MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia coach Neal Brown labels this week the most important of preseason camp for his football team.
 
The Mountaineers, coming off Saturday's first scrimmage of fall camp, had what Brown termed a "hard practice" in shells this morning and will have full-go workout on Tuesday morning.
 
Following a day off for the first day of classes of the fall semester on Wednesday, the team will have another difficult practice on Thursday and a lighter one on Friday leading into the second scrimmage of preseason camp on Saturday.
 
Following that scrimmage, personnel will be narrowed down to determine those who will be on the travel roster for the season opener at seventh-ranked Penn State on Saturday, Sept. 2.
 
"We are right in the middle of it," Brown said following today's practice. "We just finished practice nine, and I think it's day 11 or day 12. I'm (mad), the kids are (mad) and the whole staff is (mad) just because you are doing the same thing over and over again. That's kind of the dog days of camp."
 
Before reviewing this morning's work, Brown mentioned some of the highlights of Saturday's scrimmage, beginning with the defense.
 
"My biggest things have been alignment, physicality and getting to the ball. I thought our alignments were good, and I would say we are almost there as far as getting to the ball, but we're not quite where we need to be," he explained. "We are being physical, but when we go into tackle situations, we've got to do a good job of running our feet. 
 
"I had some down time yesterday, and so I'm watching a little Penn State on offense, and we're not easing into this. 'If you don't run your feet into contact with those three backs they've got, it's going to be a long day. We've got to run our feet on contact.' That's the thing from a physicality standpoint we've got to do a better job of."
 
Brown said he sees improvement in the defensive line. West Virginia doesn't have a player as talented as Dante Stills, but he believes there is enough depth there to get the job done by committee.
 
"We're going to play nine to 11 guys up there, and we're going to roll them," Brown said. "When they are in there for their three-to-five plays, they've got to be playing with pad level and striking with their hands. That group is getting better. I'm pleased with their development."
 
The coach called his linebackers a "work in progress," although he did heap praise on Trey Lathan's back-to-back performances on Saturday and this morning. 
 
"He's athletic and that's what we're looking for," Brown said of the 6-foot-1, 222-pound redshirt freshman from Goulds, Florida. "He played receiver in high school and a little bit of defense his senior year. From a size, speed and length perspective, he's those things. He just needs repetitions."
 
"I thought he had a nice day on Saturday, and he might have had the best day of anyone out there today," Brown continued. "He had a pick six in a team drill and had a really nice stop on a run play on fourth down. I'm pleased with his progress. He can do it. We've just got to get him ready fast."
 
Brown continues to be impressed with junior Aubrey Burks' work at free safety and was complimentary of corners Andrew Wilson-Lamp and Beanie Bishop during Saturday's scrimmage.
 
Georgia Southern transfer Anthony Wilson is another player who caught Brown's eye on Saturday. Wilson is not that big, standing 5-feet-9 and weighing 190 pounds, but he has shown a proficiency for tackling in the open field.
 
Offensively, Brown praised quarterback Garrett Greene's performance on Saturday. He said redshirt freshman Nicco Marchiol had an impressive two-minute drive near the end of the scrimmage after struggling with some decision making early.
 
Among the running backs, Brown was complimentary of sophomore Jaylen Anderson's play.
 
"He's a guy we need," Brown said. "We've just got to get him into shape."
 
Brown also mentioned true freshman Jahiem White's play without the football and labeled  junior Justin Johnson Jr.'s performance the "most consistent" of fall camp so far among the running backs.
 
True freshman Traylon Ray, a 6-foot-3, 185-pounder from Tallahassee, Florida, was the top performer on Saturday among the wide receivers.
 
"From a freshman standpoint, he's doing some good things, and I think he will be in the mix for us," Brown said.
 
Overall, Brown indicated the receivers are comprised of some guys the coaches believe are ready and others that they need to get ready. He admitted he will have a better handle on where they are with that position following this weekend's scrimmage.
 
The coach is hopeful his running backs and nose tackles Hammond Russell IV, Mike Lockhart and Kentucky transfer Tomiwa Durojaiye can work themselves into better shape in the next two weeks.
 
"They have to play themselves into it," Brown explained. "(Strength coach) Mike (Joseph) can run them all the time, but when you put the helmet and shoulder pads on, and you've got to carry the ball and then sprint back, it's different and we've got to play ourselves into it."
 
Brown said the players are realizing the end of camp nearing with the start of classes this week, which means the coaching staff must stay on top of them.
 
"On Wednesday, school starts and they are going to get on their school routine. All the students are coming back, and Fall Fest is coming up, and I'm not that damned old. I can remember the first week of school, and it's a pretty good time," he said. "The job of a coach is when you know they're starting to drift then you better be at your best.
 
"This is a critical week, and we've got to be hard on them," he concluded.
 
Monday Morning Practice Notes …

* The Associated Press Preseason Top 25 Poll was released this morning and Penn State checks in at No. 7, which makes this year's opener the first time West Virginia will be playing a top-10-ranked opponent at its place since Sept. 11, 1982, when it began the season at ninth-ranked Oklahoma.
 
WVU stunned the Sooners 41-27 that afternoon.
 
The Big 12 has four teams in this year's preseason AP poll: No. 11 Texas, No. 16 Kansas State, No. 17 TCU and No. 20 Oklahoma.
 
* Junior safety Aubrey Burks made the Bednarik Award Watch List released this morning. Penn State has three on the list - defensive end Chop Robinson, linebacker Abdul Carter and cornerback Kalen King.
 
* This morning's practice visitors included former Mountaineer athletic trainer John Spiker and his son Zach, head men's basketball coach at Drexel.
 
* Brown admitted today that he thought they erred last preseason by not getting enough contact work during camp before opening at Pitt. He said that was done to help protect the team's depth.
 
* Among backup offensive linemen, Brown singled out the performance of true freshman tackle Johnny Williams IV from Macon, Georgia. Others he mentioned were Morgantown's Nick Malone and sophomore Bryce Biggs from Ashland, Kentucky. 
 
He is hopeful that redshirt freshmen Sullivan Weidman and Maurice Hamilton can take a step in the next couple of weeks to help with depth. Both have been put under some pressure to see if they can perform in backup roles this season.
 
* Brown said Bishop and White were back deep returning kickoffs during Saturday's scrimmage, with Bishop and Morgantown's Preston Fox handling punt return.
 
* Regarding injuries, the coach indicated redshirt freshman Asani Redwood is ahead of schedule, but he's not sure if he will be available for the opener. He expects Bluefield's Sean Martin to practice some this week. "I'm not really concerned about him going into game one," Brown said.