Rod West encouraged by progress, traits in cornerback room
There are a lot of important elements that make up what West Virginia cornerbacks coach Rod West is looking for at the position.
Those players of course, must display a natural change of direction simply in order to match up and run with wide receivers. That’s perhaps more important than ever with how offenses force the opposition to cover every inch of the field so the ability to play man coverage is critical.
West also wants his position room to be smart enough to play zone concepts in order to allow the defense to be multiple in what they can present.
But perhaps more importantly, it comes down to physicality.
“You’ve got to tackle in space. You’ve got to be able to run,” he said.
Length is an added bonus, but as long as you can run and play with a physical element, you can make up for some of your deficiencies in that area.
“I won’t substitute length for physicality,” he said.
When it comes to his current cornerback room, the Mountaineers have a long list of transfers and newcomers competing for time at the position. In terms of snaps played from last year, not a single one returns.
Those who were with the program in the spring have shown that they retained the information from those 15 practices, while the newcomers have done a good job translating the meeting room to the field. But the goal now is to become more consistent as a group with the season opener set for Aug. 30.
“I think so, we’ll see in a few weeks here. But so far, so good. I think the guys are trying hard, playing at a high level,” West said.
The plan for West Virginia at cornerback is to be as multiple as possible based on the game and the opponent, which means putting players in the best possible matchups. That could mean certain games the best cornerback could be outside to the boundary against a dominant wide receiver, or they could play left and right, along with other looks at the position.
West also isn’t ruling out allowing some players to be utilized both inside and outside.
“We want to play as many guys as possible. We’re going to play fast. So, if a guy brings value playing inside and outside, it’s our job to make sure he’s ready to do that once game day does roll around,” he said.
When determining those that can fill that type of role on the roster, West doesn’t make it too complicated. It boils down to the players who demonstrate they can consistently make plays, which forces the coaching staff to find different ways to get them on the football field.
“If you’re making plays and if you can retain the knowledge at multiple spots, then we’ll find a way to get you on the field,” West said.
The cornerbacks coach wants his position to play fast and downhill, which makes preparation critical. That includes film work and understanding what the offense is attempting to do. That wa,y corners can learn certain traits and tails to attack to give them more confidence.
The battle is expected to continue leading up to the season, but West is comfortable that the group is moving in the right direction overall.
“I think the guys are working hard. I think we have all the necessary tools to be successful. I just have to do a good job as a coach and keep pushing them to bring everything out of them,” West said. “But I think all of the physical tools are there. We just got to fine-tune some things over the next few weeks.”
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