Defensive Notebook
August 20, 2009 02:07 PM | General
August 20, 2009
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – It’s not quite moving day yet for the Mountaineer defense, but Defensive Coordinator Jeff Casteel said his depth chart will start firming up after Saturday’s scrimmage.
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| Linebacker Reed Williams catches a pass during a drill earlier this month during practice at Milan Puskar Stadium.
WVU Photographic Services/Dan Friend photo |
“From our standpoint, the more kids that we can have an opportunity to play - and we would like to play with a core of about 20 or 21 guys – the better off we will be,” Casteel said Thursday morning.
Just who those 20 or 21 players will be for the 11 defensive spots will be determined on the football field.
“The kids will dictate that in their ability to make plays in practice and do what we ask of them,” Casteel said. “Each day will determine how many guys we will play in the rotation.”
Presently, Casteel said there are several position battles going on.
“I think when you are talking about our linebackers, the only thing that is settled right now is that number 47 (Reed Williams) is in the middle,” he said. “We are still competing there, but we have a little bit of depth at the linebacker position.
“Zac Cooper has done a good job as a SAM linebacker, which has been a good surprise for us – not that we didn’t think he could do it,” Casteel said. “He has become very consistent for us.”
Pat Lazear has been another linebacker that has displayed flashes of brilliance. However, Casteel wants Lazear to get to the point where his play is more consistent and reliable.
“He knows that he has to continue to work to be a player that allows us to execute at a high level,” Casteel said. “I think he understands that being a 5-foot-11 kid is an advantage and he doesn’t try to play taller than he is, but instead is getting under people.”
Up front with the defensive line, Casteel said that area is still a work in progress.
“We are developing depth with Kirlav’s guys,” he said. “We have just about all of those guys back. Julian Miller has had a good camp. He is a little bit bigger and stronger. Josh Taylor is also pushing to play at nose behind Chris Neild.”
The safety position is much like linebacker in that the coaches have several options to consider.
“Right now we are still looking to find who the starter will be,” Casteel said. “We are competing every day because kids may have started last year, but our whole deal is to try and be a year better. We are not trying to be where we were last year.”
The defense last year was trying to develop an identity, particularly during the first two games of the season against Villanova and East Carolina when the Mountaineers struggled mightily to get off the field on third down.
Casteel said the defensive staff had to work overtime trying to get their early-season mistakes corrected.
“We tried to look at some of the things that we struggled with early in the year. Whether that be assignment football, paying attention to detail or being able to play consistently on third down, we had to do a better job,” he said. “Those are the things that we had some trouble with. I liked the way the kids responded as the year went on, but what we want from them now is to be a year better and start being consistent from the first snap.”
What sometimes happens, particularly with young players, is that things the coaches see in practice don’t necessarily materialize during the games, or vice versa.
“Things change when people are in the stands and that group of kids, especially in the Villanova game, did things that we hadn’t seen in practice in terms of mistakes,” Casteel admitted. “That opened our eyes that we needed to do some work.”
Casteel said final decisions on the group of players they will use for Liberty will be determined in the coming days.
“Right now the clock is still ticking,” he said. “We are still a ways until that first ballgame. (The younger players) are still being evaluated and being coached. We have some talented young players and a nice group of kids. It is our job to get them running in the right direction.
Briefly:
“Josh Taylor has really done a great job for us the last couple of years working himself into being a good football player,” Casteel said. “Coach (Bill) Kirelawich has done a good job with him. He is a guy that stands out and I’m noticing him every day.
“We knew he was a good player in the spring and he is better now then he was in the spring. He is going to get some playing time, which gives us a chance to rest Chris Neild, who is a very good player, but is in a tough spot to play every snap.”
“Right now we haven’t installed anything here defensively for the past two days and there still is a package that we want the kids to learn,” Casteel said. “They have a lot on their plate right now, and we are getting a little more consistent since we haven’t been installing one or two things in every practice.”
“I think we have a chance to be really good this year, not just on defense, but on offense as well,” he said. “During the spring we were rolling, and we were working hard in the summer. I think on September 5th we will be ready to go.”
Berry said Thursday that he wants the defense to get started a little earlier this year.
“I think everyone was tired of getting scored on so soon last season and it happened this camp,” Berry said. “It would take the offense scoring a touchdown for the light to turn on for us, but we are going to get rid of that this year. If the offense can’t score then they can’t win games.”
