[ad_1]
What a difference a day makes.
On Saturday morning, anyone who openly chose the West Virginia University football team to defeat the state of North Carolina later in the day had probably been dizzy.
After all, it was a team of mountaineers who had just been embarrassed in the same way that few WVU teams were in Missouri the week before. West Virginia could not run the ball, could not pass the ball, could not block and could not attack. There was no question of whether the N State would win on Saturday in Morgantown, but could WVU avoid another day like it did the week before?
A few hours later, we all received our response. Not only did the Montagnards avoid another unsightly Saturday, but West Virginia beat the Wolfpack during the three phases of the game to please loyal fans of gold and bruises.
The result, in itself, is interesting and deserves to be dissected. How did the climbers move from one team that seemed lost to another on the contrary that carries the fingerprints of the head coach Neal Brown.
Brown stepped onto the podium on Tuesday at Morganotwn for his weekly press conference promising to open the competition to save time in several positions. Later in the evening, a new Depth Map was published with Briason Mays, a freshman from the Redshirt group, ranked as the new starter in central West Virginia, while Winston Wright, a true first-time student year, was at the top of the receiver standings. On Saturday morning, we started saying that the two WVU beginners offensive sideguards – Josh Sills on the left and Mike Brown on the right – would miss the match against N.C. State. This was confirmed when Sills and Brown did not participate in the warm ups. Sills is injured, according to WVU, and Brown missed training during the week due to illness and was going to sit Saturday. This opened the door for first-time rookie James Gmiter on the left and John Hughes in the second year on the right.
All the problems in West Virginia in the attack before Saturday seemed to return to the mediocre play of the offensive line. The current match could not start because of a bad block and quarterback Austin Kendall could not get on top, as he was busy running for his life behind the line of scrimmage. The offensive line had been bad before, so what were we expecting from a third centers completely redistributed? The prospects were not good, it is the least that can be said.
On Saturday afternoon, something fun happened in front of more than 57,000 spectators: West Virginia regained momentum in the offensive for the first time in 2019, thanks largely to online gaming.
Brown, who calls the players in addition to being the head coach, stretched the innings outward, leaning on left forwards Colton McKivitz and right, Kelby Wickline – very clearly the two linemen who played the best of the season – to show the way. This allowed the linemen in the middle to acclimate to the match. When starting to run behind them, Gmiter, Mays, Hughes and even Chase Behrndt were ready to answer the call.
The improved match in West Virginia required the attention of N.C. State, who in turn began to open the field to attack. Junior "H" receiver, Tevin Bush, was also absent from training on Saturday – apparently due to a suspension – which meant that Wright would not be the only one to play a lot against the Wolfpack, but that his real new student, Ali Jennings, could also play. Kendall had more time to spend this week behind the new offensive line – he said so much to the media after the match – and began looking for first-year receiver Redshirt Sam James. Wright, Jennings and James all played an important role in Saturday's win.
As for the defense, there were some more interesting staff movements – and one that could not be helped.
Real striker Jordan Jefferson, who should be noted, is only 17 years old, started and played well alongside Dante Stills, Darius Stills and Reese Donahue inside the WVU defense line.
Dylan Tonkery was the usual WVU coach at linebacker "Mike", and did it again on Saturday. Tonkery sometimes gave way to saving Shea Campbell, a native of Morgantown, and WVU's defense seemed more comfortable with the former Morgantown Mohigan on the ground.
Kerry Martin Jr. – True, safe first-year readers in the Charleston area should have known since his stint at Star High on American football for Capital High – was forced to act when Free Safety starter Josh Norwood , was expelled for targeting early in the first quarter. After the match, Martin's game was "upward", but the new Mountaineer coach added that the Charleston freshman had shown maturity and improved as the game progressed.
These are good signs for West Virginia and provide a solid foundation for the future, but that poses some questions. When Sills and Mike Brown will be healthy again, will they get back to their starting position on the offensive line despite the clear improvement of this unit without them on Saturday? Tevin Bush is how deep in the niche, and is the Mountaineer coaching staff willing to burn red shirts on Wright and / or Jennings? Is Campbell the right candidate for linebacker Mike? Was all this an exception to a week in which West Virginia can maintain its momentum after the victory against the United States as the Mountaineers open the big conference on the road this week in Kansas?
The way Brown and West Virginia manage Saturday's success will likely determine the fate of their 2019 season. Brown has had all the right answers up to now, and when something was not working or was not working, he was ready to possess it and to return to the drawing board. Do not leave for the moment with the Mountaineers, but the prospects for WVU's 2019 season are much, much less gloomy than for West Virginia at the same time last week.
[ad_2]
Source link