Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
Monday Football Notebook
September 16, 2019 04:07 PM | Football, Blog
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Neal Brown covered a lot of ground during his weekly teleconference with Big 12 media Monday morning.
Brown was asked why his defense has performed better in the second half in all three games this year against James Madison, Missouri and NC State.
He sort of flipped that around a little bit.
"We need to play better in the first half," he began.
"The first game, you are not really sure what to expect because we were going against a new coaching staff," he continued. "We got into the locker room and were able to make some adjustments because we knew what we were seeing. The second game, the whole first half was bad football so we were able to get in there and really re-focus the guys. I think that's what you saw.
"And in the last game, North Carolina State really had not shown much at all. They had a new coordinator on offense. They really hadn't been stressed at all so this was really like their first game again. I'm happy we are playing better in the second half, but I'd like to get to the point where we can play good in the first half as well."
Brown was also asked about taking a knee in the extra point try near the end of the game when the Mountaineers went ahead 44-27.
"We looked at the data from the analytics company we use and they give you different scenarios during the game and that put us up 17, so at that point the extra point does you no good," he explained. "There is no difference between 17 and 18 points, but a worse-case scenario happens and an extra point is blocked, they run it back, now it's a two-possession game and you bring the ability for them to score and try an onside kick.
"It may be unorthodox, but it makes a lot of sense."
Brown thought the team's great preparation last week really showed up last Saturday.
"We prepared a lot better during the week so I knew we'd have a chance. We're such a young football team and we did not play well at all against Missouri and we really challenged our guys," Brown said. "We had more physical practices a week ago, and I thought they came out and responded. We played with more of an edge. We blocked better. We tackled better."
Brown mentioned the great crowd playing a role as well. He was very appreciative of the 57,000-plus who showed up last Saturday one week after the Mountaineers' 38-7 loss at Missouri.
"I thought our energy was great, and I thought we fed off our crowd. We had an outstanding crowd here," Brown mentioned.
Briefly:
* Neal Brown on the Big 12's impressive 8-2 record in non-conference play last week that included a the league's 5-2 record against Power 5 opponents.
"I thought there were some quality wins, but I don't know if I would go as far as saying it was a statement weekend," Brown explained. "I think this league has played some really good football. Early on, especially against Power 5 opponents, I think the Big 12 has handled itself pretty well."
*On the schematic tweaks that were made to help the running game last week. WVU nearly tripled its rushing output from its first two weeks against the Wolfpack last Saturday.
"We really struggled to run the ball so we just tried to find ways to put our offensive line in a better position, and I thought we did that in general. I thought our running backs ran the ball harder and were more decisive. There was less hesitation by them, and I thought that was a huge factor. That was the biggest positive of our offensive performance on Saturday," Brown said.
Furthermore, Brown said it was important for the coaching staff to adjust to what the players are best suited to do instead of the players adjusting to what the coaches want to do.
"It's really not about what we're most comfortable with or what I'm most comfortable with, it's what our kids can do the best," he explained. "You keep trying until you find some things that work, and I felt like we found some things that worked on Saturday.
"We're at a point where we're going to have to present something differently each and every week to have success in the run game," he added. "We're not at a point right now where we can just line up and mash people. Hopefully we'll get to that point, but we're probably not to that point right now. I thought our offensive line communicated much better. We had hats on hats a lot more frequently in this game than we had in the past."
* Brown on the play of freshmen Briason Mays and James Gmiter, earning their first career starts last Saturday against NC State.
"Gmiter, making his first start, he's relatively new to the position. He played a little bit of O-line in high school but other than that hadn't played very much, and I thought he fared very well," Brown said. "There are obviously some things he's got to improve on, but I thought he stayed in good body position. I thought his eyes were good. Briason, the best thing he did was he communicate. I thought he played with great effort and really played that way through the whole game."
Brown also pointed out the play of junior guard Chase Behrndt, who probably made the biggest 180 from the prior week.
"I thought Chase Behrndt played his best game of the season by far," Brown said. "He was critical in some of our big run plays. I thought he strained. I thought he played physical, and I thought he was as big a factor in our turnaround as anybody."
Brown said he expects to have junior guard Michael Brown back this week, but he's unsure if Josh Sills' injured shoulder will be ready for Kansas when the two open Big 12 play in Lawrence this Saturday.
"We won't know until later in the week on him, but we should be able to rotate another guy in there," Brown said. "We only played six last week so maybe we can get it up to seven or eight that we can play, and I think that will help us overall.
Tevin Bush, suspended last Saturday game for violating team rules, will be available this week, according to Brown.
* Kansas and West Virginia are coming off impressive nonconference wins against ACC foes, Kansas at Boston College last Friday night and West Virginia against NC State on Saturday.
That should make Saturday's game a wee bit more interesting for outside observers.
"I don't think either one of us was pleased with how we played in their second games under a new staff. I think it shows Kansas responded well to coach Miles and his staff. They had great belief going up to Boston College. Without a doubt, two quality wins, one for us and one for them and both teams will go into Saturday's game with some confidence," he concluded.
Fans will have to use their streaming devices to watch Saturday's game in Lawrence. It will only be available through Big 12 Now on ESPN +.
Brown was asked why his defense has performed better in the second half in all three games this year against James Madison, Missouri and NC State.
He sort of flipped that around a little bit.
"We need to play better in the first half," he began.
"The first game, you are not really sure what to expect because we were going against a new coaching staff," he continued. "We got into the locker room and were able to make some adjustments because we knew what we were seeing. The second game, the whole first half was bad football so we were able to get in there and really re-focus the guys. I think that's what you saw.
"And in the last game, North Carolina State really had not shown much at all. They had a new coordinator on offense. They really hadn't been stressed at all so this was really like their first game again. I'm happy we are playing better in the second half, but I'd like to get to the point where we can play good in the first half as well."
Brown was also asked about taking a knee in the extra point try near the end of the game when the Mountaineers went ahead 44-27.
"We looked at the data from the analytics company we use and they give you different scenarios during the game and that put us up 17, so at that point the extra point does you no good," he explained. "There is no difference between 17 and 18 points, but a worse-case scenario happens and an extra point is blocked, they run it back, now it's a two-possession game and you bring the ability for them to score and try an onside kick.
"It may be unorthodox, but it makes a lot of sense."
Brown thought the team's great preparation last week really showed up last Saturday.
"We prepared a lot better during the week so I knew we'd have a chance. We're such a young football team and we did not play well at all against Missouri and we really challenged our guys," Brown said. "We had more physical practices a week ago, and I thought they came out and responded. We played with more of an edge. We blocked better. We tackled better."
Brown mentioned the great crowd playing a role as well. He was very appreciative of the 57,000-plus who showed up last Saturday one week after the Mountaineers' 38-7 loss at Missouri.
"I thought our energy was great, and I thought we fed off our crowd. We had an outstanding crowd here," Brown mentioned.
Briefly:
* Neal Brown on the Big 12's impressive 8-2 record in non-conference play last week that included a the league's 5-2 record against Power 5 opponents.
"I thought there were some quality wins, but I don't know if I would go as far as saying it was a statement weekend," Brown explained. "I think this league has played some really good football. Early on, especially against Power 5 opponents, I think the Big 12 has handled itself pretty well."
*On the schematic tweaks that were made to help the running game last week. WVU nearly tripled its rushing output from its first two weeks against the Wolfpack last Saturday.
"We really struggled to run the ball so we just tried to find ways to put our offensive line in a better position, and I thought we did that in general. I thought our running backs ran the ball harder and were more decisive. There was less hesitation by them, and I thought that was a huge factor. That was the biggest positive of our offensive performance on Saturday," Brown said.
Furthermore, Brown said it was important for the coaching staff to adjust to what the players are best suited to do instead of the players adjusting to what the coaches want to do.
"It's really not about what we're most comfortable with or what I'm most comfortable with, it's what our kids can do the best," he explained. "You keep trying until you find some things that work, and I felt like we found some things that worked on Saturday.
"We're at a point where we're going to have to present something differently each and every week to have success in the run game," he added. "We're not at a point right now where we can just line up and mash people. Hopefully we'll get to that point, but we're probably not to that point right now. I thought our offensive line communicated much better. We had hats on hats a lot more frequently in this game than we had in the past."
* Brown on the play of freshmen Briason Mays and James Gmiter, earning their first career starts last Saturday against NC State.
"Gmiter, making his first start, he's relatively new to the position. He played a little bit of O-line in high school but other than that hadn't played very much, and I thought he fared very well," Brown said. "There are obviously some things he's got to improve on, but I thought he stayed in good body position. I thought his eyes were good. Briason, the best thing he did was he communicate. I thought he played with great effort and really played that way through the whole game."
Brown also pointed out the play of junior guard Chase Behrndt, who probably made the biggest 180 from the prior week.
"I thought Chase Behrndt played his best game of the season by far," Brown said. "He was critical in some of our big run plays. I thought he strained. I thought he played physical, and I thought he was as big a factor in our turnaround as anybody."
Brown said he expects to have junior guard Michael Brown back this week, but he's unsure if Josh Sills' injured shoulder will be ready for Kansas when the two open Big 12 play in Lawrence this Saturday.
"We won't know until later in the week on him, but we should be able to rotate another guy in there," Brown said. "We only played six last week so maybe we can get it up to seven or eight that we can play, and I think that will help us overall.
Tevin Bush, suspended last Saturday game for violating team rules, will be available this week, according to Brown.
* Kansas and West Virginia are coming off impressive nonconference wins against ACC foes, Kansas at Boston College last Friday night and West Virginia against NC State on Saturday.
That should make Saturday's game a wee bit more interesting for outside observers.
"I don't think either one of us was pleased with how we played in their second games under a new staff. I think it shows Kansas responded well to coach Miles and his staff. They had great belief going up to Boston College. Without a doubt, two quality wins, one for us and one for them and both teams will go into Saturday's game with some confidence," he concluded.
Fans will have to use their streaming devices to watch Saturday's game in Lawrence. It will only be available through Big 12 Now on ESPN +.
Players Mentioned
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