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March 15, 2008 11:16 PM | General
March 16, 2008
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| David Lockwood |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – When you have a conversation with new West Virginia cornerbacks coach David Lockwood, it’s easy to tell that he is a glass-is-half-full kind of guy.
If anyone on this new Mountaineer football staff should feel like he has been thrown into a lion’s den wearing a meat necklace it would be Lockwood. The former secondary coach at Kentucky and defensive coordinator at Minnesota is inheriting a cornerback position that loses starters Antonio Lewis, Vaughn Rivers and Larry Williams to graduation.
The remainder of the secondary looks just as desolate with the loss of free safety Ryan Mundy and spur safeties Eric Wicks and Ridwan Malik to exhausted eligibility.
The two-deep heading into the beginning of spring practice shows Boogie Allen and Nate Sowers at free safety, Sidney Glover and Justin Blankenship at spur, Quinton Andrews and Charles Pugh at bandit and Kent Richardson and Ellis Lankster as the starting corners, with reserves being Guesly Dervil and Brantwon Bowser, a junior college transfer from Phoenix Community College.
Despite the lack of experience, Lockwood doesn’t look at this spring any differently than the previous 19 he’s worked as a college coach.
“The bigger deal you make out of it the bigger it is,” Lockwood said. “The bottom line is we’ve got to get guys ready to play and we can approach the guys and say, ‘Hey you have an opportunity to become a starter. Do with it as you please.’”
Lockwood will begin this spring with the guys that have seen game action and then slowly work in the jucos and the freshmen.
“When you look at it, you look at the couple of guys that played last year and you go from there,” Lockwood said. “I’ve told them if you’re not satisfied with where you are on the depth chart it’s up to you to change it.”
JC players are brought in to provide immediate help in a position of need and while they aren’t always ready to play right away, Lockwood explains that they should be physically further along than most true freshmen that enter camp.
“Obviously they are older and more mature. Depending on what program you come from, some programs are very good and well-coached,” Lockwood said. “Branton Bowser comes from (Former WVU offensive lineman Dale) Wolfley out there in Arizona so you know he’s been well-coached and disciplined. I think as opposed to a redshirt freshman or redshirt sophomore, a juco would have an obvious advantage.”
Lockwood’s defensive background comes from a base 4-3 set, but the Media, Pa., native, who played on the 1988 undefeated Mountaineer team, says the scheme up front has very little impact on the back end. He explains that the corners’ responsibilities don’t change and the tweaks in the scheme give the defensive line more versatility up front.
“There are a lot of times you turn on our film and we end up being a four-man front,” Lockwood said. “It’s just who is that fourth guy? That’s where the confusion comes in. Nine times out of 10 we are in a four-man. I have run a three-man front in some places I have been, but it has been more of a sub-package - for third and longs and other situations. Now it is every down. The fit is a lot easier than people think as far as coverage or different looks. There is not much difference in the two fronts.”
Having Lockwood back gives West Virginia another impressive mind in the meeting room. Lockwood has coached in the Big Ten, the SEC, Big East and also spent a season as an assistant at Notre Dame.
Spring drills start March 14 and will continue until the spring game April 19. The team is scheduled to practice on the 15th, 17th and 19th leading up to spring break and then will resume workouts on March 31st, holding 10 more sessions until the Gold-Blue game.
“We will take a look at things and I guarantee things will change with the depth chart and the coverages over the course of the spring,” Lockwood said. “My job, as always, will be to coach the guys up whether they have played or not. From what I’ve seen, I think we can be really good.”
Of course David Lockwood is a glass half-full kind of guy.
