MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Between camps, recruiting, organized team activities (OTAs) and reviewing reports from the strength and conditioning staff, West Virginia coach
Neal Brown has been a busy man this summer.
He recently took some time out of his tight schedule to answer candidly some questions about his football team as they get ready to take on another challenging schedule this fall that includes eagerly anticipated nonconference matchups against long-time regional rivals Penn State and Pitt.
The 2023 Backyard Brawl will take place on Saturday, Sept. 16, at Milan Puskar Stadium and will kick off at 7:30 p.m. and will be televised nationally on ABC. But before that, West Virginia faces Penn State at Beaver Stadium to open the season on Saturday, Sept. 2. That game will air nationally on NBC.
Brown touched on the Nittany Lions and many other topics during this special summer Q&A session:
WVUsports.com: You've had some time to analyze and contemplate what your team was able to accomplish during the spring. Can you revisit some of the positives that came out of spring practice?
Neal Brown: Spring is about fundamentals, repetitions within your scheme and getting an idea of what your returning personnel can do. I think we have an idea, schematically, offensively what our quarterbacks can handle and the strengths of our offensive line. Through trial and error, we were able to eliminate some things that the quarterbacks were struggling with or things that are not going to fit the strengths of our offensive line. Then, I thought we were able to establish some depth on the offensive line with eight, maybe even nine guys I feel good about coming out of the spring. (Wide receivers) Devin Carter and Cortez Braham really stepped up. I think they were consistent and dependable downfield on some 50-50 balls. I thought our tight ends showed the ability to catch the ball with Kole Taylor being our fifth leading receiver.
Defensively, we moved some people around, and by the end of the spring, I felt like we were able to get our pieces where they fit best. We identified what our needs were. We wanted to get bigger at the Bandit position, we felt like we needed some more secondary help and so that kind of led to why we made some decisions in the month of May (in the transfer portal). We really went into the spring saying we've got to align faster, and we've got to get aligned correctly. So, we really simplified what we were doing schematically defensively and that was a positive. The second thing is we've got to play with elite effort – not just average effort – and that's something we started from a standard standpoint and now we've got to continue that. Finally, we need to be more physical, and we practiced physical. We worked some type of tackling drills every single day, and we focused on takeaways. I thought at the second and third level (linebackers and secondary) we caught the ball much better defensively than we have in the past.
WVUsports.com: What role has OTAs played in helping you and your staff determine what best suits the personnel you have on both sides of the ball this year?
NB: OTAs for me are this: I want our guys going into fall camp knowing what to do. What that means is I want them to understand the signals. I want them to understand alignments and understand assignments. You do that during your meeting portion, and you can do it during your walkthrough. The next thing you get accomplished is you can get fundamental work done. During OTAs, you can really work on your quarterback-receiver timing and running back exchanges. It's hard to do that schematically because you can't line up against people so it's more about timing in the pass game and timing on some of our read stuff with our quarterbacks and running backs than it is narrowing down what we're doing schematically. They are really beneficial for guys knowing what to do and getting fundamental reps leading into the fall.
WVUsports.com: You sort of touched on this a moment ago, but since the end of last season, you have talked a lot about the defense getting back to basics. What did that entail and what do you hope that leads to this fall?
NB: Our defensive performance last year was not good enough. Then, you start examining why? Well, there were some personnel issues. Some of it was evaluation and some of it was our collective wasn't yet established and we lost some starters, but as coaches we had to ask ourselves, what can we do better that we can control right now? I think simplification, from a teaching standpoint, was one thing we could do. Being more concise teachers, examining what our issues were with tempo, unbalanced formations, formations to the boundary and putting more time into getting lined up against those. We've stressed the importance of getting penalties when you don't get aligned fast and the effort piece was something else we really emphasized. It wasn't that our guys didn't play hard, we just didn't overcome things like you can through effort.
We went back and really defined these things and showed them what it should look like and challenged them each day in the spring. The physicality piece of this is we've got to accept that as our identity. If you go back and watch us in 2020, we really played physical and there were times in 2021 when we were really physical, and we played physical football versus Oklahoma and Oklahoma State (last year), but it wasn't consistent enough. I think it goes back to how you practice and what you're emphasizing and so we took a hard look at that. We're better, but until we line up and play, you can't say it's fixed.
When you turn on the film and watch us, you can tell that guys were thinking when they were playing and when you are thinking, you can't play as fast. It's got to be instincts so we're trying to eliminate the things that were confusing, or they were not clear on, and I think we've done a pretty good job with that. We've got to continue to narrow it down. When you get into the season it's a little easier because you're going week to week, but when you are installing a package during fall camp, in spring ball or over the summer, you are really trying to install your whole package where you only use pieces of it week to week.
WVUsports.com: What are the biggest strengths of your quarterbacks, and what are their biggest developmental opportunities this summer?
NB: I think what we're really concentrating on right now is for our quarterbacks, as far as the meeting room is concerned, is helping them understand protections and knowing what the weaknesses are in the protections. Helping them understand who usually comes free and you can get a lot better at that over the course of a summer. They've got to continue to work on some defensive tendencies and their alignments and using the people we play early in the year as an example.
On the field, during OTAs, it's about timing and it's about fundamentals. We can run full-speed routes, and we can throw the ball, and from a fundamental standpoint, it's about their footwork, pocket movement and things like that. They've done a good job. We have a lot of confidence in them as a staff. Our team has a lot of confidence in them, and Garrett (Greene) has played a good bit. Nicco (Marchiol) not as much, but both of them have the talent to go out and be really productive.
WVUsports.com: It's clear on paper that the strength of this football team is going to be up front with the offensive line you've assembled and what you have returning in the backfield. In the past, you've discussed the desire to run the ball more effectively in the fourth quarter. Is that still a big priority for your team this season?
NB: This is the best group we've had up front, and it's been a process to get there. It was a glaring weakness in 2019, and we've slowly gotten better each year. If you look at our offensive line, those guys have played a lot. We've got depth there; they are some of our hardest workers and most dependable people we have, and they are the strength of our team, and we've got to lean on them. You can run the ball effectively and efficiently, but you've got to be able to run the ball when everyone knows you are going to run it. When is that? It's when you have a lead in the fourth quarter or short yardage in a goal-line situation. I think that's a step that we've got to be able to make if we're going to go from a good offensive line to a great offensive line.
WVUsports.com: Is
Zach Frazier back to full-go this summer and how are some of the other guys doing who were either out or limited during the spring?
NB: He is back, and he's been doing all the strength and conditioning work and has participated in OTAs. Davis Mallinger is back and will be released for fall camp. I think for Asani Redwood, it's too early to tell. He probably won't be ready at the beginning of camp, but we're hoping to have him early in the season. Jalen Thornton is back and Zeiqui Lawton started back this week and is doing everything. Brayden Dudley is out right now; he got injured in the spring game, but he will be back in July.
WVUsports.com: Who are some of the players standing out so far during summer conditioning based on the reports you are getting from the strength and conditioning staff?
NB: The way I think about this is the people we add are important, but the success of our team is going to be determined by the group of guys that make big jumps between January and when we play versus Penn State. Defensively, Sean Martin has got to go from a good player to an all-conference player. Eddie Vesterinen has got to go from a quality backup to a quality starter. Mike Lockhart and Russell Hammond IV have got to take the step where they can be dependable on every rep. I think Lee Kpobga played well, but there is a next step to his game. Trey Lathan goes from a redshirt to playing a role for us. Hershey McLaurin goes from a junior college transfer to year two with us. He's got to take a step. Malachi Ruffin has played a lot of football on special teams and now there is another step he hasn't experienced yet. Jacolby Spells, as a freshman, he'll make a big jump. Andrew Wilson-Lamp on special teams, it's time for him to play. Marcis Floyd was a transfer year one, and I think you will see an improved player year two. Those types of guys who played some in the fall have got to make a jump. Those are the guys who will determine your success. I see some of these guys doing things, and I'm like, okay, they're coming. They're progressing. These are some of the guys who have made progress in the winter and the spring and are continuing to progress.
WVUsports.com: Is your roster complete or are there still openings to fill before your team begins camp in August?
NB: We've got a high percentage of our returning walk-ons here. All signees except for one are here. Eighty two of our 83 are here and our remaining signee will be here on (June 25). We've got a group of incoming walk-ons that will be here on (June 25). We will have almost our entire 120 roster here in the summer, and we have two open scholarship spots so there will be a couple of more additions before we start fall camp.
You never know. You don't want to be filled up in case someone graduates, and you've got an opening, but we're comfortable with what we have.
WVUsports.com: When you arrived here in 2019, the Big 12 was considerably different than it is today. In what ways has that altered your recruiting, and has that changed much the types of players you are now pursuing?
NB: Offensively, you need to have some tight ends. You want versatility in your receiver room, and that's the way we've always recruited, but now you want some versatility in your tight end room and your running back room because you want to be able to play different personnel groupings. Defensively, it's about getting longer and having more length. Depending upon how you are playing, you need some length on the edges, especially at end, your standups, outside linebackers, and you need some length at your safeties and your nickel positions to give some people some issues. Those have been the two biggest changes since I got here.
WVUsports.com: Do you think the experience your guys got last year opening at Pitt at night in primetime will benefit your team preparing to play at Penn State at night to open the season? If so, how?
NB: Yes, there is definitely some benefit to opening the season at Pitt last year at night. When you play a big game opening up it changes your approach because there is more of an urgency. It's a challenge. Penn State is really good, no matter when we play them, but the fact that you open up with them it brings a sense of urgency to your preparation in summer and fall camp. We've opened up on the road a lot, this makes three years in a row, but there is some carryover because we've played in some really good environments. All of our guys that are transfers who are going to play, they have played in good environments. I thought noise was a factor (against Pitt), but I thought we handled it. I've never played at Penn State, but I've talked to a lot of people that have played there, some people on our staff have played there, and it's one of the loudest venues, but we'll be prepared to handle that. It won't be an issue getting the guys ready to play. They are going to be excited.
The thing is, we were ready to play last year mentally and physically, we just didn't make enough plays to win the game. But as far as our preparation, we ran really fast, and we didn't make many mental errors; we've just got to make more plays. But there is a little bit of confidence playing on the road, and we have a lot of players returning familiar with these types of environments.
WVUsports.com: I know Penn State is your top priority right now, but your team is also facing all four Big 12 newcomers this season (Oklahoma State is the only other to do so). What are your initial impressions on the four newcomers?
NB: Working West over, BYU is a program that I've watched from afar. It's going to be a unique game, but I don't have a great deal of intimate knowledge of them yet. I watched them some in May, and they are very creative offensively. They use a lot of different personnel groups, and defensively, they're big. They changed defensive coordinators, and we play them later in the year so that's when they are going to be kind of hitting their stride. It's a program I've got a lot of respect for, and they've been really consistent for a long time.
Houston is a game our fan base will be excited about because of Dana (Holgorsen). We play there on a Thursday night, and they've got a lot of experience in their program playing midweek games. They've made a couple of different transitions conference-wise and had success. They've got the quarterback that transferred from Texas Tech (Donovan Smith), and obviously, Tony (Mathis) is now there.
Cincinnati is a natural rival for us, and West Virginia has been in the same league before. There is some recruiting crossover with them, and it's a game both fan bases can travel back and forth to. (Scott) Satterfield and I played against each other when he was at Appalachian State, and I was at Troy.
Central Florida, geographically, it fits. It's on the East Coast, and it's a program that's rising. Because of the proximity between Troy and Auburn, I have a good understanding of how Gus (Malzahn) runs his program and what he does offensively. There is some familiarity with three of them, but BYU not as much.
WVUsports.com: While scanning through some of the preseason magazines that have been trickling out so far, it's almost as if it has been forgotten that your football team won two of its last three games last season and defeated two teams (Oklahoma and Oklahoma State) that West Virginia has traditionally struggled to beat. And the two quarterbacks who played in those two victories are back this season. Do you address this with your team, or are they already aware of what's being written and predicted?
NB: How are preseason things kind of determined? Returning production is a big indicator, and it's kind of where you finished last year. Well, the returning production fails to take into account the transfers you are bringing in. For us, bringing Devin Carter in, who played four years and was productive for four years, is not really factored in. Kole Taylor has played a bunch of snaps at tight end and that's not factored in.
On defense, Keyshawn Cobb started every game at Buffalo and that's not factored in. Beanie Bishop has played five years of college football, and that's not factored in. Montre Miller has played a lot of football, so some of the determinations for these are made without really doing a deep dive. Then, I think they look at our early schedule, which that part of it is fair, but as far as bringing it up with the team, they know about it, and I don't have to. Yes, you can use some things (to motivate the team), but it's pretty simple to me – either you prove them right or you prove them wrong. The goal is to prove them wrong. They know about (the preseason predictions), and we'll bring it up, but there is no hidden information anymore.
We're going to have a group that has a chip on its shoulder because of some of the good that has occurred, how we finished the year, people tend to forget that or not talk about that as much because it doesn't have as much juice. Negative stuff picks up faster. I told somebody else this, the loudest, most-heard voice doesn't mean it's the most accurate voice out there. I do think we have a much better football team than what some of the preseason people think, but it's up to us to go out and prove it.
WVUsports.com: What do you believe the defining attributes of your football team need to be in order to have a successful season in 2023?
NB: Offensively, the No. 1 thing is we've got to take care of the football. The second thing is we've got to be able to be efficient on third down, especially third and medium, and we've got to score touchdowns in the red zone. We did a really nice job of that two years ago but not as much last year. The third thing is we've got to make explosive plays. We have got to be more explosive than we have been the last couple of years.
Defensively, takeaways are No. 1. We've got to decrease the number of explosive plays and then we've got to be able to get them off the field, especially in third and long situations. Our third and short and third and medium was average, but third and long was way higher than it should have been. In how we practice and how we prepare it's got to be around those things. The margin of error for us is really, really small so if we can do those little things better then that's going to have an effect on us because we've got to get over the hump and win those close games, and we've got to win more of them than we lose.
