Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
Brown: Saturday AM Practice "Sloppy"
March 23, 2019 03:53 PM | Football
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Before West Virginia can learn how to play Neal Brown football, the Mountaineers have to learn how Neal Brown expects them to practice.
Today's spring workout inside Milan Puskar Stadium this morning drove this point home to the Mountaineer players.
"First day in the stadium and the first day with pads on and it was sloppy – a little bit to be expected for the first time anybody on the team has had pads on since the bowl game," Brown said afterward. "Our practice habits have got to get better. We were on the ground too much. We've got to learn how to practice. We should really be more efficient."
Brown was originally scheduled to meet with the media around 12:30, but that was pushed back to closer to 1 p.m. because the guys took a little bit longer than they should have to get done what they needed to get done today.
Co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Matt Moore said it's difficult to get much accomplished when players are constantly on the ground during "thud" practices.
"You want to keep everybody up and when people are on the ground they can roll somebody's ankle and lose time, and that's what you can't have," Moore explained.
Brown said practice preparation begins in the meeting room and continues even after players leave the field.
"It's no different than when you are in class," he said. "It's about when you are in position meetings treat it like a classroom. You take notes and you look at your notes. They have iPads and we have film available. Usually an hour after practice they can go back and watch all of their clips.
"It's really about studying and preparing and not repeating mistakes," he said. "I'm okay if they mess it up – failure allows you to grow – but you shouldn't have repeated things, especially in practice or back-to-back days."
Defensive coordinator Vic Koenning mentioned he's preaching the same thing to his guys.
Koenning is dealing with a complete scheme overhaul going from the old 3-3 stack system to his new 4-2-5 look. There is no overlap whatsoever for his players.
"There are a lot of off-the-field things that go with that as far as teaching them how to take notes in meetings," Koenning said, reiterating Brown's point. "How to listen. How to sit in a chair properly. I've had to separate a couple of guys in my room because when they're together (they don't pay attention as well they should).
"It's not the NFL. It's college, and we're trying to hit every angle to get them to be the best they can be," he mentioned.
Koenning said some of his guys are watching tape at 1 a.m. when instead they should be in bed sleeping.
"I'm like, 'What are we doing here?' That's almost defeating the purpose," he said. "It's a matter of getting the guys to understand the routine that you want them to do."
Briefly:
* Brown said junior linebacker Brendan Ferns was not on the field today because he has not been medically cleared to practice.
* The coach indicated the quarterbacks' timing this morning was not where it needed to be. He attributed some of that to getting all three quarterbacks equal reps and also to frequently rotating wide receivers.
"We weren't as good at quarterback as we needed to be," he said.
Brown singled out the play of Colton McKivitz at left tackle and Josh Sills at guard, and he also mentioned defensive players Josh Chandler, Derrek Pitts and Kenny Robinson Jr.
"Assignment-wise they are not where they needed to be but effort and energy, they're bringing something to the defense right now," Brown said.
* Brown said junior Chase Behrndt and redshirt freshman Briason Mays are sharing reps at center. "We haven't had an errant snap from the gun yet sop both of those guys are locked into a really good competition there right now."
* Brown thought the defense had a really good one-on-one period during practice this morning but that unit must improve its ability to rush the passer.
He also thought the third day of installation really showed on offense.
* Moore said the reason he moved Colton McKivitz from right tackle to left tackle before the start of spring practice is because McKivitz is WVU's best offensive lineman right now. "I think he can be a really good left tackle in this league," Moore said.
* Moore called West Virginia's first two practices in shorts and helmets "fake football." He said the staff considered practicing in full pads today but reconsidered.
"We kind of pulled back being the first day because then we'd really be on the ground," Moore admitted. "Once we feel good about these guys understanding how to keep their feet under them and understand how to come up on a running back or a receiver and break down and be in position, we're probably not going to go in full pads until we feel good about that."
*In the short time he's been here, Koenning is already becoming known for using analogies to help illustrate points he's trying to make. Today, he was asked to discuss the importance of having patience during spring practice.
"The funny thing about defensive coaches, a lot of them are like the old buzzard sitting on the tree and one buzzard says to the other buzzard 'patience my ass, I'm going to go kill something!' We're kind of shoot first and ask questions later."
Later, he referenced his guys' improvement to stacking pennies each day.
"If you put pennies together and if you keep doubling them when you are stacking them, at the end of the month you've got a lot of money," he explained. "We're just going to try and stack the days together."
The Mountaineers are off Sunday and Monday and will resume practice on Tuesday afternoon.
Today's spring workout inside Milan Puskar Stadium this morning drove this point home to the Mountaineer players.
"First day in the stadium and the first day with pads on and it was sloppy – a little bit to be expected for the first time anybody on the team has had pads on since the bowl game," Brown said afterward. "Our practice habits have got to get better. We were on the ground too much. We've got to learn how to practice. We should really be more efficient."
Brown was originally scheduled to meet with the media around 12:30, but that was pushed back to closer to 1 p.m. because the guys took a little bit longer than they should have to get done what they needed to get done today.
Co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Matt Moore said it's difficult to get much accomplished when players are constantly on the ground during "thud" practices.
"You want to keep everybody up and when people are on the ground they can roll somebody's ankle and lose time, and that's what you can't have," Moore explained.
Brown said practice preparation begins in the meeting room and continues even after players leave the field.
"It's no different than when you are in class," he said. "It's about when you are in position meetings treat it like a classroom. You take notes and you look at your notes. They have iPads and we have film available. Usually an hour after practice they can go back and watch all of their clips.
"It's really about studying and preparing and not repeating mistakes," he said. "I'm okay if they mess it up – failure allows you to grow – but you shouldn't have repeated things, especially in practice or back-to-back days."
Defensive coordinator Vic Koenning mentioned he's preaching the same thing to his guys.
Koenning is dealing with a complete scheme overhaul going from the old 3-3 stack system to his new 4-2-5 look. There is no overlap whatsoever for his players.
"There are a lot of off-the-field things that go with that as far as teaching them how to take notes in meetings," Koenning said, reiterating Brown's point. "How to listen. How to sit in a chair properly. I've had to separate a couple of guys in my room because when they're together (they don't pay attention as well they should).
"It's not the NFL. It's college, and we're trying to hit every angle to get them to be the best they can be," he mentioned.
Koenning said some of his guys are watching tape at 1 a.m. when instead they should be in bed sleeping.
"I'm like, 'What are we doing here?' That's almost defeating the purpose," he said. "It's a matter of getting the guys to understand the routine that you want them to do."
Briefly:
* Brown said junior linebacker Brendan Ferns was not on the field today because he has not been medically cleared to practice.
* The coach indicated the quarterbacks' timing this morning was not where it needed to be. He attributed some of that to getting all three quarterbacks equal reps and also to frequently rotating wide receivers.
"We weren't as good at quarterback as we needed to be," he said.
Brown singled out the play of Colton McKivitz at left tackle and Josh Sills at guard, and he also mentioned defensive players Josh Chandler, Derrek Pitts and Kenny Robinson Jr.
"Assignment-wise they are not where they needed to be but effort and energy, they're bringing something to the defense right now," Brown said.
* Brown said junior Chase Behrndt and redshirt freshman Briason Mays are sharing reps at center. "We haven't had an errant snap from the gun yet sop both of those guys are locked into a really good competition there right now."
* Brown thought the defense had a really good one-on-one period during practice this morning but that unit must improve its ability to rush the passer.
He also thought the third day of installation really showed on offense.
* Moore said the reason he moved Colton McKivitz from right tackle to left tackle before the start of spring practice is because McKivitz is WVU's best offensive lineman right now. "I think he can be a really good left tackle in this league," Moore said.* Moore called West Virginia's first two practices in shorts and helmets "fake football." He said the staff considered practicing in full pads today but reconsidered.
"We kind of pulled back being the first day because then we'd really be on the ground," Moore admitted. "Once we feel good about these guys understanding how to keep their feet under them and understand how to come up on a running back or a receiver and break down and be in position, we're probably not going to go in full pads until we feel good about that."
*In the short time he's been here, Koenning is already becoming known for using analogies to help illustrate points he's trying to make. Today, he was asked to discuss the importance of having patience during spring practice.
"The funny thing about defensive coaches, a lot of them are like the old buzzard sitting on the tree and one buzzard says to the other buzzard 'patience my ass, I'm going to go kill something!' We're kind of shoot first and ask questions later."
Later, he referenced his guys' improvement to stacking pennies each day.
"If you put pennies together and if you keep doubling them when you are stacking them, at the end of the month you've got a lot of money," he explained. "We're just going to try and stack the days together."
The Mountaineers are off Sunday and Monday and will resume practice on Tuesday afternoon.
Practice No. 3?? in the ??!#HailWV | #FamilyDay pic.twitter.com/JPD7mE98pk
— West Virginia Football (@WVUfootball) March 23, 2019
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