MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University football coaching staff met with the media on Wednesday, Feb. 3, at the Milan Puskar Center Team Room.
Assistant coach (defensive coordinator/linebackers) Tony Gibson
On the signing of linebacker Brendan Ferns
All the way up until about last Monday or Tuesday, we were in the dark. He told us he was coming last Monday, and we kept quiet about it. We have to. I can’t believe it held out as long as it did without somebody finding out and spreading the word. It was good. He’s a great kid who is focused on football, academics and trying to make himself better.
On where linebacker Brendan Ferns fits into the WVU defensive scheme at linebacker
I see him lining up at outside. He’s a long, athletic and smart kid who can lineup outside and play the Sam or the Will positions. I’m really excited about that.
On the multiple additions to the WVU secondary
Obviously, (safety) Kyzir (White) was a big get for us, after losing a guy like KJ Dillon. He was so important to our defense. I have said numerous times that the spur position is the most important position to what we do defensively. We had to get a guy that can come in and play right now, so we are very excited about (safety) Kyzir (White) and what he can bring to the table. We are going to start (safety) Toyous (Avery) at free safety or bandit. We are going to let him come in, compete and try to win the job. (Safety) Toyous (Avery) is very athletic. Our two junior college corners are more experienced with playing against this level of competition. I like (cornerback) Mike (Daniels) and (cornerback) Elijah (Battle). Both of those guys will do a great job. They’re athletic, big and skilled. We have some high school kids that we’re big on too. (Cornerback Jake) Long and (cornerback Sean) Mahone have stuck with us.
On the overall impression of the 2016 WVU signing class
We have our overall needs, which I’m happy about. These guys were easy to recruit. There wasn’t a circus of recruiting games that some of these guys do. They held true most of the time. It’s a good group of guys, and I’m excited to get to know them.
On the signing of junior college cornerbacks Elijah Battle and Mike Daniels
Those two guys fit what we need. We go out and target guys like them that can help us right now. It has been good with these two.
Assistant Coach (Defensive Line) Bruce Tall
On the signing of defensive lineman Jeffery Pooler
He switched schools between his junior and senior years, so he knows a couple different systems. He has a good body and base. As far as what he can play, it could be inside or outside. So we will see how he develops down there in the weight room with (director of strength and conditioning) Mike Joseph and his staff.
On the signing of defensive lineman Reese Donahue
We have a really good young group with (defensive lineman) Jeffery Pooler and (defensive lineman) Reese Donahue. Anytime you can get guys in here early, you will always have an extra semester than anyone else. The critical part of recruiting is to develop them. Those two guys are now in a great position to be develop.
On the development of defensive lineman Reese Donahue
He’ll develop more as he gets older. He does some things that are pretty natural, and we are going to have to see how things change. Things are going to change. You’re 17 or 18 years old, and now you’re playing against 22 and 23 year olds. The strength factor will come into play. You’re going to have to account for that strength factor.
On the lengthy WVU defensive line depth chart and how it influenced recruiting
Our numbers are high in that room. We try to break down the numbers in our room, and we were at the maximum in our room. We couldn’t go past that number, because we’re going to be heavily senior laden next year. There’s no question that we’ll miss Kyle (Rose) because of his production, but when we put (junior defensive lineman) Darrien (Howard) in, we didn’t miss a beat. He’s very athletic, and we’re excited about what he brings to the table.
On how a bowl game win helps recruiting
I think it solidifies things. The guys get excited about it. It was amazing that as late as it was that so many people were fired up about it and watching it. I thought to myself, holy cow. I keep my watch at Eastern Time, and I thought about getting on that bus at 3:30 a.m. I thought wow, if they’re watching this then they really have to love us.
Assistant head coach (receivers) Lonnie Galloway
On wide receiver Marcus Simms
(Wide receiver) Marcus Simms is a freshman who is already here. He is a talented kid out of the Maryland Area. I thought he was one of the best receivers from over in that area. Actually, I think he can come in and help us. The biggest thing for him is going to be strength. The good thing for him is that he is already here. He is about 6-foot-1, 180-pounds. He has great ball skills, and he is an ultra-fast, tough kid. We will see where he fits in.
On wide receiver Steven Smothers
Obviously, (wide receiver) Steven Smothers is a highly recruited kid out of the Baltimore Area. We think he can come in and help us in the slot. He also can do some punt return and kick return stuff. His longest touchdown run this year was while in the backfield. It’s one of those things. He is a good player. In my opinion, he is probably the best player out of the state of Maryland.
On keeping a recruiting relationship over a long period of time with wide receiver Steven Smothers
It is the same way with any kid. You get the relationship to where they trust you and you trust them. It’s one of those things where he knows I don’t play with him, and he doesn’t play with me. It is business. Its friendship and family all in one time, as I’m recruiting that kid. I have a ton of respect for him. He has a ton of respect for me, so does his family. I went in as myself and recruited the kid.
On how recruiting Tavon Austin helped
It did help a little bit. A lot of kids these days from this area think they are him. He (wide receiver Steven Smothers) does a lot of stuff that is comparable to Tavon (Austin), but that is going to be the biggest thing once he (Smothers) gets here for you all not to compare them. He is not Tavon Austin. He is a special football player, but they do a lot of the same stuff. Tavon (Austin) comes around once in a lifetime.
On the importance of maintaining the Maryland recruiting connection
You just go over there whether it is Maryland, the Washington D.C. area or the Virginia area that I have. For us and for coach (Dana) Holgorsen our biggest thing is going out and trying to find the best players. We are close enough to bordering states, where you want to go over there and recruit that Maryland/Baltimore/Washington D.C. area hard. There are a lot of West Virginia ties over there with alumni and things like that. You go over there and find the ones you can get. You can’t worry about the one’s you don’t get.
Assistant coach (running backs) Ja’Juan Seider
On the comparison between running back Justin Crawford and wide receiver Steven Smothers
It is hard to gauge that, because they are different. (Wide receiver Steven) Smothers does some things that you can’t coach, especially in the return game. If you want to base it off what is coming in, you go with (running back Justin) Crawford, because he has been in junior college. He has been playing with the big boys. He had over 2,000 yards last year in total offense, and he was the JUCO Player of the Year. You always lean that way, but it is hard to compare them because they are two different kids. You are talking about a receiver and a running back.
On running back Justin Crawford starting behind redshirt junior running back Rushel Shell and wide receiver Steven Smothers being one of our returners
With the plan right now you would say yes. You can’t really say anything about (wide receiver Steven) Smothers right now, because you have (freshman wide receiver) Gary (Jennings). You have (freshman wide receiver) Jovon (Durante) who could do it too. You are never going to give a kid anything. They have to come out here and earn it. They are going to have every opportunity to go out there and get it. That’s exactly what we told them. No one is going to promise you anything, but you are going to have every opportunity to go out there and compete. You better go play. We have no problem playing a freshman here.
On running back’s Kennedy McKoy, and Martell Pettaway
They are really good football players. I think they are talented and skilled enough to play right now. It just comes down to the physicality of it and understanding the blitz pickup. I think we could get those kids to run the ball just as good as anyone we have here already. You have to see how they transition. Can they read and react to stuff like they did in high school? Everyone doesn’t make an easy transition, so you are only going to figure that out once they get here and take reps. It comes natural to the natural guys. You don’t have to coach that part of it. You coach technique. You coach blocking. You coach receiving and route running, but running the ball to kids who are naturals at it, you don’t have to coach that. That’s why they say the great ones always have it.
On how redshirt junior running back Rushel Shell is adjusting to the starting role
I think if you go back and watch the bowl game, that’s the (redshirt junior running back) Rushel (Shell) we know. The later part of the season, that’s the (redshirt junior running back) Rushel (Shell) that we know. If you look back a year before that, (redshirt junior running back) Rushel was a really good player for us. I think he had a lot of distractions early. He was probably thinking about the pros too much. He had a baby. He tried to be the man and take care of mom and everyone else instead of dedicating more time to himself. I told all of them. We had a meeting yesterday. The reason that Wendell (Smallwood) had the year that he had is because of what he did on this day moving forward into the offseason. He attacked it. He lifted hard. He got bigger, stronger and faster. The mental part was always there for him. He did the extra things that allowed him to be a better player. That is the thing that (redshirt junior running back) Rushel (Shell) needs to dedicate himself to. Football is easy for him. He is a really good player. That’s why he rushed for all those yards in high school and in college. I don’t think that will be an adjustment. He knows that he can’t coast, because I have people coming in trying to take my job. That was my point to him yesterday. I told him ‘you still have stuff that you haven’t done. You still haven’t rushed for 1,000 yards. What can you do to make yourself better and market yourself to get yourself the chance to go to the next level.’
