Photo by: Caleb Saunders
Mountaineers to Unveil Football Class of 2021 on Wednesday
December 15, 2020 02:39 PM | Football
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – MSN radio sideline analyst Jed Drenning subscribes to the old football adage big, fast guys are better than little, fast guys.
That's what he is eying tomorrow morning when West Virginia coach Neal Brown begins revealing this year's Mountaineer football early signees on his twitter account.
Signees will also be posted on Mountaineer football's official social media accounts, as well as right here on WVUsports.com.
"The Big 12 body type is a long, athletic kid, and we're starting to see that here," Drenning said Monday afternoon. "On the perimeter, you're always going to want length and athleticism as far as DBs and wideouts, and those are two areas I think they are doing a great job of addressing. That's one of the fundamental differences you see with the kids they are targeting."
West Virginia struggled with some of the longer, more physical teams on its schedule this season, particularly Iowa State with its impressive length and size on both sides of the ball.
Drenning anticipates Brown and his staff narrowing that gap with this year's class.
"From a body-type standpoint, you add (strength coach) Mike Joseph with the type of kids they are targeting and they will all put on more good weight," he said.
"On the defensive side, what is intriguing there is you have some edge guys, but they are big edge guys, and once they are in the program for a couple of offseasons, they can put on enough weight to become an incredibly athletic interior rusher," Drenning predicted.
"When you can get an edge kid who is maybe 260 in high school and get him to 280 with good feet and slide him down, now all of a sudden you are attacking that pocket from the interior and that's rough," he explained.
Drenning believes some of the offensive players West Virginia is pursuing in this year's class have the potential to see the field immediately.
"There are maybe a couple of these guys that can help right away," Drenning predicted.
Jed will join Tony Caridi and Dale Wolfley on Wednesday's exclusive Signing Day Show, presented by WVU Medicine, which kicks off at 9 a.m. on WVUsports.com, YouTube, Facebook Live and Twitter.
The crew will spend three hours breaking down this year's class with some of Neal Brown's staff members joining in via video conferencing, and Brown will also stop by later in the morning to offer his take on West Virginia Football's Class of 2021.
Fans are encouraged to interact with Tony, Jed and Wolf throughout the morning by using the Twitter hashtag #TakeMeHome21.
WVU Director of Athletics Shane Lyons is also expected to make an appearance during the show for an exclusive one-on-one interview.
Drenning believes the group West Virginia announces tomorrow will blend nicely with last year's class, some of whom got early playing time in 2020.
"You see what they signed last year, and this looks like a continual evolution to build on what Neal Brown wants to do," Drenning said.
"When you are in a league like the Big 12, or any Power 5 league, you want to be good - but you want to be long and good. That's the next step. In a perfect world you want Darius Stills with length. Now you are not going to turn down Darius Stills, but you always want (length).
"It's one thing to be a talented 5-10 corner, but that's not the same thing as being a talented 6-1, 6-2 corner," Drenning concluded.
Following tomorrow's Signing Day Show, a live stream of Brown's video news conference will be made available on the website beginning at 1 p.m.
It will also be archived afterward.
That's what he is eying tomorrow morning when West Virginia coach Neal Brown begins revealing this year's Mountaineer football early signees on his twitter account.
Signees will also be posted on Mountaineer football's official social media accounts, as well as right here on WVUsports.com.
"The Big 12 body type is a long, athletic kid, and we're starting to see that here," Drenning said Monday afternoon. "On the perimeter, you're always going to want length and athleticism as far as DBs and wideouts, and those are two areas I think they are doing a great job of addressing. That's one of the fundamental differences you see with the kids they are targeting."
West Virginia struggled with some of the longer, more physical teams on its schedule this season, particularly Iowa State with its impressive length and size on both sides of the ball.
Drenning anticipates Brown and his staff narrowing that gap with this year's class."From a body-type standpoint, you add (strength coach) Mike Joseph with the type of kids they are targeting and they will all put on more good weight," he said.
"On the defensive side, what is intriguing there is you have some edge guys, but they are big edge guys, and once they are in the program for a couple of offseasons, they can put on enough weight to become an incredibly athletic interior rusher," Drenning predicted.
"When you can get an edge kid who is maybe 260 in high school and get him to 280 with good feet and slide him down, now all of a sudden you are attacking that pocket from the interior and that's rough," he explained.
Drenning believes some of the offensive players West Virginia is pursuing in this year's class have the potential to see the field immediately.
"There are maybe a couple of these guys that can help right away," Drenning predicted.
Jed will join Tony Caridi and Dale Wolfley on Wednesday's exclusive Signing Day Show, presented by WVU Medicine, which kicks off at 9 a.m. on WVUsports.com, YouTube, Facebook Live and Twitter.
The crew will spend three hours breaking down this year's class with some of Neal Brown's staff members joining in via video conferencing, and Brown will also stop by later in the morning to offer his take on West Virginia Football's Class of 2021.
Fans are encouraged to interact with Tony, Jed and Wolf throughout the morning by using the Twitter hashtag #TakeMeHome21.
WVU Director of Athletics Shane Lyons is also expected to make an appearance during the show for an exclusive one-on-one interview.
Drenning believes the group West Virginia announces tomorrow will blend nicely with last year's class, some of whom got early playing time in 2020.
"You see what they signed last year, and this looks like a continual evolution to build on what Neal Brown wants to do," Drenning said.
"When you are in a league like the Big 12, or any Power 5 league, you want to be good - but you want to be long and good. That's the next step. In a perfect world you want Darius Stills with length. Now you are not going to turn down Darius Stills, but you always want (length).
"It's one thing to be a talented 5-10 corner, but that's not the same thing as being a talented 6-1, 6-2 corner," Drenning concluded.
Following tomorrow's Signing Day Show, a live stream of Brown's video news conference will be made available on the website beginning at 1 p.m.
It will also be archived afterward.
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