MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (December 1, 2015) – West Virginia University assistant coaches and select members of the West Virginia University football team met with the media on Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2015, at the Milan Puskar Center Team Room.
Assistant coach (defensive coordinator/linebackers) Tony Gibson
On the importance of an eight-win season
Eight means a lot to the kids. No team at West Virginia has ever done that in the Big 12, and we’re playing for that right now. Also, we are playing just to get a win. That’s what we’re here to do. We are here to do what we do. It’s time to finish this thing the right way.
On the Kansas State offense
They’ll run their quarterback a little more now. He’s more involved in the offense. They also use their fullback’s a lot of different ways. They’ll line them up as wildcat quarterbacks. They’ll put them out at wide receiver, and they’ll sometimes be lined up as the only back and get the ball. Formation wise, they bring a lot more than anyone else we play in this league. We have columns on our board broken up, and they’re all full this week. That’s the first time since Georgia Southern that it has been like that. It has been a lot of film watching and trying to scheme up for this.
On the importance of Kansas State being a team that WVU hasn’t beaten in the Big 12
That was brought up to our kids. This is the one team that we have not beaten in the Big 12, with Oklahoma. Again, that’s not why we’re playing the game. Is there going to be some motivation because of that? Probably so. But, when the ball is snapped nobody is going to be directly thinking of that. That’s all stuff that you try and get them prepared and ready to go do. If it happens, we’ll be happy about it, but, that’s not why we’re going in there solely.
Assistant coach (defensive line) Bruce Tall
On the evolution of teaching tackling
Early on, way back when, people utilized the head more. That’s just not the way you should do things. Now, it’s more utilizing same shoulder and same leg. You still can be very powerful and explosive if you do the right things. We’ve been doing this for a while now, and we have to keep getting better and better now to teach and protect our kids.
On the progression of redshirt junior defensive lineman Noble Nwachukwu
I think he works hard and is very conscientious. The strength coaches put a monitor on our guys to analyze how hard they’re working, and he’s off the charts. Sometimes he gets so high off the charts that we have to make sure that he gets ample rest and recovery. His prep and his work are helping him get better at what he does.
Assistant coach (offensive line) Ron Crook
On what it’s like going up against a team like Kansas State every year
It’s a lot of fun, because you know that you are going to get a great game. They are not going to take a play off. They play just as hard as you do every play, and they are going to keep coming at you. If you have success one or two plays in a row, you have to keep playing the same way, because they are going to keep playing the same way. A team like this is always fun to play, because it is always going to be a hard game. It is never going to be easy with anyone, but these guys especially come ready to play. They are excited. The way they play is fun to watch. They play hard, and they are physical. It is a group of guys who overachieve in every position.
On the first half of the Iowa State game
We tell our guys not to use that as an excuse every day. If they stop the run, they are stopping the run, and we have to play better. We have to block better. That’s what we talked about at halftime, and we came out and did a better job in the second half. It is a lot of things. Their scheme is designed toward stopping the run, and they were good at it. They did a good job with playing our run game. We need to elevate our play when things like that start happening. We have to keep fighting and keep battling to create seams and let those guys hit them.
On if they made adjustments in the second half of the Iowa State game
You always make a few adjustments here and there, but in the end, you play better because your players execute better.
Assistant head coach (receivers) Lonnie Galloway
On the importance of a win over Kansas State
That’s one of the things we mentioned a little bit on Sunday when we all got together. It would be nice to finish 8-4 with the senior group we have. (Kansas State) is a very tough opponent that is coached very well. They came up short in a few games this season, but they are extremely talented. It would nice to end this season with that eighth win.
On the progression of junior quarterback Skyler Howard since his first game against Kansas State last year
(Junior quarterback) Skyler (Howard) is a work in progress. He goes out and works hard. He came in that game last year and hit Kevin White with a long touchdown pass and led us on a couple other drives as well. He has grown, and the thing that (junior quarterback) Skyler (Howard) has to do is go out and be himself. He can only control what he can control.
On designing more plays for quick strikes
The one play (redshirt sophomore wide receiver) Shelton (Gibson) had was kind of nice to get. It was one of those things where we were running the ball quite a bit, and it was nice to see (redshirt sophomore wide receiver) Shelton (Gibson) make a play. It’s one of those things where if (Kansas State) is trying to squeeze the box on us, we have to throw the ball. It’s going to be good weather, so we’re going to do whatever we need to do to get a victory.
Junior quarterback Skyler Howard
On if he is expecting the same game plan from last week to this week
It would be nice to improve it all. It is what you want to do going into the next week. We are going to be ready for anything. We are going to prepare all week, and take what they give us. That’s the number one thing. We have to see the holes in the defense and take what they give us.
On redshirt sophomore wide receiver Shelton Gibson
His confidence is high right now, and mine has always been high in him. I don’t see anything changing really.
On the weather in Manhattan, Kansas
We will take it. It’s good ball weather. We will take it.
On if he was always confident that he could run the offense from the moment when coach Dana Holgorsen told him to go play in last year’s Kansas State game
No doubt. I feel like trust is the number one thing when you put a quarterback in the game. You have to be able to trust him with the ball, because he touches the ball every play. If I didn’t know what to do in those types of situations, then I wouldn’t have been in the game. I was just doing my job.
Redshirt senior tight end/fullback Cody Clay
On the emerging confidence of junior quarterback Skyler Howard since his first action against Kansas State last season
As long as you have experience, you have confidence. A lot of young guys don’t have confidence, because they don’t have experience. (Skyler Howard) definitely has experience now, and he has confidence because of it.
On the difference between an 8-4 and 7-5
Say it out loud and you can tell the difference between the two. The seniors met with (head coach) Dana (Holgorsen) earlier in the season, after October, and our goal was to win out. We wanted to leave West Virginia football a better place than we found it as a senior class. That’s really important for us.
Redshirt junior offensive lineman Tyler Orlosky
On the importance of beating Kansas State
It’s a big deal. I read a thing that the last time we defeated them was 1930. Kansas State and Oklahoma are the only teams that we haven’t beaten since joining the Big 12, so that’s something we are looking to fix.
On the traditionally tough line play of Kansas State
They’re a lot like us. A real blue collar team. Obviously, you don’t have real top recruits every year like a Texas or Oklahoma, but they’re a team that works hard and works for everything they have. Hopefully, we can match their fight and intensity, so that we can come away with a victory.
On the motivation of Kansas State playing for a .500 season
They’re going to come out fighting. They’re 5-6 and are going for a .500 season. Who knows if (head coach Bill) Snyder will come back or not. He has been coaching there for a while. They are going to give us everything they have, and we need to overcome that and win at the end of the week.
Redshirt senior cornerback Terrell Chestnut
On the Kansas State run game
Their backs are patient and run well. Their fullback is aggressive and opens up holes, and their line is always aggressive. It’ll be a nice challenge for us.
On what the Kansas State game means for WVU this season
It’s not even about setting a record. It’s about going out and setting the standard for how we want to build in the Big 12. An eight win or nine win season is something that we can all look back on and be proud of.
On how the WVU secondary has improved over the course of the season
Everybody just comes to work every day. We have a lot of people that have played a lot of ball here. Everyone has been honed in on techniques, and coaches have really been harping on us about it. It’s really about preparation and going out there and executing.
Junior defensive lineman Darrien Howard
On the confidence of the WVU defensive line
Our defensive line is feeling really good. We always talk about putting in 100% effort, and seeing a play like (redshirt senior defensive lineman) Kyle (Rose) had on Saturday shows how far we’ve come. We have really matured.
On the motivation of getting more sacks
It’s always more motivation, especially when you get your first sack. You want to get another one, and you want to keep it rolling.
The biggest area of improvement during the Big 12 schedule for the WVU defensive line
We are more disciplined, and we do what we’re coached to do. We are more mature on the field, and we know our roles and what techniques to use. We apply that to our style of play.
Redshirt junior safety Jarrod Harper
In the biggest change in his progression over the last five weeks
It has really just been about becoming more comfortable. I have a better feel for the game and that really has been the biggest change for me. Week-in and week-out, I’m going out there and feeling more comfortable than before.
The change in defensive confidence since October
There’s obviously other differences. October was a hard month for us, but we went perfect in November. There’s a lot of things that go into that, such as going out and executing. In October, we really weren’t playing the type of ball we should have been. In November, we got back to playing West Virginia defense, and we are just going to keep trying to build on that.
On the difference between an 8-4 and a 7-5 regular season record
A huge difference. We are preaching eight wins, because it would be the best record WVU has had since joining the Big 12. We are so focused on that going into this game against (Kansas State). Come Saturday we need to go out, execute and come away with that eighth win and the best record WVU has had since joining the Big 12.
On the difference in the team morale during a four game win streak compared to a four game losing streak
I think it has been a complete 180 in regards to how we’ve been doing things and feeling. I’m really happy about it, and I think we’re all really happy about it. I didn’t really realize it until yesterday when (head coach) Dana (Holgorsen) said we were 100% in November. That to me is really cool.
