Photo by: WVU Athletic Communications
Day Two in the Books for the Mountaineers
August 01, 2024 02:29 PM | Football
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia coach Neal Brown said he liked the energy and enthusiasm his team displayed this morning up on the Steve Antoline Family Practice Field.
Day two of fall camp consisted of a two-hour practice in shorts and helmets under sunny skies and warm temperatures. Media was permitted to observe a portion of today's workout.
"I think for the second day of practice we still had really good energy," Brown said afterward. "The first two days when we are not in pads it's really about teaching.
"How do we meet? How do we walk through? How do we practice? And when I say how do we practice, tempo, taking care of one another and those types of things," he said.
Brown indicated big plays were made on both sides of the ball, with most of the bad plays coming from younger, inexperienced players.
"There were a lot of big plays on both sides, and that's good and bad on the offense and the defense respectively," he noted. "What you want to see as a head coach is execution and not because of bad plays from the other side. Today was less about execution and some bad football, but the good thing for us is that it was some of our younger and down-the-line guys."
Oklahoma State transfer Jaden Bray made a nice catch in traffic for a touchdown during 7-on-7 work, while sophomore spear Raleigh Collins III came up with a pretty interception later in the practice period, demonstrating some of the give and take that occurred on both sides of the ball.
West Virginia's top two quarterbacks, Garrett Greene and Nicco Marchiol, continue to operate efficiently with their respective units.
Greene has worked hard during the spring and summer on his throwing mechanics, and Brown said there's been noticeable improvement in that area.
"I feel good," Greene said afterward. "I felt like I had a really good summer, but offensively we got stronger, we're in better condition and it's been great to get out there and run around with the boys."
Today, the senior made several nice throws during 7-on-7 and the team period, which ended with his goal-line touchdown pass to a sliding Preston Fox.
"Credit him because he's really worked at it," Brown said of Greene's mechanical improvements. "In really simple terms, on the run having his hips aligned and following his hips. Then in the pocket, it's having a good base and not falling off one way or the other. There are more details involved in that, but those are the big things."
"Feet alignment, I think that's the simplest way to put it," Greene said.
Green admits his biggest area of growth last year was simply learning how to become a starting college quarterback.
"I think last year I really took ownership of my preparation," he said. "In 2022, I really didn't know everything that entailed being the quarterback here. Last year, I really took it head on to become a pro and take everything in my life more seriously."
Brown is on record saying that he wants to see Greene's completion percentage improve to somewhere in the mid-60s this season. So far, through the first two days of practice, it appears Greene is making strides in that area.
His timing and ball placement appear to be much more crisp as well.
"It's not like the old days when you don't do any football and just show up in the fall for camp," Brown explained. "We had 16 OTAs during the summer, and most of the guys who are playing with the first couple of groups had 15 (practices) in the spring, and we've got a group with good leadership, so they did a lot of work on their own in the summer as well.
"So, my expectation, which I think is reasonable, is our timing would be pretty good. Now, when you are getting collisions, and you are seeing different coverages, that's got to work because the passing game is all about being where you're supposed to be on time."
Brown continues to praise backup Nicco Marchiol's development in all aspects of his game. In both practices so far, Marchiol continues to make impressive throws and plays.
"He has made a ton of improvement, and I'm probably as excited about his development as anyone on our team," Brown said. "A lot of it has to do with his preparation, not just fundamentally, but how he prepares for practice. He's got a rhythm that he follows, and he's maturing as a growing adult, not just as a football player."
"The last part of last year and this offseason he's really bought into taking this as a day job," Greene said of his teammate. "At the end of the day, it is. I think he's done a great job of really just diving into the film room, watching as much tape as he can and learning as much as he can, so when it's his show, he's going to be ready."
Having two proven, battle-tested quarterbacks who have won against power conference competition is a luxury not many programs possess.
"Yes, it's a luxury, and we've got a lot of belief in both of those guys. Both have developed into quality leaders, and both can go win games. That's huge," Brown said.
Which means Brown's entire playbook is available to him when Greene is out on the field.
And with the recent addition of BYU transfer Ryder Burton, the entire playbook is now open to Marchiol as well.
"The good thing, too, with Ryder and some of the other quarterbacks, when Nicco plays, we can let him play to his strengths because that's something we haven't been able to do thus far," Brown pointed out. "He's won, which speaks to him being a winner, but he hasn't been able to play to his full capabilities because we haven't been able to run him and now, we can run him because we have more depth."
Today's practice concluded with a long kicking competition that included a couple of successful field goals from a distance well beyond 50 yards by Michael Hayes and sophomore RJ Kocan from West Islip, New York.
Following practice, Greene, offensive tackle Wyatt Milum and defensive end Sean Martin were made available to the media.
Practices on Friday morning and Saturday conclude the first week of preseason camp for the Mountaineers. Saturday's practice will take place after Fan Day, scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. up on the west concourse area of Milan Puskar Stadium.
Afterward, coordinators Jordan Lesley and Chad Scott are scheduled to meet with the media.
Day two of fall camp consisted of a two-hour practice in shorts and helmets under sunny skies and warm temperatures. Media was permitted to observe a portion of today's workout.
"I think for the second day of practice we still had really good energy," Brown said afterward. "The first two days when we are not in pads it's really about teaching.
"How do we meet? How do we walk through? How do we practice? And when I say how do we practice, tempo, taking care of one another and those types of things," he said.
Brown indicated big plays were made on both sides of the ball, with most of the bad plays coming from younger, inexperienced players.
"There were a lot of big plays on both sides, and that's good and bad on the offense and the defense respectively," he noted. "What you want to see as a head coach is execution and not because of bad plays from the other side. Today was less about execution and some bad football, but the good thing for us is that it was some of our younger and down-the-line guys."
Oklahoma State transfer Jaden Bray made a nice catch in traffic for a touchdown during 7-on-7 work, while sophomore spear Raleigh Collins III came up with a pretty interception later in the practice period, demonstrating some of the give and take that occurred on both sides of the ball.
West Virginia's top two quarterbacks, Garrett Greene and Nicco Marchiol, continue to operate efficiently with their respective units.
Greene has worked hard during the spring and summer on his throwing mechanics, and Brown said there's been noticeable improvement in that area.
"I feel good," Greene said afterward. "I felt like I had a really good summer, but offensively we got stronger, we're in better condition and it's been great to get out there and run around with the boys."
Today, the senior made several nice throws during 7-on-7 and the team period, which ended with his goal-line touchdown pass to a sliding Preston Fox.
"Credit him because he's really worked at it," Brown said of Greene's mechanical improvements. "In really simple terms, on the run having his hips aligned and following his hips. Then in the pocket, it's having a good base and not falling off one way or the other. There are more details involved in that, but those are the big things."
"Feet alignment, I think that's the simplest way to put it," Greene said.
Green admits his biggest area of growth last year was simply learning how to become a starting college quarterback.
"I think last year I really took ownership of my preparation," he said. "In 2022, I really didn't know everything that entailed being the quarterback here. Last year, I really took it head on to become a pro and take everything in my life more seriously."
Brown is on record saying that he wants to see Greene's completion percentage improve to somewhere in the mid-60s this season. So far, through the first two days of practice, it appears Greene is making strides in that area.
His timing and ball placement appear to be much more crisp as well.
"It's not like the old days when you don't do any football and just show up in the fall for camp," Brown explained. "We had 16 OTAs during the summer, and most of the guys who are playing with the first couple of groups had 15 (practices) in the spring, and we've got a group with good leadership, so they did a lot of work on their own in the summer as well.
"So, my expectation, which I think is reasonable, is our timing would be pretty good. Now, when you are getting collisions, and you are seeing different coverages, that's got to work because the passing game is all about being where you're supposed to be on time."
Brown continues to praise backup Nicco Marchiol's development in all aspects of his game. In both practices so far, Marchiol continues to make impressive throws and plays.
"He has made a ton of improvement, and I'm probably as excited about his development as anyone on our team," Brown said. "A lot of it has to do with his preparation, not just fundamentally, but how he prepares for practice. He's got a rhythm that he follows, and he's maturing as a growing adult, not just as a football player."
"The last part of last year and this offseason he's really bought into taking this as a day job," Greene said of his teammate. "At the end of the day, it is. I think he's done a great job of really just diving into the film room, watching as much tape as he can and learning as much as he can, so when it's his show, he's going to be ready."
Having two proven, battle-tested quarterbacks who have won against power conference competition is a luxury not many programs possess.
"Yes, it's a luxury, and we've got a lot of belief in both of those guys. Both have developed into quality leaders, and both can go win games. That's huge," Brown said.
Which means Brown's entire playbook is available to him when Greene is out on the field.
And with the recent addition of BYU transfer Ryder Burton, the entire playbook is now open to Marchiol as well.
"The good thing, too, with Ryder and some of the other quarterbacks, when Nicco plays, we can let him play to his strengths because that's something we haven't been able to do thus far," Brown pointed out. "He's won, which speaks to him being a winner, but he hasn't been able to play to his full capabilities because we haven't been able to run him and now, we can run him because we have more depth."
Today's practice concluded with a long kicking competition that included a couple of successful field goals from a distance well beyond 50 yards by Michael Hayes and sophomore RJ Kocan from West Islip, New York.
Following practice, Greene, offensive tackle Wyatt Milum and defensive end Sean Martin were made available to the media.
Practices on Friday morning and Saturday conclude the first week of preseason camp for the Mountaineers. Saturday's practice will take place after Fan Day, scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. up on the west concourse area of Milan Puskar Stadium.
Afterward, coordinators Jordan Lesley and Chad Scott are scheduled to meet with the media.
Players Mentioned
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