Pro Style Offense
December 18, 2008 11:45 AM | General
December 18, 2008
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University defensive coordinator Jeff Casteel believes North Carolina’s offensive plan of attack is probably most similar to Rutgers among teams the Mountaineers have faced this season.
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| Defensive coordinator Jeff Casteel talks with reporters at the Milan Puskar Center on Tuesday afternoon.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks photo |
North Carolina prefers to run the football to open up the play action pass to playmaking wide receivers on the outside.
“They are probably similar in style to maybe Rutgers and a little bit of Pitt. They’re going to have two backs in the backfield with two tight ends on the field the majority of the time,” Casteel said. “They will get into some eleven personnel to throw the football.
“They have capable people all over the place to move the ball with good receivers and running backs,” Casteel said. “They have the typical 6-6 and 6-7 tackles and some really big kids up front so it’s going to be a challenge.”
T.J. Yates is back at quarterback after missing six games with a broken ankle suffered against Virginia Tech. The Tar Heels have a bona fide weapon on the outside in 6-foot-1-inch, 210-pound wide receiver Hakeem Nicks. Nicks has been the most productive receiver in the ACC since Georgia Tech’s Calvin Johnson. Nicks is the first wide receiver in North Carolina history to have 1,000 yards receiving in a season.
“I think he’s probably like Britt at Rutgers,” Casteel said. “He’s a big, strong, physical player that runs very well and they’re going to get him the ball in different ways in terms of reverses and obviously throwing the ball down the field and with screens.”
Having played Britt earlier this year has no bearing on how the Mountaineers decide to defend Nicks, says Casteel.
“Great players are great players whether they are 6-3, 210-pound guy or a small guy. It’s a different game. I don’t think that has anything to do with it,” Casteel said. “Our kids have to go out and play like they are capable of playing and I’m sure North Carolina’s coaches and kids feel the same way. The team that is going to limit the mistakes that day is the one that is going to win.”
Casteel expects two emotional teams on the field in Charlotte when the two hook up on Saturday, Dec. 27.
“We’re probably a little bit more concerned with how well we play and knowing that North Carolina is a very good football team and well coached. Our guys have been in these situations and they just have to go and step up and play a good football game and they are preparing themselves right now to do that,” Casteel said. “We’ve had good bowl practices so we’ll find out in a couple of weeks how our kids fare. We’ve been pleased with the way they have prepared themselves up to this point.”
Briefly:
“When we started the season we want to be good every year. I don’t know if we exceeded our expectations. I think we still have a lot of room to improve,” Casteel said. “With so many underclassmen playing and kids like that you just try and continue to get better every week even though that’s a cliché. That’s really all you do.
“We still have young kids that are learning to play and you get beat up during the year and kids have to step up. That’s really why they’re here and why we have them in the program.”
Casteel said several players have stepped up and had good seasons this year.
“I’ve been proud of the guys that have hung in there,” he said. “Chris Neild has had a great year for us, Mortty Ivy; obviously Brandon Hogan and Ellis Lankster. I think Sidney Glover has had a great year and he’s only going to get better. These bowl practices are important for us to try and get better for the bowl game but also to try and springboard into spring practice.”
“I don’t think anybody going into the Fiesta Bowl thought that this is the magic way to do it,” Casteel pointed out. “It’s about hard work and for the kids they are tired and beat up at this point. They have been at it since August 1st. For them it’s a little bit monotonous at times. It’s our job to try and get them excited. As the game gets closer and they can see the opportunity to go play again I think that’s what excites them.”
“That's an area where you're going to have to make plays to win games and our guys have been able to do that over the course of the year. Our kids have done a very good job this year of executing in the red zone,” Casteel said.
“He probably might not have known it but he was coming in on the defensive side,” Casteel said. “He was an athletic kid that we felt could be a really good nose guard even though he can play all the three spots. Anytime you can get a good athlete at 250 or 260 when we recruited him … once you get him into the weight room and put another 20-30 pounds on him you’re getting a big, athletic kid that has good movement.”
