Turning Heads
June 15, 2009 01:29 PM | General
June 15, 2009
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| Jeff Braun |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Jeff Braun admits the switch from defensive line to right guard last spring took a little getting used to. Offensive line coach Dave Johnson was looking for a replacement for Jake Figner, and he figured Braun had the brains and, well, brawn to do the job.
“I’ve definitely settled down a lot,” Braun said recently. “That first week I was thrown in there it was a culture shock. Even the difference in speed running with the two-group to the one-group is huge. Toward the end of the spring I got a lot more comfortable working with (Eric) Jobe and the whole first string O-line. Now, I’m just trying to get a relationship with them and get better.”
Braun came to West Virginia from Winter Mills High School in Westminster, Md., as an aspiring defensive tackle prospect. However, the WVU coaching staff saw the consensus all-Maryland performer as a natural interior offensive lineman and gently steered him in that direction.
Today, Braun heads into fall camp as the team’s No. 1 right guard.
“It has been a huge surprise. I never thought I would be going into camp No. 1 and I never thought I would play the spring game with the first team O-line,” Braun said of his rapid development. “I felt like I worked hard and earned that, but I know it’s still a long way to go before fall starts. Right now I’m trying to work on the little things and make sure I’ve got the little things squared away so the little things I need to do in fall camp are easy.”
Braun explains.
“The big thing I need to work on is being able to punch guys that are on the move,” he said. “Hitting a stationary bag is one thing but when a guy is trying to juke you out and move it’s a whole other level.”
Braun also needs to continue to improve his footwork.
“The first step is the big thing that I need to work on,” he admitted. “Coach Johnson says it’s the easiest thing to do but I find it one of the more difficult things to do because when you are on the field everything is going 100 miles per hour and you just want to hit the guy.
“That’s one thing that I have to train my mind a little bit because I was a defensive guy and I just wanted to go out and hit people,” he added. “On offense, I’ve got to be focused and learn to take that first step and get it down and then be able to block.”
Braun has taken his new role to heart and is serious about improving.
“I went home and looked over the playbook and made sure I knew everything because you don’t want to get chewed out by Coach Stew, Coach Mullen or Coach Johnson,” he said.
Braun is also spending a lot of time in the video room.
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| In the span of a few spring practices, freshman Jeff Braun went from backup defensive tackle to starting right guard.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks photo |
“We have been watching tape three times a week about an hour a session,” he said. “We’re watching different things. We’re watching Liberty. We have also watched the Patriots offensive line against the Steelers defensive line just to see how they play. You just watch different things to learn from different people and different teams.”
Braun said he won’t pop in the tapes from last spring because he wants to focus on the things that need to be done correctly.
“That’s kind of in the past. I messed up a lot in the spring so I’ve been looking at other people to try and learn and improve on,” he explained.
Braun is using his time this summer to work on the things that he was taught during the spring. He’s also trying to get stronger.
“After we are done working out we go outside and we get the boards out and we do board work,” he said. “Then we go to the punch-pad and hit that to work on our pass sets and stuff. You’ve got to really focus on your technique and refine them out here. There is not much hitting you can do.”
Braun understands that his play will be closely scrutinized this fall. The offensive line is the one area on the team that has several question marks.
“We are a team and you are as strong as your weakest link. The best thing we can do about that is go out and work,” he said. “If we go into fall camp and we know we didn’t work then we can feel bad about it. The way we are working right now, I feel it’s not going to happen. The whole team all-around is going to be pretty strong.”
Braun believes going against West Virginia’s fast and athletic defense will only make him better when the games begin to count.
“Our first team defense, they’re studs, every one of them,” he said. “That makes you better. Playing against better people makes you better.”
Because West Virginia plays such an unorthodox defense, the learning curve for young offensive linemen is a little bit steeper. Braun admits there are times when he gets confused going against the 3-3 stack because they must block the exceptions to the rules.
“Coach Johnson always says, ‘You will only see this in a 3-3 stack’ or ‘this situation will only come up in a four-front.’ It’s tough but I feel if we can block (3-3 stack) what can’t we block? That’s the positive of going against our defense every practice,” Braun said.
And when West Virginia sees a four-man front?
“I’m a little worried about that actually. I’m so used to blocking that odd front right now that I’ve got to remember how to block the even front,” said Braun. “All of our plays were blocked against an odd front and that will change a little bit, but once I get that down I feel it’s going to be alright.”
Overall, Braun is pleased with his progress to this point.
“From the first practice to the spring game I could see a big difference,” he said. “I’m hoping to build on that. I never take a day off and I’ve got to improve on something every day even if it’s something small.
“That’s the way you go about things.”
