Photo by: WVU Athletic Communications
Mountaineers Get in Some Scrimmage Work Under the Lights on Saturday
August 10, 2024 11:58 PM | Football
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia got in a little more than 100 plays during its first full scrimmage of preseason camp under the lights inside Milan Puskar Stadium on Saturday night.
Quarterbacks Garrett Greene and Nicco Marchiol threw two touchdown passes each, while BYU transfer Ryder Burton flipped a pretty 47-yard scoring toss to TJ Johnson late in the scrimmage.
True freshman Diore Hubbard produced a long touchdown run, while Jahiem White and Jaylen Anderson both crossed the goal line during red-zone, situational work.
In addition to Johnson, touchdown catches were made by Will Dixon, Jaden Bray, Hudson Clement and Justin Robinson. Tight end Kole Taylor made the catch of the scrimmage - a one-handed grab of a Greene heater across the middle for a 15-yard gainer.
Quarterbacks were in white jerseys and white helmets and were not tackled, and Big 12 referees were brought in to officiate tonight's practice.
"We probably ran 120 plays (105), and most of the time you are defending 65 to 70, so when you start doing the math … and we also did four or five drives when we started in the red zone," West Virginia coach Neal Brown pointed out afterward. "Really, what you've got to do from a coaching perspective is you watch it, and you evaluate each unit, and you evaluate each person individually and then we've got to make significant improvement from this Saturday to next Saturday."
Brown said he was pleased with the way the defense began tonight's scrimmage forcing three-and-outs on the opening two possessions. The coach said that was a continuation of the solid work the unit put in earlier this week in the Wednesday and Friday practices.
"I thought we tackled well early, and I thought we did a nice job with some of our four- and five-man rushes. We've really tried to concentrate on that to see if we can get into some one-on-one situations," he observed.
Offensively, Brown thought his top two quarterbacks, Greene and Marchiol, performed effectively under pressure.
"We really wanted to put a lot of pressure on the quarterbacks tonight where they had to complete passes. We had more drops than we've had, but I thought the guys who did drop came back and made plays later in the scrimmage, which was encouraging," he said.
"I haven't seen the numbers yet, but I thought we were much more efficient passing the football than we were at times last year, so that was pleasing," Brown added.
The coach said he was disappointed in the pass coverage during the second part of the scrimmage when some of the reserve players were on the field, and he also cited some missed tackles that need to be cleaned up.
"Some of that is to be expected, practice nine, though," he pointed out.
"Offensively, I was disappointed in the slow start, and we had too many penalties, and again, some of that is because it's early, but we've got to clean that up," he said.
Operationally, Brown indicated it's still a work in progress with the installation of the new communication system, but it's something they have been working on since last year's Duke's Mayo Bowl victory over North Carolina.
"We've used it all spring and we've used it for all nine practices, so I think we are probably farther ahead than most, and when we get the tablets that's going to be a game changer," he said. "We tried to take some time in between series like we would if we had tablets to talk to them about what they saw and things like that, but we need it.
"There is a reason we are going in the stadium on Saturdays and Tuesdays, and then we are going to do two big scrimmages and a mock game and get a feel for the mechanics," he said. "Going in at halftime, we've got a lot of first-time players, so we're cleaning up some of that stuff."
Tonight's scrimmage concluded with some situational third-down work.
Overall, nearly everyone who dressed got some reps under the bright, new LED lights in the stadium, including new quarterbacks Ryder Burton and Khalil Wilkins.
"I've got to check with the coaches because they've got to manage their rooms, but we got Ryder in, and he threw a nice touchdown pass," Brown said. "He's been a great addition thus far through camp, and Khalil is really talented. He's got some growth to make, but he can run, and he's got a strong arm."
Brown said tonight's scrimmage simulated a 7:30 p.m. kickoff. The remaining practices and scrimmages will simulate other game times, including the noon kickoff against Penn State to open the season on Saturday, Aug. 31.
"Next week, we are going to go at 1, and then we are going to do the mock game at night again," he said. "Then we'll practice at noon two Tuesdays in a row to try and move around some start times just to get the guys used to it."
No on-field activities are planned for Sunday. Brown is scheduled to meet with the media following Monday morning's practice.
Quarterbacks Garrett Greene and Nicco Marchiol threw two touchdown passes each, while BYU transfer Ryder Burton flipped a pretty 47-yard scoring toss to TJ Johnson late in the scrimmage.
True freshman Diore Hubbard produced a long touchdown run, while Jahiem White and Jaylen Anderson both crossed the goal line during red-zone, situational work.
In addition to Johnson, touchdown catches were made by Will Dixon, Jaden Bray, Hudson Clement and Justin Robinson. Tight end Kole Taylor made the catch of the scrimmage - a one-handed grab of a Greene heater across the middle for a 15-yard gainer.
Quarterbacks were in white jerseys and white helmets and were not tackled, and Big 12 referees were brought in to officiate tonight's practice.
"We probably ran 120 plays (105), and most of the time you are defending 65 to 70, so when you start doing the math … and we also did four or five drives when we started in the red zone," West Virginia coach Neal Brown pointed out afterward. "Really, what you've got to do from a coaching perspective is you watch it, and you evaluate each unit, and you evaluate each person individually and then we've got to make significant improvement from this Saturday to next Saturday."
Brown said he was pleased with the way the defense began tonight's scrimmage forcing three-and-outs on the opening two possessions. The coach said that was a continuation of the solid work the unit put in earlier this week in the Wednesday and Friday practices.
"I thought we tackled well early, and I thought we did a nice job with some of our four- and five-man rushes. We've really tried to concentrate on that to see if we can get into some one-on-one situations," he observed.
Offensively, Brown thought his top two quarterbacks, Greene and Marchiol, performed effectively under pressure.
"We really wanted to put a lot of pressure on the quarterbacks tonight where they had to complete passes. We had more drops than we've had, but I thought the guys who did drop came back and made plays later in the scrimmage, which was encouraging," he said.
"I haven't seen the numbers yet, but I thought we were much more efficient passing the football than we were at times last year, so that was pleasing," Brown added.
The coach said he was disappointed in the pass coverage during the second part of the scrimmage when some of the reserve players were on the field, and he also cited some missed tackles that need to be cleaned up.
"Some of that is to be expected, practice nine, though," he pointed out.
"Offensively, I was disappointed in the slow start, and we had too many penalties, and again, some of that is because it's early, but we've got to clean that up," he said.
Operationally, Brown indicated it's still a work in progress with the installation of the new communication system, but it's something they have been working on since last year's Duke's Mayo Bowl victory over North Carolina.
"We've used it all spring and we've used it for all nine practices, so I think we are probably farther ahead than most, and when we get the tablets that's going to be a game changer," he said. "We tried to take some time in between series like we would if we had tablets to talk to them about what they saw and things like that, but we need it.
"There is a reason we are going in the stadium on Saturdays and Tuesdays, and then we are going to do two big scrimmages and a mock game and get a feel for the mechanics," he said. "Going in at halftime, we've got a lot of first-time players, so we're cleaning up some of that stuff."
Tonight's scrimmage concluded with some situational third-down work.
Overall, nearly everyone who dressed got some reps under the bright, new LED lights in the stadium, including new quarterbacks Ryder Burton and Khalil Wilkins.
"I've got to check with the coaches because they've got to manage their rooms, but we got Ryder in, and he threw a nice touchdown pass," Brown said. "He's been a great addition thus far through camp, and Khalil is really talented. He's got some growth to make, but he can run, and he's got a strong arm."
Brown said tonight's scrimmage simulated a 7:30 p.m. kickoff. The remaining practices and scrimmages will simulate other game times, including the noon kickoff against Penn State to open the season on Saturday, Aug. 31.
"Next week, we are going to go at 1, and then we are going to do the mock game at night again," he said. "Then we'll practice at noon two Tuesdays in a row to try and move around some start times just to get the guys used to it."
No on-field activities are planned for Sunday. Brown is scheduled to meet with the media following Monday morning's practice.
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