WVU Fall Training Camp Report #11

Photo by: Drew Mathis

August 17, 2021 05:41 PM | Football

By: John Antonik

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – There is plenty to sift through following today's two-hour officiated practice up on the Steve Antoline Family Practice Facility that concluded around 2 p.m.

The plan this afternoon was to get the coaches off the field, put the ball down and put the players through a lot of different situations, including some full-speed special teams competition work. Today's practice was basically a scrimmage format without the tackling.

Work concluded with team punt, which was by design.

"We wanted to get the punt team out there tired – it's mostly our first-teamers on offense and defense – to try and make them execute," coach Neal Brown said. "I like where our punt team is."

Brown, who spent about 20 minutes with the media following today's practice, said the objective today was to get a better idea what his players know. He indicated the defense performed well during red zone situations and he also once again praised senior quarterback Jarret Doege's performance running the No. 1 offense.

"We put Jarret into some tough situations this afternoon to see how he would react," Brown said. "We just played situational football and I think that's what we need right now – we just need to play."

The coach also complimented Casey Legg's kicking. The Charleston resident is locked in a fierce battle with seniors Evan Staley and Tyler Sumpter for the starting place kicking job.

Sophomore Parker Moorer and true freshman Wyatt Milum once again shared the No. 1 reps at right tackle in another intense position battle. Brown indicated Milum, wide receiver Kaden Prather and Justin Johnson Jr. are the three true freshmen on offense who will most likely play this year.

On the other side of the ball, he listed true freshmen safeties Davis Mallinger and Saint McLeod, as well as newcomers Lance Dixon (will linebacker), Deshawn Stevens (mike linebacker) and Charles Woods (cornerback) needing to get prepared for game action this fall.

"These are some guys that have got to get ready, they don't have the (luxury) of sitting around and waiting," Neal Brown said. "You are talking about a short turnaround to get ready to play in the first game."

Dublin, Ohio's Hammond Russell IV was another true freshman Brown singled out for his good work this afternoon.

"He made a couple of nice plays today and he's a guy whose best football is definitely down the line, but he may be a guy who is ready to contribute right now," he noted.

Among defensive/offensive battles, Neal Brown mentioned sophomore defensive tackle Akheem Mesidor going up against sophomore center Zach Frazier, senior linebacker Josh Chandler versus senior running back Leddie Brown, senior defensive tackle Dante Stills against sophomore left tackle Brandon Yates and cornerback Jackie Matthews competing against outside receiver Bryce Ford-Wheaton.

Brown said backup running back Tony Mathis Jr. is nursing a minor injury and was out today, as was third-team quarterback Will Crowder, who is battling a stomach virus.

"We tried to put our defense in some really tough situations in the red zone and I thought they responded well, offensively we worked on a lot of third-down and coming-off situations and there was some good and bad," Brown said.

"It was probably our best overall day defensively of camp, which is a positive," he concluded. "I'm glad to see that."

Today's practice tidbits …

* Running back Leddie Brown displayed his impressive ball skills during one play in team drills by making a one-handed catch out in the flat on a pass thrown slightly behind him.

"Leddie has really grown into an established receiving threat," Neal Brown said, adding he would like to see Leddie's catch total increase to 45 to 60 this season. "I think he's capable of that."

* Doege's footwork and feel for pressure in the pocket has improved significantly. You can tell he's worked really hard on that aspect of his game.

* Redshirt freshman Jordan White has to be one of West Virginia's most valuable offensive linemen as basically a two-for-one player. The Largo, Maryland, resident can reliably play both guard positions and is also getting backup work at center.

* T.J. Banks and Charles Finley are getting all of the tight end reps right now, but junior Mike O'Laughlin appears to be getting closer to returning to the field. He is no longer wearing a boot and looks to be moving around pretty well on the sidelines.

* Late in the practice, the offense marched from its own two down the field and got into the end zone when Doege hooked up with junior wide receiver Sam James for a touchdown.

* Junior cornerback Nicktroy Fortune came up with a nice interception during teamwork, while redshirt freshman Daryl Porter Jr. jumped a pass during red zone work to make another pick.

* Neal Brown said he's really pushing Dante Stills and trying to get him out of his comfort zone a little bit in order for him to grow as a player. Stills is unquestionably West Virginia's top NFL prospect this year.

"We've challenged him to lead and be consistent every day and I'm pleased with where he's at," Brown said. "I think he's made real growth and he's embracing that challenge."

* Neal Brown listed redshirt freshman Lanell Carr as the team's best natural pass rusher.

* Yesterday, the team released a video on its official Twitter account of junior cornerback Malachi Ruffin being awarded a scholarship for the fall semester. "He won't be the only walk-on to earn a scholarship this fall," Brown said. "We're waiting on a couple of jobs to be earned. We have a really good walk-on program here and it's been the tradition of West Virginia football."

"This is one of the fun things and a lot of times it's not a lot of fun when you've got to make some hard decisions and decisions that are going to upset certain people," Brown explained.

* The offense this year is going to run through senior running back Leddie Brown, according to the coach. He said he is also hopeful the playbook can be expanded a little bit this year because of the improved play at offensive line. He admitted last year, some of his play calls were geared toward protecting his two young offensive tackles.

"(Leddie) is the one guy who has proven he can go out and win games," Neal Brown said. "My expectation is we're going to be much improved in the passing game and our stats last year really weren't bad throwing the football."

* Brown said there is no update on freshman running back Jaylen Anderson, absent from camp this fall.

* Brown admitted the offensive line is much improved this year, but in terms of bodies, he still believes that unit is still another recruiting cycle away from where it needs to be. "We're taking about seven or eight guys ready to play and teams competing for championships are in that 10-to-12 range up front, and we're probably a year away from that," he said.

* Although the fall semester begins tomorrow, Brown said the plan is to remain in camp mode through next Tuesday evening before getting deep into Maryland prep.

"I like these because it's all day," Brown said. "They say they want to be full-time football players and this is a glimpse of what that's like during camp. We've had 12 or 13 days of it and we'll have our final walk-through tonight."