Photo by: Ben Queen
Assistant Coaches and Players Media Session
November 07, 2017 05:22 PM | Football
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - West Virginia University assistant coaches and select members of the West Virginia University football team met with the media on Tuesday, November 7, 2017, at the Milan Puskar Center Team Room.
Associate Head Coach (Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers) Tony Gibson
On the defensive line's performance against Iowa State
They made the difference in the game. (Junior defensive lineman) Ezekiel Rose, (sophomore defensive lineman) Reese (Donahue), (freshman defensive lineman) (Lamonte) McDougle, those guys all played really well. I thought the guys that we rolled in played well. (redshirt senior defensive lineman) Jon Lewis, (redshirt senior defensive lineman) (Xavier) Pegues, (freshman defensive lineman) (Darius) Stills, I was very pleased with how those guys played.
On how he felt about the defensive line's performance in the last few weeks
I thought (sophomore defensive lineman Reese (Donahue) has played really well the last few games. I thought (junior defensive lineman) (Ezekiel) Zeke (Rose) could give us a good little spark. I like how quick he is and I knew that was a big offensive line so I thought we could use his speed.
On what has impressed him about sophomore defensive lineman Reese Donahue
His technique is so good. He just battles to hold the gap, he understands our system. Just really impressed with him, really if you look at his body of work over the past couple of weeks, he has played well.
Assistant Coach (Safeties) Matt Caponi
On freshman Kenny Robinson playing the safety position
He has no choice. I coach them hard. He's still a young kid, still learning. I think his biggest attribute is that he's just a football player. He'll continue to get better and the more he's focused in and worries about what his job is and what he can do, then that'll obviously help him out. I'm trying not to throw too much onto his plate at one time, but he's coming along. He's engaged on the sidelines and during the game. He understands adjustments and stuff. Also, look for him to continue to progress here and continue to get better over the next couple of weeks.
On how having versatile defensive backs is helpful
It creates depth for us, especially when you have guys banged up. There's a situation where we had to do that a couple of weeks ago and guys just learn different positions. We have confidence with putting those guys in because they're repping in practice and have been doing it for a few weeks. It just creates more depth and gives us confidence to play more guys in certain situations.
On recruiting versatile defensive backs
You're looking to recruit good football players. Sometimes, guys are strictly corners or strictly safeties. Some corners grow into safeties and some safeties grow into linebackers. So, it's a revolving door in the recruiting process, but you're looking for good football players that could potentially help you in several areas on the field.
Assistant Coach (Special Teams/Linebackers) Mark Scott
On Kansas State's effectiveness on special teams
Execution, how physical they are with their blocks, being able to double team and chip and work their way up into the safeties and second levels, and their returners trust in everybody else. You'll see (D.J.) Reed catch the ball eight yards into the end zone. He doesn't hesitate, he's bringing that ball out. He knows that the other 10 guys are going to do their job and open up some seams for him.
On how Kansas weather factors into special teams play
Absolutely, and you want to take into effect that when you normally head out to Kansas that you're going to have wind in one direction, and that's going to affect what you do. We've got to get the right guys out there, we've got to hone in on how to defeat blocks and how to get the returner down. A large portion of that is on deep kicks, directional kicks. We've got to have execution across the board to have a chance to be successful.
On Kansas State's overall team effectiveness
You look at them on all three sides of the ball and they're disciplined, they're well-coached and they're solid in basically everything they do. Their special teams impacts the game more than any other opponent that we've faced. That's where you put on the film and you see (D.J.) Reed and you see (Byron) Pringle literally changing things. With their specialists, (Matthew) McCrane, he's about to become one of their all-time leading scorers in terms of kicking. Their special teams and their specialists, the impact they have on the game is probably greater than anyone else we've faced this year.
Assistant Coach (Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks) Jake Spavital
On the play design on redshirt senior wide receiver Ka'Raun White's touchdown vs. Iowa State
We put another post underneath it. That was (junior wide receiver) (David) Sills (V) and they drove on Sills and let (redshirt senior wide receiver) Ka'Raun (White) take it. When you start stacking and bunching people, they tend to go to Sills right now since he's been so highly targeted.
On what he saw defensively on that touchdown grab
That's what we knew. We knew it was going to be a rush three, drop three situation where we put three double teams out there. So, it was good. (Sophomore running back) (Martell) Pettaway actually made an unbelievable block on that play. That just set up the whole thing. I've put a lot of credit to Pettaway on that play for being able to execute cleanly.
On preaching patience on offense going into the matchup against Kansas State
In a way, their defense mirrors Iowa State's defense. They are a four-down front team, compared to the three-down team that we played last week, but they're very good on defense. They play well together. It's very similar to how we played Iowa State. You've got to take advantage of every opportunity because they normally have good ball control on offense. They don't give you very many opportunities, from an offensive standpoint, with the amount of drives you're going to have. We've got to be patient. We've got to take what the defense gives us. It's going to be another emphasis on physicality. You've got to be able to play with a physical edge if we're going to be able to move the ball successfully against this defense.
Assistant Coach (Wide Receivers) Tyron Carrier
On how he has seen the physicality of the receiving corps improve over the last two weeks
We called them out and they became more physical on the perimeter. That's the biggest thing and especially for me, I always preach being very physical every chance you get. It helps them with the route running aspect because the defender doesn't know if you're coming to beat them up again or run a route. The physical aspect of that was the big difference.
On opposing defenses scheming more to take junior wide receiver David Sills V out of the game
Yeah, I told him that like three weeks ago, that it was going to start happening and it's been happening. I told him 'Kudos, you're the guy now.'
On opposing defenses have done to take junior wide receiver David Sills V out of the game
A little box coverage, always having somebody over the top of him so he can't beat anybody deep. Playing hard inside of him, the usual.
Assistant Coach (Offensive Line) Tony Dews
On the improved running game in the win over Iowa State
The first thing is that we won. Regardless of how we were doing in the run game, we won. As far as the run game goes, any time you can run the ball and help to dictate the tempo of the game, and you're having success running the ball on first and second down, that's a good day.
On the team's improved physicality against Iowa State
I think it carried over from practice to the game. I think that Coach (Dana Holgorsen) challenged the entire team. He challenged the offensive line, running backs and tight ends to be able to run the ball. We practiced that way through the week and then I think that carried over into the game.
On how to continue to improve the team's physicality
I think we've heard Coach (Dana) Holgorsen say before that you have to be tough to play this game. I believe that we'll continue to practice that way and, as a coach, I'll continue to preach that part of it with my individual group. Hopefully, we can carry it over through the remainder of the season and into the bowl season and into next spring and then next season.
On senior running back Justin Crawford's resurgence against Iowa State
Justin was playing well. He was running hard, picking up pass protections and things like that. It was just one of those deals where he was rolling. So, why change it?
Sophomore Running Back Kennedy McKoy
On how the team address the physicality concerns last week
Yeah, coach was keeping it in our ear all week that we need to be more physical than we have been. We just sit down and went with it.
On how to keep the physical mindset up the next few weeks
We just try to keep the same mindset, keep grinding, keep that physical mentality.
On the draw play against Iowa State on third-and-17
I knew the draw had been working throughout the game earlier. It was a good play call and I knew exactly where I had to go so I just got there.
On how he knows how far he needs to go to get a first down
I look before every play, but I knew exactly where the yard marker was and I found that little orange pad on the sideline so I ran to that.
Redshirt Sophomore Offensive Lineman Colton McKivitz
On if the offensive linemen were more motivated after being told they need to be more physical
It's kind of both. Linemen, we are not too happy when we get called out for not being physical enough or not tough enough in a game. It showed against Oklahoma State, but I think we took a step in the right direction. Another good week of practice this week will really help towards you know being more physical and I think it's just more of a mindset than anything.
On if being more physical in the Iowa State game was due to scheme
It wasn't scheme or anything like that it was just mental. We were harped on all week and I think we all got tired of being called soft or we weren't tough enough to play four quarters or play in this game. We were fed up and kind of annoyed with hearing that kind of talk about the offensive line but we did take a good step in the right direction.
On if the physicality will carry over to the Kansas State game
It should, it was good momentum coming off that win against Iowa State. They were tough and they played hard. It will be the same thing, (head) coach (Dana) Holgorsen said it's going to be Iowa State week all over again with Kansas State. They are also a very physical group, so we're going to have to do the same thing. Just keep practicing and have that mindset of being more physical.
Redshirt Sophomore Linebacker David Long Jr.
On what Kansas State does with the quarterback in running situations
It was difficult to stop it last year. It was a good game how they played it out with the play-action against the type of defense that we run. It is a good offense to run against us. We handled it well last year. We should be able to do it again.
On the key to stopping Kansas State's quarterback runs
Just do your job; read your keys. Don't guess too much because their offense works off mistakes from a defense like play-action wise.
On what is difficult about defending Kansas State's 'pop pass'
It is like it was last year when it draws us in with the play-action the quarterback reads it, and he holds it a long time, which is difficult for defenses. Play-action-wise that's mostly the problem with it.
Redshirt Freshman Linebacker Dylan Tonkery
On the difference between the two outside linebacker positions
There is not really too much of a difference, just coverage wise. Most of it is the same either way. It's just different. There is not really that big of a difference.
On his mindset going into the Iowa State game
Well, I knew they were a big counter and power team. They didn't run much during the game so most of the time it was just regular read zones and stuff like that. It was pretty simple really.
On the physicality of last week's practice
Usually in the weeks before, in Tuesday's practice we would go in spider pads. Which is just like, they're not shoulder pads, they are just a little bit of padding. We don't hit a lot, but we hit a little bit. Then this past week we changed it. We went shoulder pads two days in a row. That probably had a big difference on us because we were able to hit on Tuesday and Wednesday instead of just Wednesday. So, that made it a little bit different.
Sophomore Defensive Lineman Reese Donahue
On junior defensive lineman Ezekiel Rose's progression
Oh man, it's amazing. You have to imagine he came in and he doesn't know our schemes, he doesn't know our defense, I'm sure he has played like four downs. I'm not sure if he has played in a three down or not, but he had to learn the whole defense. He had to learn a lot of our calls and even technique things. There are some things we do that different schools don't do when teaching technique. Not only has he come in and prepared his body, prepared his mind, handled school, played on Division 1 level in front of the 65,000 people but he's also standing out. It's amazing how he's how he has progressed, it's been pretty awesome.
On if junior defensive lineman Ezekiel Rose's progression is due to his natural athleticism
He is super athletic and super-fast. I don't know if you know that or not. We wear GPS's in practice, games, even during walk-through sometimes and his numbers are on the charts. He's extremely fast and that obviously comes from athleticism.
On how much he has improved since last season
I really think that a lot of the game is just understanding it. Physically, I've been prepared. The coaches do a great job of getting us where we need to be physically, but the mental part of the game, it comes with time, it comes with getting reps in practice and getting reps in games. A lot of it is between the ears; a lot of it is up top. Without those reps in practice in games, just taking time to study film. That is how a lot of progress happens.
Associate Head Coach (Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers) Tony Gibson
On the defensive line's performance against Iowa State
They made the difference in the game. (Junior defensive lineman) Ezekiel Rose, (sophomore defensive lineman) Reese (Donahue), (freshman defensive lineman) (Lamonte) McDougle, those guys all played really well. I thought the guys that we rolled in played well. (redshirt senior defensive lineman) Jon Lewis, (redshirt senior defensive lineman) (Xavier) Pegues, (freshman defensive lineman) (Darius) Stills, I was very pleased with how those guys played.
On how he felt about the defensive line's performance in the last few weeks
I thought (sophomore defensive lineman Reese (Donahue) has played really well the last few games. I thought (junior defensive lineman) (Ezekiel) Zeke (Rose) could give us a good little spark. I like how quick he is and I knew that was a big offensive line so I thought we could use his speed.
On what has impressed him about sophomore defensive lineman Reese Donahue
His technique is so good. He just battles to hold the gap, he understands our system. Just really impressed with him, really if you look at his body of work over the past couple of weeks, he has played well.
Assistant Coach (Safeties) Matt Caponi
On freshman Kenny Robinson playing the safety position
He has no choice. I coach them hard. He's still a young kid, still learning. I think his biggest attribute is that he's just a football player. He'll continue to get better and the more he's focused in and worries about what his job is and what he can do, then that'll obviously help him out. I'm trying not to throw too much onto his plate at one time, but he's coming along. He's engaged on the sidelines and during the game. He understands adjustments and stuff. Also, look for him to continue to progress here and continue to get better over the next couple of weeks.
On how having versatile defensive backs is helpful
It creates depth for us, especially when you have guys banged up. There's a situation where we had to do that a couple of weeks ago and guys just learn different positions. We have confidence with putting those guys in because they're repping in practice and have been doing it for a few weeks. It just creates more depth and gives us confidence to play more guys in certain situations.
On recruiting versatile defensive backs
You're looking to recruit good football players. Sometimes, guys are strictly corners or strictly safeties. Some corners grow into safeties and some safeties grow into linebackers. So, it's a revolving door in the recruiting process, but you're looking for good football players that could potentially help you in several areas on the field.
Assistant Coach (Special Teams/Linebackers) Mark Scott
On Kansas State's effectiveness on special teams
Execution, how physical they are with their blocks, being able to double team and chip and work their way up into the safeties and second levels, and their returners trust in everybody else. You'll see (D.J.) Reed catch the ball eight yards into the end zone. He doesn't hesitate, he's bringing that ball out. He knows that the other 10 guys are going to do their job and open up some seams for him.
On how Kansas weather factors into special teams play
Absolutely, and you want to take into effect that when you normally head out to Kansas that you're going to have wind in one direction, and that's going to affect what you do. We've got to get the right guys out there, we've got to hone in on how to defeat blocks and how to get the returner down. A large portion of that is on deep kicks, directional kicks. We've got to have execution across the board to have a chance to be successful.
On Kansas State's overall team effectiveness
You look at them on all three sides of the ball and they're disciplined, they're well-coached and they're solid in basically everything they do. Their special teams impacts the game more than any other opponent that we've faced. That's where you put on the film and you see (D.J.) Reed and you see (Byron) Pringle literally changing things. With their specialists, (Matthew) McCrane, he's about to become one of their all-time leading scorers in terms of kicking. Their special teams and their specialists, the impact they have on the game is probably greater than anyone else we've faced this year.
Assistant Coach (Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks) Jake Spavital
On the play design on redshirt senior wide receiver Ka'Raun White's touchdown vs. Iowa State
We put another post underneath it. That was (junior wide receiver) (David) Sills (V) and they drove on Sills and let (redshirt senior wide receiver) Ka'Raun (White) take it. When you start stacking and bunching people, they tend to go to Sills right now since he's been so highly targeted.
On what he saw defensively on that touchdown grab
That's what we knew. We knew it was going to be a rush three, drop three situation where we put three double teams out there. So, it was good. (Sophomore running back) (Martell) Pettaway actually made an unbelievable block on that play. That just set up the whole thing. I've put a lot of credit to Pettaway on that play for being able to execute cleanly.
On preaching patience on offense going into the matchup against Kansas State
In a way, their defense mirrors Iowa State's defense. They are a four-down front team, compared to the three-down team that we played last week, but they're very good on defense. They play well together. It's very similar to how we played Iowa State. You've got to take advantage of every opportunity because they normally have good ball control on offense. They don't give you very many opportunities, from an offensive standpoint, with the amount of drives you're going to have. We've got to be patient. We've got to take what the defense gives us. It's going to be another emphasis on physicality. You've got to be able to play with a physical edge if we're going to be able to move the ball successfully against this defense.
Assistant Coach (Wide Receivers) Tyron Carrier
On how he has seen the physicality of the receiving corps improve over the last two weeks
We called them out and they became more physical on the perimeter. That's the biggest thing and especially for me, I always preach being very physical every chance you get. It helps them with the route running aspect because the defender doesn't know if you're coming to beat them up again or run a route. The physical aspect of that was the big difference.
On opposing defenses scheming more to take junior wide receiver David Sills V out of the game
Yeah, I told him that like three weeks ago, that it was going to start happening and it's been happening. I told him 'Kudos, you're the guy now.'
On opposing defenses have done to take junior wide receiver David Sills V out of the game
A little box coverage, always having somebody over the top of him so he can't beat anybody deep. Playing hard inside of him, the usual.
Assistant Coach (Offensive Line) Tony Dews
On the improved running game in the win over Iowa State
The first thing is that we won. Regardless of how we were doing in the run game, we won. As far as the run game goes, any time you can run the ball and help to dictate the tempo of the game, and you're having success running the ball on first and second down, that's a good day.
On the team's improved physicality against Iowa State
I think it carried over from practice to the game. I think that Coach (Dana Holgorsen) challenged the entire team. He challenged the offensive line, running backs and tight ends to be able to run the ball. We practiced that way through the week and then I think that carried over into the game.
On how to continue to improve the team's physicality
I think we've heard Coach (Dana) Holgorsen say before that you have to be tough to play this game. I believe that we'll continue to practice that way and, as a coach, I'll continue to preach that part of it with my individual group. Hopefully, we can carry it over through the remainder of the season and into the bowl season and into next spring and then next season.
On senior running back Justin Crawford's resurgence against Iowa State
Justin was playing well. He was running hard, picking up pass protections and things like that. It was just one of those deals where he was rolling. So, why change it?
Sophomore Running Back Kennedy McKoy
On how the team address the physicality concerns last week
Yeah, coach was keeping it in our ear all week that we need to be more physical than we have been. We just sit down and went with it.
On how to keep the physical mindset up the next few weeks
We just try to keep the same mindset, keep grinding, keep that physical mentality.
On the draw play against Iowa State on third-and-17
I knew the draw had been working throughout the game earlier. It was a good play call and I knew exactly where I had to go so I just got there.
On how he knows how far he needs to go to get a first down
I look before every play, but I knew exactly where the yard marker was and I found that little orange pad on the sideline so I ran to that.
Redshirt Sophomore Offensive Lineman Colton McKivitz
On if the offensive linemen were more motivated after being told they need to be more physical
It's kind of both. Linemen, we are not too happy when we get called out for not being physical enough or not tough enough in a game. It showed against Oklahoma State, but I think we took a step in the right direction. Another good week of practice this week will really help towards you know being more physical and I think it's just more of a mindset than anything.
On if being more physical in the Iowa State game was due to scheme
It wasn't scheme or anything like that it was just mental. We were harped on all week and I think we all got tired of being called soft or we weren't tough enough to play four quarters or play in this game. We were fed up and kind of annoyed with hearing that kind of talk about the offensive line but we did take a good step in the right direction.
On if the physicality will carry over to the Kansas State game
It should, it was good momentum coming off that win against Iowa State. They were tough and they played hard. It will be the same thing, (head) coach (Dana) Holgorsen said it's going to be Iowa State week all over again with Kansas State. They are also a very physical group, so we're going to have to do the same thing. Just keep practicing and have that mindset of being more physical.
Redshirt Sophomore Linebacker David Long Jr.
On what Kansas State does with the quarterback in running situations
It was difficult to stop it last year. It was a good game how they played it out with the play-action against the type of defense that we run. It is a good offense to run against us. We handled it well last year. We should be able to do it again.
On the key to stopping Kansas State's quarterback runs
Just do your job; read your keys. Don't guess too much because their offense works off mistakes from a defense like play-action wise.
On what is difficult about defending Kansas State's 'pop pass'
It is like it was last year when it draws us in with the play-action the quarterback reads it, and he holds it a long time, which is difficult for defenses. Play-action-wise that's mostly the problem with it.
Redshirt Freshman Linebacker Dylan Tonkery
On the difference between the two outside linebacker positions
There is not really too much of a difference, just coverage wise. Most of it is the same either way. It's just different. There is not really that big of a difference.
On his mindset going into the Iowa State game
Well, I knew they were a big counter and power team. They didn't run much during the game so most of the time it was just regular read zones and stuff like that. It was pretty simple really.
On the physicality of last week's practice
Usually in the weeks before, in Tuesday's practice we would go in spider pads. Which is just like, they're not shoulder pads, they are just a little bit of padding. We don't hit a lot, but we hit a little bit. Then this past week we changed it. We went shoulder pads two days in a row. That probably had a big difference on us because we were able to hit on Tuesday and Wednesday instead of just Wednesday. So, that made it a little bit different.
Sophomore Defensive Lineman Reese Donahue
On junior defensive lineman Ezekiel Rose's progression
Oh man, it's amazing. You have to imagine he came in and he doesn't know our schemes, he doesn't know our defense, I'm sure he has played like four downs. I'm not sure if he has played in a three down or not, but he had to learn the whole defense. He had to learn a lot of our calls and even technique things. There are some things we do that different schools don't do when teaching technique. Not only has he come in and prepared his body, prepared his mind, handled school, played on Division 1 level in front of the 65,000 people but he's also standing out. It's amazing how he's how he has progressed, it's been pretty awesome.
On if junior defensive lineman Ezekiel Rose's progression is due to his natural athleticism
He is super athletic and super-fast. I don't know if you know that or not. We wear GPS's in practice, games, even during walk-through sometimes and his numbers are on the charts. He's extremely fast and that obviously comes from athleticism.
On how much he has improved since last season
I really think that a lot of the game is just understanding it. Physically, I've been prepared. The coaches do a great job of getting us where we need to be physically, but the mental part of the game, it comes with time, it comes with getting reps in practice and getting reps in games. A lot of it is between the ears; a lot of it is up top. Without those reps in practice in games, just taking time to study film. That is how a lot of progress happens.
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