A Look Inside WVU's First Scrimmage: Who Stood Out, Areas to Improve

One scrimmage is in the books and players are making moves on the depth chart.

Christopher Hall

Over the weekend, the West Virginia Mountaineers held their first full scrimmage which is the starting point of where players either rise or fall down the depth chart in the eyes of the coaches. It also gives Neal Brown an ideas as to what he can do from a play-calling standpoint and what he may have to hold back on until certain areas get cleaned up.

During Monday's press conference coach Brown detailed how scrimmage No. 1 went.

“Offensively, slow start and then came out and finished the scrimmage really well. We put a lot of pressure on the quarterbacks trying to throw the football, maybe more so than we normally would. We were efficient throwing the ball, we were good in the red zone offensively. I thought we just played inconsistent. The good was really good and then there was times that we didn’t look like a veteran outfit like we are.

“Defense started off really well which was a positive. Started fast. I thought our d-line was much more effective Saturday than they were Tuesday. They did a nice job. I thought our linebackers played the run better, still not good enough, but better. Defensively, we weren’t bad in the red zone but the one thing is we didn’t create any takeaways down there and that’s something that we’ve really talked about. We weren’t able to maintain the energy from the start which is something we’re going to have to do.”

It's good to have some of that back and forth in camp. If one side of the ball dominates every single day, then you've got a serious problem on your hand. Right now, it's okay if Garrett Greene throws interceptions because it shows the defense is making plays. Plus, you want him to take those shots as much as possible during camp to get his timing down with some of the new receivers in the fold. Speaking of new receivers, one of them showed out during the scrimmage along with a handful of other players.

“(Center) Brandon Yates really pushed through, he got banged up on Friday but came out and played every scrimmage rep," said Neal Brown. "I think (offensive linemen) Xavier Bausley and Sully Weidman are guys that are making some strides, so that’s been exciting to see. (Offensive tackle) Johnny Williams is getting better. And then out wide, Jaden Bray we got a bunch of touches to. I’m excited about him as a football player. He’s going to be one of our better special teams players also.  I think the two freshman running backs had nice days for limited carries, they both had some positive runs, Diore (Hubbard) and (Trae’von) Dunbar.”

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