Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
Mountaineer Football Notebook
June 30, 2020 05:38 PM | Football, Blog
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Here are some quick leftovers from Neal Brown's virtual press conference held last Wednesday afternoon.
West Virginia's second-year coach said July 13 will be the official return date for staff and players to the Milan Puskar Center.
The 8-hour rule begins then and it will expand to 20 hours-per-week on July 24 leading into the start of fall training camp on August 7.
"Those are the dates we've really been working to," Brown said.
In the meantime, Brown said he's intentionally gotten little feedback from strength and conditioning coach Mike Joseph and athletic trainer Vincent Blankenship about his players because the workouts are only voluntary.
His No. 1 concern is making sure all of the safety protocols are on point and being followed.
"I've got an idea which guys are in town, but I don't necessarily know who goes every single day," he said. "That's how it's supposed to be, but I do know a high percentage of our guys are in town right now."
When the entire staff returns to the Puskar Center on July 13 it will go through the same testing procedure the players did when they returned for voluntary workouts.
More from Brown …
* In normal times, late June and early July are when football coaches and staff usually take their vacations leading into the staff retreat before the start of fall camp in August.
These, of course, are not normal times and Brown said there will likely not be a staff retreat this year. Season planning will take place in the Puskar Center in early July leading right into workouts and then practices.
"It's been a nightmare, actually," he said of summer planning. "We probably will not do retreats this year just out of safety concerns. We've had plenty of time to get ready.
"This is not going to be a normal college football year in any aspect," he added. "It's not going to be normal for our players, it's not going to be normal for our staff and it's not going to be normal to (the media and fans). I don't know what it's going to look like. We may be on (video conferences) all of the time. We've tried to put off making decisions until as late as we can so we get the most information possible."
Brown said he has been working through a bunch of different scenarios and models to try and keep his team healthy and virus-free.
It may even include split-squad practices where the ones go against the threes and the twos go against the fours in order to limit interaction between the top two players at each position. It will probably also entail a lot more virtual and outdoor meetings to keep people distanced as much as possible.
"We are going to put our players at as little risk as we possibly can," he mentioned.
* Brown said he is still evaluating transfer prospects and will continue to do so right up until the start of fall training camp.
"We're always trying to continue to build our roster. We are evaluating transfer players at every position to improve our roster," he pointed out. "I think it's something you've got to continue to do, especially in this age."
He said he will also reconsider his policy of not accepting commitments from players who haven't visited campus. Uncertainty still prevails over the course of the virus.
"The longer this goes we will probably move back from that a little bit," he noted. "I don't know how practical that is going to be. We are getting better and better at these virtual tours. We're taking everything we do to our prospective student-athletes.
"There is not going to be any type of normal activity until there is a vaccine, but I'm cautiously optimistic that we will be able to play football," he added. "That's how we are preparing, but I think it's going to be different. I think we have to be outside-the-box thinkers in how do we get our players to the games by keeping our virus numbers as low as possible and preventing injuries. I think that's going to be the most important issues."
* Brown was asked if he had an idea what the minimum number of virus-free players he needed each week in order to play a game.
He said that was still being discussed amongst the staff.
"We've got a plan of how we want to keep our guys separated," Brown said. "We haven't gotten down to how many players we need to participate or a minimum number that we can play a game with and hopefully I don't have to."
One thing he has been considering is more cross training this year, especially during virtual meetings. In other words, defensive ends might have to learn some tight end plays or safeties might have to learn the wide receiver position, or vice versa.
"We are going to have to have some crossover," he admitted. "It will probably be more so in meetings than on-field practicing, but you have to have some guys with the ability to cross over. It's easier to do for your skill positions, but I think you have to have that.
"Some of the wideouts are going to have to cross train at safety and corner. We are going to have to teach some of our safeties some base formations and base routes. Some of our D-Ends may have to learn tight end - you have to do some of that," he said.
Brown believes that should be possible based on the football knowledge the players have gotten during the last couple of months absorbing virtual meetings.
"We should be better teachers coming out of this, and our football knowledge should be better," he said. "It's a challenging time and you just try and navigate this. We didn't have these conversations leading into the spring. It's complex times and you are going into new territory at all points. You can't have a plan for everything."
* Because the virus has eliminated spring football and has dramatically reduced offseason activity, he expects fans to see a simpler game this fall.
That doesn't necessarily mean the end product will suffer, however.
"I think you have athletes capable of playing at a high level, and I think coaches have maximized virtual learning as much as possible," he said. "Practice time is probably going to be at a premium, and I don't know if you will have as much good on good work as you normally would.
"Will our product be as clean, especially early in the year? I don't know. Will the average fan be able to see that? I'm not sure, but I have faith in the players playing at this level and the coaches that it's going to be a product that fans of college football will enjoy," he added.
At any rate, coaching staffs are going to have to be resourceful in how they use their time when the season arrives.
Brown explains.
"Let's say on a Tuesday practice our first meeting is at 2:45 so we've really got all day to prepare," he said. "But if we have to go split (practices) and your ones and threes practice together followed by your twos and fours, for instance, then you are going to lose that prep time because there will be two shorter practices and then you are going to need time to clean and do all of that stuff.
"That is going to eat up more time and take away from your preparation. That's why it might be a simpler game with not as many week-to-week adjustments as we did in the past," he mentioned.
* Finally, Brown touched on the quarterback position as voluntary workouts wind down.
Senior Austin Kendall started the first nine games and completed 61.5 percent of his 304 attempts for 1,989 yards and 12 touchdowns before suffering an upper body injury against Iowa State.
Junior Jarret Doege appeared in four games and started the last three, including impressive road wins at 24th-ranked Kansas State and TCU. Doege passed for 234 yards and three touchdowns in the K-State victory and he tossed a pair of TDs in a 20-17 come-from-behind win over the Horned Frogs to conclude the regular season.
Doege's 2019 numbers included 79 completions in 120 attempts for 818 yards and seven touchdowns.
The virus prohibited either guy from solidifying his hold on the starting job during the spring, which means their battle will have to carry over into fall camp.
"I've been extremely pleased with our quarterbacks during this pandemic and period of virtual learning," Brown said. "Both of them have done an exceptional job from a leadership standpoint. Both of their accountability teams have risen to the top of the standings. It's important to note that (true freshman) Garrett Greene is part of Darius Stills' team and they are in third position and Garrett has been really active.
"I'm proud of not only how they are attacking that leadership role but learning and growing as football players - things such as defensive recognition, coverages and protections," Brown said. "Whenever we start, those two are going to be ready to go and they are going to compete. More power to whomever wins."
West Virginia's second-year coach said July 13 will be the official return date for staff and players to the Milan Puskar Center.
The 8-hour rule begins then and it will expand to 20 hours-per-week on July 24 leading into the start of fall training camp on August 7.
"Those are the dates we've really been working to," Brown said.
In the meantime, Brown said he's intentionally gotten little feedback from strength and conditioning coach Mike Joseph and athletic trainer Vincent Blankenship about his players because the workouts are only voluntary.His No. 1 concern is making sure all of the safety protocols are on point and being followed.
"I've got an idea which guys are in town, but I don't necessarily know who goes every single day," he said. "That's how it's supposed to be, but I do know a high percentage of our guys are in town right now."
When the entire staff returns to the Puskar Center on July 13 it will go through the same testing procedure the players did when they returned for voluntary workouts.
More from Brown …
* In normal times, late June and early July are when football coaches and staff usually take their vacations leading into the staff retreat before the start of fall camp in August.
These, of course, are not normal times and Brown said there will likely not be a staff retreat this year. Season planning will take place in the Puskar Center in early July leading right into workouts and then practices.
"It's been a nightmare, actually," he said of summer planning. "We probably will not do retreats this year just out of safety concerns. We've had plenty of time to get ready.
"This is not going to be a normal college football year in any aspect," he added. "It's not going to be normal for our players, it's not going to be normal for our staff and it's not going to be normal to (the media and fans). I don't know what it's going to look like. We may be on (video conferences) all of the time. We've tried to put off making decisions until as late as we can so we get the most information possible."
Brown said he has been working through a bunch of different scenarios and models to try and keep his team healthy and virus-free.
It may even include split-squad practices where the ones go against the threes and the twos go against the fours in order to limit interaction between the top two players at each position. It will probably also entail a lot more virtual and outdoor meetings to keep people distanced as much as possible.
"We are going to put our players at as little risk as we possibly can," he mentioned.
* Brown said he is still evaluating transfer prospects and will continue to do so right up until the start of fall training camp.
"We're always trying to continue to build our roster. We are evaluating transfer players at every position to improve our roster," he pointed out. "I think it's something you've got to continue to do, especially in this age."
He said he will also reconsider his policy of not accepting commitments from players who haven't visited campus. Uncertainty still prevails over the course of the virus.
"The longer this goes we will probably move back from that a little bit," he noted. "I don't know how practical that is going to be. We are getting better and better at these virtual tours. We're taking everything we do to our prospective student-athletes.
"There is not going to be any type of normal activity until there is a vaccine, but I'm cautiously optimistic that we will be able to play football," he added. "That's how we are preparing, but I think it's going to be different. I think we have to be outside-the-box thinkers in how do we get our players to the games by keeping our virus numbers as low as possible and preventing injuries. I think that's going to be the most important issues."
* Brown was asked if he had an idea what the minimum number of virus-free players he needed each week in order to play a game.
He said that was still being discussed amongst the staff.
"We've got a plan of how we want to keep our guys separated," Brown said. "We haven't gotten down to how many players we need to participate or a minimum number that we can play a game with and hopefully I don't have to."
One thing he has been considering is more cross training this year, especially during virtual meetings. In other words, defensive ends might have to learn some tight end plays or safeties might have to learn the wide receiver position, or vice versa.
"We are going to have to have some crossover," he admitted. "It will probably be more so in meetings than on-field practicing, but you have to have some guys with the ability to cross over. It's easier to do for your skill positions, but I think you have to have that.
"Some of the wideouts are going to have to cross train at safety and corner. We are going to have to teach some of our safeties some base formations and base routes. Some of our D-Ends may have to learn tight end - you have to do some of that," he said.
Brown believes that should be possible based on the football knowledge the players have gotten during the last couple of months absorbing virtual meetings.
"We should be better teachers coming out of this, and our football knowledge should be better," he said. "It's a challenging time and you just try and navigate this. We didn't have these conversations leading into the spring. It's complex times and you are going into new territory at all points. You can't have a plan for everything."
* Because the virus has eliminated spring football and has dramatically reduced offseason activity, he expects fans to see a simpler game this fall.
That doesn't necessarily mean the end product will suffer, however.
"I think you have athletes capable of playing at a high level, and I think coaches have maximized virtual learning as much as possible," he said. "Practice time is probably going to be at a premium, and I don't know if you will have as much good on good work as you normally would.
"Will our product be as clean, especially early in the year? I don't know. Will the average fan be able to see that? I'm not sure, but I have faith in the players playing at this level and the coaches that it's going to be a product that fans of college football will enjoy," he added.
At any rate, coaching staffs are going to have to be resourceful in how they use their time when the season arrives.
Brown explains.
"Let's say on a Tuesday practice our first meeting is at 2:45 so we've really got all day to prepare," he said. "But if we have to go split (practices) and your ones and threes practice together followed by your twos and fours, for instance, then you are going to lose that prep time because there will be two shorter practices and then you are going to need time to clean and do all of that stuff.
"That is going to eat up more time and take away from your preparation. That's why it might be a simpler game with not as many week-to-week adjustments as we did in the past," he mentioned.
* Finally, Brown touched on the quarterback position as voluntary workouts wind down.Senior Austin Kendall started the first nine games and completed 61.5 percent of his 304 attempts for 1,989 yards and 12 touchdowns before suffering an upper body injury against Iowa State.
Junior Jarret Doege appeared in four games and started the last three, including impressive road wins at 24th-ranked Kansas State and TCU. Doege passed for 234 yards and three touchdowns in the K-State victory and he tossed a pair of TDs in a 20-17 come-from-behind win over the Horned Frogs to conclude the regular season.
Doege's 2019 numbers included 79 completions in 120 attempts for 818 yards and seven touchdowns.
The virus prohibited either guy from solidifying his hold on the starting job during the spring, which means their battle will have to carry over into fall camp.
"I've been extremely pleased with our quarterbacks during this pandemic and period of virtual learning," Brown said. "Both of them have done an exceptional job from a leadership standpoint. Both of their accountability teams have risen to the top of the standings. It's important to note that (true freshman) Garrett Greene is part of Darius Stills' team and they are in third position and Garrett has been really active.
"I'm proud of not only how they are attacking that leadership role but learning and growing as football players - things such as defensive recognition, coverages and protections," Brown said. "Whenever we start, those two are going to be ready to go and they are going to compete. More power to whomever wins."
Players Mentioned
QB
/ Football
QB
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QB
/ Football
DL
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