Photo by: Caleb Saunders
Spring Football Work Begins Wednesday
March 23, 2021 04:30 PM | Football, Blog
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The first step in our continued return to normalcy starts Wednesday morning when the West Virginia University football team begins spring football practice.
Spring has always been a time for rebirth, renewal and rejuvenation – something Neal Brown's young football program didn't get the opportunity to do last year. Spring ball was canceled after just two practices last March, robbing West Virginia's younger players of the opportunity for on-field development and growth.
One of those young players was freshman quarterback Garrett Greene, who backed up starter Jarret Doege last fall.
"I think for Garrett, this is a huge spring," Brown said earlier this month. "He graduated early and had the opportunity to go through spring ball, but he really only got two practices in and things were going so fast he didn't know which way was up, honestly. During the COVID (shutdown) he had an opportunity to learn, but he really missed those live reps."
Even last fall, Greene was still learning and developing.
"He got every Monday night football rep and grew, but there were some ups and downs in the fall," Brown admitted. "I didn't think he was in a position where it was fair to him to put him out there because I think you have to be careful with quarterbacks playing them before they're ready."
The coach continued. "You can see some guys that were thrown into the fray too early, and it didn't work out for them. That is one position where you don't play guys until they're ready, so this spring is going to be big for him," he said. "He understands what our expectations are. He understands, conceptually, what we're doing in the run and pass game, he just needs live reps, and he's going to get a ton of them."
Returning starter Jarret Doege has plenty of work to do as well. Doege averaged 258.7 yards per game through the air, completing 64% of his pass attempts with 14 touchdowns and just four interceptions, but he struggled mightily in the first half of West Virginia's 24-21 comeback victory over Army in the Liberty Bowl.
He eventually gave way to Austin Kendall, who led the Mountaineers to a pair of second-half touchdowns to help them win just their second bowl game since joining the Big 12 nine years ago.
Brown said Doege will spend a good portion of this spring concentrating on his footwork in the pocket.
"I don't think anybody is going to mistake him for Lamar Jackson or anything, but what he's got to do is continue to improve his movement in the pocket," Brown said. "Tom Brady is 43 years old now, and he's still at the top of his game in pocket movement. It's movement probably the common fan doesn't notice, but he's elite at moving in the pocket. We've also got to improve our ability to hit the deep ball."
The deep ball falls in line with the explosive plays Brown has been seeking from his offense, really from the moment he left Troy to take over here in 2019. On three different occasions during his 30-minute session with media earlier this month, Brown brought up explosive plays.
A lot of it, he says, is simply a matter of winning more one-on-one matchups in space.
"Offensively, we've got to get better in one-on-one situations," he admitted. "Outside of Leddie (Brown), we didn't win enough of those one-on-one situations, whether breaking tackles or making people miss – and that's where a lot of your explosive plays come from. That's one of the reasons why our explosives were not as high as they need to be."
Brown said the focus of the wide receiver corps this spring is to increase its catch percentage, which is a function of fundamentals - not a lack of talent. Of course, a month of spring football practice last year could have really helped in that area as well.
"We've got to make more plays on contested catches, and the quarterbacks have got to do a better job of getting the ball in the proper spots," he mentioned.
Touted four-star prospect Kaden Prather from Montgomery Village, Maryland, will be out there battling returners Winston Wright Jr., Sam James, Bryce Ford-Wheaton, Sean Ryan, Isaiah Esdale and Sam Brown.
Tight ends Mike O'Laughlin and T.J. Banks will also be factors in the passing game.
Defensively, Brown is focused on one-on-ones as well. He believes his pass rushers need to improve getting off blocks. Sophomore Akheem Mesidor has the potential to be an all-star performer, as does senior Dante Stills.
Spear Tykee Smith also falls into the all-star category, and Brown is curious to see how youngsters Lanell Carr, Taurus Simmons and Sean Martin develop after strong winter workouts.
With a number of talented players returning on the defensive side of the ball, including linebacker Josh Chandler-Semedo and safety Alonzo Addae, the focus will be on figuring out how to get the best 11 on the field at the same time.
Regarding special teams, there will be a long-snap competition this spring between J.P. Hadley and Austin Brinkman, a field goal competition and plenty of return work. Brown thought kickoffs were blocked well enough last year to have some longer returns.
The coach said some areas where West Virginia needs to develop more depth this spring are running back and cornerback.
Sophomores A'Varius Sparrow and Tony Mathis Jr. are going to get the bulk of the scrimmage carries because Leddie Brown has already proven himself. The Philadelphia resident ran for 1,010 yards and nine touchdowns, averaging 5.1 yards per carry in 2020, but his three backups carried the ball just 99 times for just 392 yards, an average of 3.9 yards per tote.
"We've got to be more productive when he's not in the game," Brown explained. "Tony and Sparrow are going to get plenty of opportunities."
In the secondary, senior Jackie Matthews and freshman Daryl Porter Jr. will get a lot of reps at corner, complementing returning starter Nicktroy Fortune. If other youngsters don't emerge Brown indicated he may have to look at the transfer portal to build his cornerback room.
The same goes for his linebacker corps, although he recently added four-star Penn State linebacker Lance Dixon, a 6-foot-2, 221-pounder from West Bloomfield, Michigan.
West Virginia's other big-name transfer, Virginia Tech offensive guard Doug Nester, will be able to practice with the team this spring, and Brown said his staff will continue to evaluate the transfer market once spring practice has concluded.
"You want to predominantly recruit high school athletes; that's the key to success," he explained. "If you are going to sign 25, you want 20 of those to be high school guys. Where transfers have changed is it used to be one-year grad transfers - and you still have those - but now we're getting multiple-year guys as well.
"Some of it will go on how we perform in the spring," Brown added. "I think, by the end of spring, we might have the opportunity to get the type of player we need to come in and help us with those open spots rather than maybe at Christmas, but we're not going to reach."
In order to avoid reaching on transfer prospects, Brown said they must continue take their time and study things thoroughly.
"We might be able to get a little higher caliber player after spring in May, early June," he noted. "Now that's to be determined because I don't have a crystal ball, but that's what we're planning on right now.
"We've got to build our corner room; we're low there, for sure. We're low in our linebacker room and outside of that, we are going to assess post-spring how to use those other remaining (scholarship) spots.
"Building your roster is a little bit of a jigsaw (puzzle). You're always adapting," he concluded.
And the adapting begins Wednesday morning, concluding with the annual Gold-Blue Spring Football game at Milan Puskar Stadium on Saturday, April 24.
Spring has always been a time for rebirth, renewal and rejuvenation – something Neal Brown's young football program didn't get the opportunity to do last year. Spring ball was canceled after just two practices last March, robbing West Virginia's younger players of the opportunity for on-field development and growth.
One of those young players was freshman quarterback Garrett Greene, who backed up starter Jarret Doege last fall.
"I think for Garrett, this is a huge spring," Brown said earlier this month. "He graduated early and had the opportunity to go through spring ball, but he really only got two practices in and things were going so fast he didn't know which way was up, honestly. During the COVID (shutdown) he had an opportunity to learn, but he really missed those live reps."
Even last fall, Greene was still learning and developing.
"He got every Monday night football rep and grew, but there were some ups and downs in the fall," Brown admitted. "I didn't think he was in a position where it was fair to him to put him out there because I think you have to be careful with quarterbacks playing them before they're ready."
The coach continued. "You can see some guys that were thrown into the fray too early, and it didn't work out for them. That is one position where you don't play guys until they're ready, so this spring is going to be big for him," he said. "He understands what our expectations are. He understands, conceptually, what we're doing in the run and pass game, he just needs live reps, and he's going to get a ton of them."
Returning starter Jarret Doege has plenty of work to do as well. Doege averaged 258.7 yards per game through the air, completing 64% of his pass attempts with 14 touchdowns and just four interceptions, but he struggled mightily in the first half of West Virginia's 24-21 comeback victory over Army in the Liberty Bowl.
He eventually gave way to Austin Kendall, who led the Mountaineers to a pair of second-half touchdowns to help them win just their second bowl game since joining the Big 12 nine years ago.
Brown said Doege will spend a good portion of this spring concentrating on his footwork in the pocket.
"I don't think anybody is going to mistake him for Lamar Jackson or anything, but what he's got to do is continue to improve his movement in the pocket," Brown said. "Tom Brady is 43 years old now, and he's still at the top of his game in pocket movement. It's movement probably the common fan doesn't notice, but he's elite at moving in the pocket. We've also got to improve our ability to hit the deep ball."
The deep ball falls in line with the explosive plays Brown has been seeking from his offense, really from the moment he left Troy to take over here in 2019. On three different occasions during his 30-minute session with media earlier this month, Brown brought up explosive plays.
A lot of it, he says, is simply a matter of winning more one-on-one matchups in space.
"Offensively, we've got to get better in one-on-one situations," he admitted. "Outside of Leddie (Brown), we didn't win enough of those one-on-one situations, whether breaking tackles or making people miss – and that's where a lot of your explosive plays come from. That's one of the reasons why our explosives were not as high as they need to be."Brown said the focus of the wide receiver corps this spring is to increase its catch percentage, which is a function of fundamentals - not a lack of talent. Of course, a month of spring football practice last year could have really helped in that area as well.
"We've got to make more plays on contested catches, and the quarterbacks have got to do a better job of getting the ball in the proper spots," he mentioned.
Touted four-star prospect Kaden Prather from Montgomery Village, Maryland, will be out there battling returners Winston Wright Jr., Sam James, Bryce Ford-Wheaton, Sean Ryan, Isaiah Esdale and Sam Brown.
Tight ends Mike O'Laughlin and T.J. Banks will also be factors in the passing game.
Defensively, Brown is focused on one-on-ones as well. He believes his pass rushers need to improve getting off blocks. Sophomore Akheem Mesidor has the potential to be an all-star performer, as does senior Dante Stills.
Spear Tykee Smith also falls into the all-star category, and Brown is curious to see how youngsters Lanell Carr, Taurus Simmons and Sean Martin develop after strong winter workouts.
With a number of talented players returning on the defensive side of the ball, including linebacker Josh Chandler-Semedo and safety Alonzo Addae, the focus will be on figuring out how to get the best 11 on the field at the same time.
Regarding special teams, there will be a long-snap competition this spring between J.P. Hadley and Austin Brinkman, a field goal competition and plenty of return work. Brown thought kickoffs were blocked well enough last year to have some longer returns.
The coach said some areas where West Virginia needs to develop more depth this spring are running back and cornerback.
Sophomores A'Varius Sparrow and Tony Mathis Jr. are going to get the bulk of the scrimmage carries because Leddie Brown has already proven himself. The Philadelphia resident ran for 1,010 yards and nine touchdowns, averaging 5.1 yards per carry in 2020, but his three backups carried the ball just 99 times for just 392 yards, an average of 3.9 yards per tote.
"We've got to be more productive when he's not in the game," Brown explained. "Tony and Sparrow are going to get plenty of opportunities."
In the secondary, senior Jackie Matthews and freshman Daryl Porter Jr. will get a lot of reps at corner, complementing returning starter Nicktroy Fortune. If other youngsters don't emerge Brown indicated he may have to look at the transfer portal to build his cornerback room.
The same goes for his linebacker corps, although he recently added four-star Penn State linebacker Lance Dixon, a 6-foot-2, 221-pounder from West Bloomfield, Michigan.West Virginia's other big-name transfer, Virginia Tech offensive guard Doug Nester, will be able to practice with the team this spring, and Brown said his staff will continue to evaluate the transfer market once spring practice has concluded.
"You want to predominantly recruit high school athletes; that's the key to success," he explained. "If you are going to sign 25, you want 20 of those to be high school guys. Where transfers have changed is it used to be one-year grad transfers - and you still have those - but now we're getting multiple-year guys as well.
"Some of it will go on how we perform in the spring," Brown added. "I think, by the end of spring, we might have the opportunity to get the type of player we need to come in and help us with those open spots rather than maybe at Christmas, but we're not going to reach."
In order to avoid reaching on transfer prospects, Brown said they must continue take their time and study things thoroughly.
"We might be able to get a little higher caliber player after spring in May, early June," he noted. "Now that's to be determined because I don't have a crystal ball, but that's what we're planning on right now.
"We've got to build our corner room; we're low there, for sure. We're low in our linebacker room and outside of that, we are going to assess post-spring how to use those other remaining (scholarship) spots.
"Building your roster is a little bit of a jigsaw (puzzle). You're always adapting," he concluded.
And the adapting begins Wednesday morning, concluding with the annual Gold-Blue Spring Football game at Milan Puskar Stadium on Saturday, April 24.
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