pocket so you also have to get after him quite a bit. It will be a good challenge for us. We are seeing some solid players up front, it will be a nice challenge.
On how he is preparing for Kansas
It is like anything else you would like to be able to have an opportunity to get after the quarterback. We faced a team last week that ran the ball all the time; it is a little bit different approach in how we are going to go about it. We had things ready for last week, but we were never able to utilize them because of how they changed the game and what they were doing. It would be nice to see those guys get out there in passing situations and be able to see what they can do.
Assistant Coach (Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks) Jake Spavital
On the amount of percentage of plays in his offense that he has ran
I have held back a lot. I couldn’t give you an exact percentage. For instance, last week I called run and I called shots, that was it. I motioned the first play of the game, kept it pretty base. We have been practicing a lot of things throughout the course of the past three weeks, but it depends where you are at in the flow of the game and how far you want to get into it. We have multiple packages, multiple things to do. We are ready for that at any given moment. You try to hold off on your good stuff because it is a long season and you want to call those plays in the perfect moment.
On if he is satisfied with redshirt junior quarterback Will Grier’s reads
I have been. Last week there was a couple where he was forcing the run into some bad looks just to see what we are capable of doing. A lot of that is him figuring out what we are capable of in terms of really like if it is a third and short situation, if we are capable of getting that into a bad look. He was messing with certain plays. Last week we ran all sorts of zones and powers and counters. The way that he has handled it over the first three games; he has been pretty good in terms of getting out on the perimeter and handing it off. When you look at the stats overall you have the Big 12’s leading rusher and you have a couple of receivers in the top 10. He is moving it around pretty good. He has pretty good balance right now.
On redshirt senior halfback Elijah Wellman brings to the table
He does a great job. He is one of the most important guys that you have on our offensive unit. He is the guy that makes us more multiple. If you take Eli out of the game, you are going to see a lot more spread sets because we do not have enough of those body types. What he does and the mentality and leadership that he has you can see why he is the team captain because he really makes our offense go.
Assistant Coach (Running Backs) Tony Dews
On if senior running back Justin Crawford has been consistent so far
So far, yes. He has been pretty consistent in doing the things that we are asking him to do. When you win you are pleased with all of those things. The things that I am not so happy about, at least it is a little easier to correct when you win.
On if he has been conscious with how he has used senior running back Justin Crawford
No, just the way the games have gone. Again, it is a long season and it has been well-documented that we have a couple of backs who can play. It is nice to be able to get the other guys reps and get them in the game, as well as being able to get Justin out of the game. As the season goes and we understand that people get nicked up or bruised, it is a little easier when someone has to miss a game when you have two guys that have gotten game reps and game speed. It is also helping all of the other guys that are playing on special teams. Everyone is getting in the game and getting the feel of the game. That is going to be a positive thing for us going forward throughout the season.
On if he tries to spread out all of the carries
I haven’t thought of it in that way. I have been trying more to see if we could get them a couple of series and then get them out and get another guy in for a series. We told them if you are in a series and it gets to be a long series and you need a blow tap yourself out, and you can put yourself back in. I have said all along, this has been a pretty selfless group. There was one time, (sophomore running back) (Martell) Pettaway caught a ball the other day, the one ball he caught, he was running and he looked at the sideline and (senior running back) (Justin) Crawford is running out on the white, where he shouldn’t be, cheering for Pettaway. Those are great things to see as a coach.
Assistant Coach (Wide Receivers) Tyron Carrier
On what he has in place at the wide receiver position that allows the offense to throw the deep ball
Just typical receiver stuff, getting a good release stacking their guy, if the ball is thrown a little short, slow up and put yourself between the defender and the ball.
On redshirt junior quarterback Will Grier’s talent helps with the deep ball
That helps a lot. He is comfortable with those guys. He throws it up there and he knows they are going to make a play on it.
On what he sees when he watches redshirt junior quarterback Will Grier
He is talented, man. He makes it a lot easier for my guys. He always puts it in a position to make that play. He trusts those guys to make that play, most importantly. Plus, they do it all day in practice so it makes it easy to trust in that in a game situation.
Redshirt Senior Offensive Lineman Kyle Bosch
On redshirt sophomore Matt Jones’ development
He is doing really well. From last week to this week, obviously, we went from one holding penalty last week to zero so more progress. The communication is becoming much better, he is starting to come into his own. After your first time you do a little better each time so he is really progressing day-by-day, game-by-game.
On if he was matched up on Kansas junior defensive tackle Daniel Wise last year
I can’t really remember last year against Kansas. The only game I remember against Kansas was when we played there and it was negative 15 degrees and I had a 103-degree fever. That was the most miserable game of my life. Other than that, I can’t really remember who the heck I played last year. We just started watching a little bit of film. I don’t know if they changed numbers. 91 or 96? 96. I think number two (Dorance Armstrong Jr.) is the good d-end. Kansas has a lot of opportunity to grow at certain positions and for whatever reason their d-line has always been very, very good. Their defense has always been very disciplined and very aggressive. We have a challenge this week, this will be our first, besides Virginia Tech, that was a challenge for our o-line. Going into game four playing Virginia Tech would be much harder than playing Virginia Tech game one because you start to getting those snaps under your belt, you start getting that development. Kansas’ d-line is going to be really hungry after that loss to Ohio, they are going to come out swinging. We have to really meet the challenge and take this week very serious and go to the bye.
On his last trip to Lawrence, Kansas
The last trip to Lawrence, it was a noon game in late November, early November in the middle of Kansas. I am from Illinois and I am used to flat and cold and windy but that was a whole different type of cold. The sun was so close it looked like you could touch it, but it was like negative 10, negative 15 with a wind chill and I had a 103-degree fever. I was dying the whole game and we get to the third quarter we were up by quite a bit and i finally got pulled. I just buried myself in a jacket, a blanket on the sideline. It was terrible, I had like body aches for a like a week after that.
Redshirt Senior Wide Receiver Ka’Raun White
On if his timing with redshirt junior quarterback Will Grier has improved
Yeah definitely. He is on target with me for the most part. It is just come game time, I have to work my technique, get open and hopefully get the ball from time to time and make some plays. I say our connection is pretty good so far.
On how the connection with redshirt junior quarterback Will Grier improved
Just reps in practice, doing a lot of routes on air during practice so we can work on timing. Stuff like that.
On what he and redshirt junior quarterback Will Grier needed to learn about each other
With my speed, knowing when to throw the ball and knowing when not to throw the ball and back shoulder and stuff like that. As far as him, I have to give him indicators on when I am breaking on routes and when I am coming back down for a route, just little things.
Redshirt Senior Halfback Elijah Wellman
On the mentality heading into Kansas
The thoughts are the same as the first games we had. Coach says to go in there and attack every week as if it is the biggest opponents. We aren’t going to take anybody lightly this week just like we have the last couple. That is how we are going to attack the week. Big 12 is more important than the first three. It’s that much more important to make a statement.
On what he has seen out of Kansas this far
They have a good defense. Worrying about us more and what we do and perfecting our craft will be the main thing for us.
On how much it helps knowing your opponent
Like you said, I have been everywhere so going into Kansas we know what to expect and we have to create our own energy there. The schemes are similar year in and year out, we have to adjust on that. We are going there to take care of business and get out of Kansas
Redshirt Senior Linebacker Xavier Preston
On if he saw improvement out of the defense on Saturday
I liked some things; I didn’t like a couple of things. It’s not my place to call that, honestly. I liked who was out there; I like how we are playing. We can always get better. I’m not going to say that it was completely horrible or anything like that.
On how important it is to have guys who can play together
That just gets better as you go. As you play you recognize certain guy’s strength. You can see things that they don’t see and help each other out. We have been playing with each other for a long while, we had a long camp. We are three games in and most of the guys out there right now have been playing with each other different times during their career here. It isn’t a big deal with us. We all know each other; we are familiar with each other and we see each other every day. We worked all summer so that it is not a big thing as far as chemistry.
On the communication on the field
There is a lot of guys out there that is more vocal than others and we just look to those guys. Guys just assume their role, whoever wants to talk talks, but we make sure we get things communicated that need to be communicated.
Redshirt Junior Safety Dravon Askew-Henry
On heading into Big 12 play
We are ready to get it started. We had three warmup games and now it is time for Big 12 play. We are very anxious to get into it.
On the chemistry of the defense
We have to keep improving. We are taking it game-by-game, that’s what I like. We have to keep getting better each week.
On redshirt senior linebacker Al-Rasheed Benton
He is a leader out there and when things get tough he is definitely going to speak up.
Redshirt Sophomore Defensive Lineman Adam Shuler II
On what more he believes that he can do better
There is a lot more. I don’t think that I have played to my full potential yet.
On being held during a game
It is kind of obvious that I get held a couple of times a game. I have to find ways to get around it. It is going to happen.
On how the defensive line has performed the last couple games
I feel all right. We could all do a little bit better, but we are making progress so that is what matters.
On if he likes to play on the road
Yeah, I like playing on the road and winning on the road. It feels that much better when you beat somebody at their place.