With fall camp nearing completion, West Virginia conducted their second scrimmage of the period. Read more: WVU’s Practice No. 16: 2nd Scrimmage a Success on Both Sides
This was an important one as it was going to help determine who the primary starters and backups will be heading into the final days before the season starts.
Head Coach Rich Rodriguez and defensive coordinator Zac Alley spoke after the scrimmage to discuss how their sides performed.
Rich Rodriguez
Extending from what they did in the first scrimmage, Rodriguez was able to get in about 80 plays on offense. And while today was meant to find who can contribute for the season, a lot of the younger guys were able to get meaningful reps today.
For the offense, there were still a number of unforced errors and penalties. Rodriguez has been adamant about his desire to get this problem that has plagued them throughout fall camp fixed.
One area that Rodriguez was not happy about at all was the wide receivers lining up incorrectly. This happened twice, and in the eyes of their head coach, it is unacceptable.
On the other hand, Rodriguez mentioned that a few of them were able to come down with a few highly contested catches for touchdowns. Those receivers were Jordan McCants, Christian Hamilton and Cyrus Traugh.
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While he praised them for making the catch, Rodriguez gave the same love to the quarterbacks who threw those passes. Without naming anyone specifically, he thought the QBs played well today, specifically in the long passing attack.
On the defensive side, Rodriguez thought they played well. Most importantly, it seemed like their effort level was on par to their head coach’s standards.
And as school will begin shortly for WVU students, Rodriguez believes that his team is a mature, experienced group that shouldn’t hinder them from doing anything too rambunctious as the town starts to fill up.
Zac Alley
Continuing with the defense, Alley was able to provide a more in-depth analysis of how his group performed today.
In particular, Alley commended the defensive line for the improvement. The edge rushers shined during the scrimmage. And even some of the younger guys in the middle were able to pick up a handful of sacks.
As a whole, today showed that the younger players on the team have some way to go in terms of seeing much playing time. However, the older guys who are expected to play have improved in their execution of the scheme.
That disparity will allow Alley to sit down and decide who will and will not be taking most of the reps in practice leading up to the season opener. As he takes a closer look at his evaluations, he will be looking at who he can trust, who has been consistent and whose performance has simply been better.
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In general, though, Alley believes the whole defensive unit has gotten better since the spring. At the very least, that will help with depth as the season progresses.
Alley also feels confident in his defense if they had to line up and play a game today. He feels they can hang their hat on their four-down quarters defense.
He closed out his press conference by praising nickel’s coach, Henry Weinreich. The nickel is very important in their scheme and Alley believes Weinreich does a great job with that group.
Crucial Decisions Looming
Now that the second scrimmage has concluded, it’s up to the coaches to sit down on Sunday and see where they are at.
They will evaluate today’s scrimmage and previous practices to determine who will be playing and who will be on the scout team. While this is not set in stone, it will provide a clearer picture for the season opener against Robert Morris.
With the season approaching, every rep grows more valuable as opportunities become scarce.
WVU’s Practice No. 16: 2nd Scrimmage a Success on Both Sides
