Oct. 15-20 Blog
October 15, 2007 02:44 PM | General
We’re changing things up a little bit. For the past four years Campus Connection has kind of been like a weekly blog full of tidbits, notes, commentary, quasi-opinion and weak stabs at humor that have sometimes hit the mark and at other times completely missed. Well, to keep up with the Jones', we’ve decided to turn Campus Connection into a daily blog. If we miss a day then you know we’re struggling.
Hope you enjoy it ...
Improving Defense
Posted By John Antonik: October 19, 2007 (9:10 am)
There is no arguing the fact that West Virginia’s defense has gotten better as the season has gone along. Rich Rodriguez was one who never thought his defense was that far off even when the Mountaineers were struggling to defend the pass last year.
“I think a lot of those guys got a lot of experience and I think they got a lot of confidence,” Rodriguez said. “Our defensive staff has done a good job of giving them a few things to help them coverage wise and blitz wise.”
Rodriguez admits the No. 1 reason why West Virginia is playing so much more effectively on defense is because of the experience in the secondary.
“Confidence is a big factor especially with college kids,” Rodriguez explained. “They got confidence and they should – we got guys that can play.”
Playing with confidence is always a theme in Rich Rodriguez’s locker room.
“Individuals know when they play well,” Rodriguez said. “You can lose confidence after a win whether you miss five blocks or fumble a ball. When we watch film we’re brutally honest with them. Most of them can tell you after a game if they played well.”
Comparing Point Guards
Posted By John Antonik: October 18, 2007 (7:05 am)
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| Darris Nichols |
Darris Nichols isn’t quite as athletic as Nick Van Exel or as fast with the basketball as Kenny Satterfield, but Bob Huggins believes Nichols skill wise is comparable to some of the best point guards he’s ever coached.
“He’s very skilled,” Huggins said. “Steve Logan had a heck of a career for me and he wasn’t a very good athlete but he was tremendously skilled. I’m really looking forward to coaching Darris. He’s got a great attitude. He’s trying to lead us. It’s his last go-around so he wants to make it a good one.”
Huggins has already put Nichols in touch with the coach’s past.
“Erik (Martin) put him on the phone with Nick a little bit the other day so he got a chance to talk to Nick a little bit,” Huggins explained. “I think conversations like that can be tremendously helpful.”
Ever Evolving Game
Posted By John Antonik: October 17, 2007 (9:45 pm)
College football is always evolving, says West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez. The game is much different now than it was in 1997 and Rodriguez believes it will be much different in 2017.
“I think with technology, techniques, lifting, training and nutrition it will continue to get better,” Rodriguez said Tuesday. “We’re just scratching the surface.”
Today, every program in America has a strength staff. Now, according to Rodriguez, programs are hiring speed coaches to help skill guys run even faster.
“We got speed coaches too; Chris Allen he does a good job for us,” Rodriguez said. “He wasn’t hired as a speed coach, though. He was hired as an assistant strength and conditioning coach.”
Rodriguez believes the time is near when each program with have two or three former track sprinters on staff working with players’ running techniques.
“It’s such a competitive profession; it’s like you all being the first to get a scoop on a story,” Rodriguez explained to the reporters covering his press conference. “You can imagine our livelihoods are based on success and graduating players at a 100 percent rate and winning all of our games. It’s pretty competitive.
“If it’s legal and you have the resources then coaches will try to do it,” Rodriguez said. “That’s part of the reason I think it’s going to be better 10 years from now.”
Playing in the South
Posted By John Antonik: October 17, 2007 (9:05 am)
Ever since Sherman’s march to Atlanta, the south has always been an important piece of real estate for northerners. West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez also views the south in an important light and he says having southern teams on his football schedule is helpful in recruiting.
“We wanted to get a southern team since we recruit down south,” Rodriguez explained.
Rodriguez has expanded West Virginia’s recruiting territories beyond the immediate five-state area and Florida, which Don Nehlen started recruiting in the early 1980s. Rodriguez and his coaching staff now covers parts of Louisiana, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee and North Carolina.
Having an SEC school on the football schedule is not necessarily a prerequisite, though, according to Rodriguez.
“It doesn’t have to be an SEC school that we schedule,” Rodriguez said. “It can be a southern school probably from a recruiting standpoint. It’s hard because you have to match everything with dates. But home games are so valuable from a monetary standpoint.”
And it’s not that easy getting a southern school to play in the north. Mississippi State has played just nine games in its history against teams currently in the Big East, and the last time the Bulldogs ventured to the Northest was in 1986 playing at Syracuse.
West Virginia has a 2008 date with Auburn at Milan Puskar Stadium, which is perhaps an even bigger statement than Rodriguez’s back-to-back New Year’s Day Bowl victories and Top 10 finishes.
Having SEC teams come north to play at your place is a true sign of respect for your football program.
No Complaints
Posted By John Antonik: October 16, 2007 (10:17 am)
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| Bob Huggins |
Bob Huggins has no complaints so far after a weekend's worth of practice.
“I thought their enthusiasm was terrific. It’s a lot more fun when everybody is enthusiastic about playing and for two days they’ve been terrific,” he said Monday afternoon. “We’ll see how it goes the rest of the week. And they pick things up really well. I think we’re making a lot of progress.”
The players have commented on how physical practices have been the first few days and that drew a wide smile from Huggins.
“Well that’s a matter of opinion,” he said. “It hasn’t been all that physical yet. We’re going to be a little more physical but I don’t think it’s been that bad yet.”
Huggins admits he’s been pleasantly surprised with their basketball IQ and how quickly that they have picked up new concepts.
“We’ve just got to get more depth,” Huggins explained. “I think everybody realizes the five or six guys that have played a bunch and we’ve got to get some more guys that can come in and play effectively for us.”
The veteran coach says his team will be much better in February and March than it will be in November and December.
“It’s a marathon, it’s not a sprint. We’ve got to get really sound at half court,” Huggins said. “Then once we get sound at half court then we plan on extending it. I think they’re picking things up well. It’s all a matter of habit. It’s just doing the same thing a whole bunch of times until you remember what you’re doing.
“As long as they continue with the same kind of enthusiasm … I think everybody has had a good time. We’ve sure had a good time coaching them and I think they’ve had a good time learning and playing.”
Rutgers Game on ABC
Posted By John Antonik: October 15, 2007 (2:17 pm)
West Virginia's game at Rutgers on Saturday, Oct. 27, has been picked up by ABC and will be a split national telecast, the Big East Conference announced Monday. At one point ABC was said to have been eyeing the WVU-Rutgers game as a possible prime time contest had either West Virginia or Rutgers been undefeated heading into this week.
ABC will also show Colorado at Texas Tech at Noon that day.
