Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
Coach Neal Brown Press Conference
April 06, 2019 02:49 PM | Football
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University football coach Neal Brown addressed members of the media on Saturday, April 6, at Milan Puskar Stadium.
Opening Statement
It was a much better day, overall, both sides. I thought we looked closer to being a complete football team today. We made a good amount of strides this week, and I'm proud of them. I'm proud of how our guys prepared this week. I thought they did a much better job getting ready to play. We're getting better; there's still a long way to go. Next week is really critical for us as far as our development goes as a football team. We have to get a lot of things done heading into the summer.
These are some guys I thought had good days, and we can talk more about them, but (junior safety) Derrek Pitts has had a really solid last four or five practices. We practiced with a lot of energy, he's made a bunch of plays, had a pick today. (Sophomore defensive lineman) Dante Stills was really active; I think he's starting to get a feel for our movements up front. (Redshirt sophomore defensive lineman) (Taijh) Alston continues to show that he has one of the best knacks for pass rush that we have. (Sophomore linebacker) Josh Chandler is a guy that I've mentioned a lot; he's continuing to make plays, and he's one of our best guys as far as preparing themselves mentally going into practice. (Redshirt senior cornerback) Hakeem Bailey the last two days, I'm really excited about him, not only on defense but special teams-wise. (Redshirt junior safety) Sean Mahone had his best week, from listening to our strength staff and everybody, maybe in a long time. He's one of our leaders on special teams. We give an award out called "The Gamechanger', and he was The Gamechanger of the day on Thursday. (Redshirt junior linebacker) (Dylan) Tonkery, we limited his snaps, but he made several tackles in the run game early. (Redshirt sophomore linebacker) VanDarius (Cowan) did some really good things, and his talent showed today. That was good to see. And then (redshirt sophomore linebacker) Jake Abbott, the last guy defensively, he's made big strides, not only in special teams – we expect that from him on special teams – but really, the last three practices, he's shown up on defense. He has a good understanding of what we're doing.
Offensively, I thought three of the running backs, (senior running back) (Kennedy) McKoy didn't go as much today, but (senior running back) (Martell) Pettaway had some really physical runs; he missed one early in the scrimmage but came back, learned from it, had some physical runs in our short yardage and goal-line sessions. (Sophomore running back) Leddie Brown, two days in a row, has shown that he's physical; he scored a couple of times today. (Redshirt sophomore running back) (Alec) Sinkfield is a guy that we got in space today, and he showed some things. He's been great on special teams, too, I think he's going to be one of our top guys on special teams. (Redshirt freshman quarterback) Trent Jackson threw some nice balls today, threw the ball down the field. And (redshirt freshman wide receiver) Dillon Spalding and (redshirt freshman wide receiver) Randy Fields (Jr.), they both made some plays with Trent throwing the ball, so that was positive. (Redshirt freshman wide receiver) Sam James, I think he's had as good of a spring as anybody from our receiver position. He made a couple of down-field plays. Up front, (redshirt senior offensive lineman) (Colton) McKivitz played well, (redshirt junior offensive lineman) (Josh) Sills came back and practiced today on a limited basis. When he practiced, I thought he did some really good things, and we're much better when he's in there just with his experience and those type things.
On mentioning the defense first
Yeah, I try to do that all the time since I'm an offensive guy. It's so you all won't give me a hard time.
On junior safety Derrek Pitts
Well, first of all, the thing that sticks out to me is he loves to play. He plays the game with great energy, he's physical, he has to continue to gain weight, so he can play that way over the course of a 12-, 13-game season, 14-game season. But a lot of energy. The thing that I think he's made improvement on is his study habits have been better, he's preparing better, he knows what to do, he's getting a feel on the little things like alignments, his pedal, things like that. He's reading though the keys. I'm pleased with him.
On if has helped that junior safety Derrek Pitts has played safety and cornerback during his career
Well, he does a nice job in coverage because that's how he's built. I think the best thing that we've done is our defensive staff has just kept him on spot. We talked about, 'Hey, do we want to use him in certain packages and things like that?' For me, it's like, 'Hey, he's starting to get in a groove, so let's leave him at that one spot at safety and let's get him as many reps as possible.' That's what we've done, and you can see him studying and getting better.
On the run blocking
It's better. There's only one way up from last week, though. But we were better. The biggest thing is you don't want to see negative runs, and that's something we did last week, we had several negative runs. This week, we came out and the running backs got to the line of scrimmage. If we can get the running backs to the line of scrimmage, we have enough time to where we should have positive plays. But our run blocking has been better this week. It's not easy. Defensively, we do some really good things against spread-run teams that cancel out some gaps. It's frustrating in the spring, but it's a good thing once we get into the fall because we've seen a bunch of different looks and we're able to block them up.
On getting more cohesion on the offensive line
I think the thing today was (redshirt junior offensive lineman) (Josh) Sills was out there. When we play Sills on one side and (redshirt senior offensive lineman) Colton (McKivitz) on the other side, there's a good amount of leadership there. I think guys like (redshirt freshman offensive lineman) Briason Mays, (redshirt junior offensive lineman) (Michael) Brown, (redshirt junior offensive lineman) Chase (Behrndt), we're playing him some at center, so those guys, the more reps they get, the better they are going to get.
On if the cornerbacks have been as productive as the safeties this spring
Yeah, I think we have a lot of experience out there. I didn't mention (redshirt junior cornerback) (Josh) Norwood today, but Norwood has been probably as competitive as anybody we have on our football team. I think the secondary feeds off his energy, him and (junior cornerback) (Derrek) Pitts' (Jr.) energy. The corners have done a nice job. They didn't make as many plays on the ball today as maybe they have in some other spring practices. I mentioned (redshirt senior cornerback) (Hakeem) Bailey, he's getting better. (Redshirt senior cornerback) Keith Washington (Jr.) practiced a little bit limited today. We have to get some younger guys in here. We have a lot of seniors at that position, so we have to get some younger guys ready.
On redshirt freshman quarterback Trent Jackson
He threw the best balls down the field today, Trent did. So, we have to get better at quarterback. We're too up-and-down at quarterback right now. We have some things that we do really, really well, and our best plays today were really good. But what happens is, at quarterback, you're only as good as your bad plays, and our bad plays today were really bad; stuff that will get you beat. What you're trying to do at quarterback is you want your bad plays just to be second down or just to be, 'Hey, you go punt the ball.' Does that make sense? And our bad plays were just too bad today, but the three guys that I didn't mention, they're doing some good things. Trent made the most plays throwing down the field today, so I mentioned him.
On if the struggle at quarterback is to be expected during the spring
If you look at it offensively, if you look at us across the board with who's practicing right now, the thing is there's a lot of new people playing. A lot of the things we're doing are similar from a scheme standpoint. Not only from a production standpoint are those guys gone, but also, the leadership in that room (is gone). (There're) a lot of moving pieces offensively, and we're trying to install the whole offense as we go through the spring. We cut back a little bit today, but we're trying to install the whole offense, and the reason we're doing that is to have some pieces that continue to grow over the summer. But when you do that, it's difficult, because each day you're adding things. Once you get into the season, you're basically practicing the same thing Sunday on through. What we're asking them to do now, as crazy as it sounds, is actually harder to play offensive football in the spring than it actually is during the season.
On how much of the struggle at quarterback is because of the competition
I think, at quarterback, it is absolutely critical. There has to be some continuity, and we're repping three, sometimes four guys, and it's tough. As a quarterback, it's hard to get in a rhythm when you go a series, sit a series, go a series. So, there is some of that, and that's to be expected. I'm not down about the quarterbacks right now. Do I wish we were playing as good as we possibly could? Yes. Are we about where I thought we would be? Yes. When we get done with practice, we're going to be 0-0.
On who he likes in the Final Four
Who do I like in the Final Four? That's a good question. I have to go with the Big 12. I like Chris Beard a lot. We were together at (Texas) Tech, so I'll stick with the Big 12.
On downfield passing
Today, we tried to force the ball downfield. That was one of the things, a point of emphasis coming down. I thought our first (team) defense really defended those balls really well. (Redshirt freshman wide receiver) Sam James made one down the field. We dropped one offensively down the field, but the two's and the three's made several plays down the field.
On downfield passing touchdowns and Saturday's scrimmage
It was all situational. We got after it pretty good today. So, we approximately had 60 plays with the one's, 60 plays with the two's. The three's got about 15 or 20 snaps. We got after it pretty good. We didn't want anybody to have more than about 55 snaps, and that's the way it worked out just because you're rotating with your one's. But this was probably our most intense scrimmage we'll have this spring, and that's the way we advertised it to our guys. We were out here for right at two hours, and it was physical. We did a lot of situations from opening drive (of the) first half, opening drive (of the) second half. We played a coming-off series, we played a goal line, we played a red zone. We did a third-down period, we did a short-yardage period, a two-minute, end of game, end of half. So, we did a lot of different things.
On what team redshirt freshman quarterback Trent Jackson worked with today
He repped with the two's and the three's
On any injury updates
(Junior running back) Kennedy (McKoy), we held him a little bit. He rolled his ankle, but (it's) nothing serious. I don't think. I don't think there was anybody else. I think everyone else practiced.
Opening Statement
It was a much better day, overall, both sides. I thought we looked closer to being a complete football team today. We made a good amount of strides this week, and I'm proud of them. I'm proud of how our guys prepared this week. I thought they did a much better job getting ready to play. We're getting better; there's still a long way to go. Next week is really critical for us as far as our development goes as a football team. We have to get a lot of things done heading into the summer.
These are some guys I thought had good days, and we can talk more about them, but (junior safety) Derrek Pitts has had a really solid last four or five practices. We practiced with a lot of energy, he's made a bunch of plays, had a pick today. (Sophomore defensive lineman) Dante Stills was really active; I think he's starting to get a feel for our movements up front. (Redshirt sophomore defensive lineman) (Taijh) Alston continues to show that he has one of the best knacks for pass rush that we have. (Sophomore linebacker) Josh Chandler is a guy that I've mentioned a lot; he's continuing to make plays, and he's one of our best guys as far as preparing themselves mentally going into practice. (Redshirt senior cornerback) Hakeem Bailey the last two days, I'm really excited about him, not only on defense but special teams-wise. (Redshirt junior safety) Sean Mahone had his best week, from listening to our strength staff and everybody, maybe in a long time. He's one of our leaders on special teams. We give an award out called "The Gamechanger', and he was The Gamechanger of the day on Thursday. (Redshirt junior linebacker) (Dylan) Tonkery, we limited his snaps, but he made several tackles in the run game early. (Redshirt sophomore linebacker) VanDarius (Cowan) did some really good things, and his talent showed today. That was good to see. And then (redshirt sophomore linebacker) Jake Abbott, the last guy defensively, he's made big strides, not only in special teams – we expect that from him on special teams – but really, the last three practices, he's shown up on defense. He has a good understanding of what we're doing.
Offensively, I thought three of the running backs, (senior running back) (Kennedy) McKoy didn't go as much today, but (senior running back) (Martell) Pettaway had some really physical runs; he missed one early in the scrimmage but came back, learned from it, had some physical runs in our short yardage and goal-line sessions. (Sophomore running back) Leddie Brown, two days in a row, has shown that he's physical; he scored a couple of times today. (Redshirt sophomore running back) (Alec) Sinkfield is a guy that we got in space today, and he showed some things. He's been great on special teams, too, I think he's going to be one of our top guys on special teams. (Redshirt freshman quarterback) Trent Jackson threw some nice balls today, threw the ball down the field. And (redshirt freshman wide receiver) Dillon Spalding and (redshirt freshman wide receiver) Randy Fields (Jr.), they both made some plays with Trent throwing the ball, so that was positive. (Redshirt freshman wide receiver) Sam James, I think he's had as good of a spring as anybody from our receiver position. He made a couple of down-field plays. Up front, (redshirt senior offensive lineman) (Colton) McKivitz played well, (redshirt junior offensive lineman) (Josh) Sills came back and practiced today on a limited basis. When he practiced, I thought he did some really good things, and we're much better when he's in there just with his experience and those type things.
On mentioning the defense first
Yeah, I try to do that all the time since I'm an offensive guy. It's so you all won't give me a hard time.
On junior safety Derrek Pitts
Well, first of all, the thing that sticks out to me is he loves to play. He plays the game with great energy, he's physical, he has to continue to gain weight, so he can play that way over the course of a 12-, 13-game season, 14-game season. But a lot of energy. The thing that I think he's made improvement on is his study habits have been better, he's preparing better, he knows what to do, he's getting a feel on the little things like alignments, his pedal, things like that. He's reading though the keys. I'm pleased with him.
On if has helped that junior safety Derrek Pitts has played safety and cornerback during his career
Well, he does a nice job in coverage because that's how he's built. I think the best thing that we've done is our defensive staff has just kept him on spot. We talked about, 'Hey, do we want to use him in certain packages and things like that?' For me, it's like, 'Hey, he's starting to get in a groove, so let's leave him at that one spot at safety and let's get him as many reps as possible.' That's what we've done, and you can see him studying and getting better.
On the run blocking
It's better. There's only one way up from last week, though. But we were better. The biggest thing is you don't want to see negative runs, and that's something we did last week, we had several negative runs. This week, we came out and the running backs got to the line of scrimmage. If we can get the running backs to the line of scrimmage, we have enough time to where we should have positive plays. But our run blocking has been better this week. It's not easy. Defensively, we do some really good things against spread-run teams that cancel out some gaps. It's frustrating in the spring, but it's a good thing once we get into the fall because we've seen a bunch of different looks and we're able to block them up.
On getting more cohesion on the offensive line
I think the thing today was (redshirt junior offensive lineman) (Josh) Sills was out there. When we play Sills on one side and (redshirt senior offensive lineman) Colton (McKivitz) on the other side, there's a good amount of leadership there. I think guys like (redshirt freshman offensive lineman) Briason Mays, (redshirt junior offensive lineman) (Michael) Brown, (redshirt junior offensive lineman) Chase (Behrndt), we're playing him some at center, so those guys, the more reps they get, the better they are going to get.
On if the cornerbacks have been as productive as the safeties this spring
Yeah, I think we have a lot of experience out there. I didn't mention (redshirt junior cornerback) (Josh) Norwood today, but Norwood has been probably as competitive as anybody we have on our football team. I think the secondary feeds off his energy, him and (junior cornerback) (Derrek) Pitts' (Jr.) energy. The corners have done a nice job. They didn't make as many plays on the ball today as maybe they have in some other spring practices. I mentioned (redshirt senior cornerback) (Hakeem) Bailey, he's getting better. (Redshirt senior cornerback) Keith Washington (Jr.) practiced a little bit limited today. We have to get some younger guys in here. We have a lot of seniors at that position, so we have to get some younger guys ready.
On redshirt freshman quarterback Trent Jackson
He threw the best balls down the field today, Trent did. So, we have to get better at quarterback. We're too up-and-down at quarterback right now. We have some things that we do really, really well, and our best plays today were really good. But what happens is, at quarterback, you're only as good as your bad plays, and our bad plays today were really bad; stuff that will get you beat. What you're trying to do at quarterback is you want your bad plays just to be second down or just to be, 'Hey, you go punt the ball.' Does that make sense? And our bad plays were just too bad today, but the three guys that I didn't mention, they're doing some good things. Trent made the most plays throwing down the field today, so I mentioned him.
On if the struggle at quarterback is to be expected during the spring
If you look at it offensively, if you look at us across the board with who's practicing right now, the thing is there's a lot of new people playing. A lot of the things we're doing are similar from a scheme standpoint. Not only from a production standpoint are those guys gone, but also, the leadership in that room (is gone). (There're) a lot of moving pieces offensively, and we're trying to install the whole offense as we go through the spring. We cut back a little bit today, but we're trying to install the whole offense, and the reason we're doing that is to have some pieces that continue to grow over the summer. But when you do that, it's difficult, because each day you're adding things. Once you get into the season, you're basically practicing the same thing Sunday on through. What we're asking them to do now, as crazy as it sounds, is actually harder to play offensive football in the spring than it actually is during the season.
On how much of the struggle at quarterback is because of the competition
I think, at quarterback, it is absolutely critical. There has to be some continuity, and we're repping three, sometimes four guys, and it's tough. As a quarterback, it's hard to get in a rhythm when you go a series, sit a series, go a series. So, there is some of that, and that's to be expected. I'm not down about the quarterbacks right now. Do I wish we were playing as good as we possibly could? Yes. Are we about where I thought we would be? Yes. When we get done with practice, we're going to be 0-0.
On who he likes in the Final Four
Who do I like in the Final Four? That's a good question. I have to go with the Big 12. I like Chris Beard a lot. We were together at (Texas) Tech, so I'll stick with the Big 12.
On downfield passing
Today, we tried to force the ball downfield. That was one of the things, a point of emphasis coming down. I thought our first (team) defense really defended those balls really well. (Redshirt freshman wide receiver) Sam James made one down the field. We dropped one offensively down the field, but the two's and the three's made several plays down the field.
On downfield passing touchdowns and Saturday's scrimmage
It was all situational. We got after it pretty good today. So, we approximately had 60 plays with the one's, 60 plays with the two's. The three's got about 15 or 20 snaps. We got after it pretty good. We didn't want anybody to have more than about 55 snaps, and that's the way it worked out just because you're rotating with your one's. But this was probably our most intense scrimmage we'll have this spring, and that's the way we advertised it to our guys. We were out here for right at two hours, and it was physical. We did a lot of situations from opening drive (of the) first half, opening drive (of the) second half. We played a coming-off series, we played a goal line, we played a red zone. We did a third-down period, we did a short-yardage period, a two-minute, end of game, end of half. So, we did a lot of different things.
On what team redshirt freshman quarterback Trent Jackson worked with today
He repped with the two's and the three's
On any injury updates
(Junior running back) Kennedy (McKoy), we held him a little bit. He rolled his ankle, but (it's) nothing serious. I don't think. I don't think there was anybody else. I think everyone else practiced.
Players Mentioned
LB
/ Football
CB
/ Football
RB
/ Football
LB
/ Football
QB
/ Football
S
/ Football
OL
/ Football
DL
/ FootballColorado Game Uniform Reveal
Thursday, November 06
United Bank Playbook: Colorado Preview
Wednesday, November 05
Houston Game Cinematic Recap
Tuesday, November 04
Jacob Barrick | Nov. 4
Tuesday, November 04
