Quick Hits: New Man in Charge, Next Steps for Nicco Marchiol, Young Guys Impressing + More

WVU head coach Neal Brown gives a progress report after the bye week and addresses coaching changes.

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West Virginia head coach Neal Brown met with the media for his weekly press conference on Monday afternoon and discussed the coaching change on the defensive side of the ball, among several other topics.

Jeff Koonz taking over as defensive coordinator

“Qualified. He’s ready to step up. Has done really well anytime we’ve put him in charge. Whether it’s lead in recruiting, whether it’s on the punt team where he’s taken the lead, he’s been the organizer on special teams, always excelled in leadership roles. He’s got experience with linebackers here but he’s also coached safeties in the past, and he’s called defense before. Excited for him.”

Divvying up special teams roles for coaching staff

“Tony Thompson has been our lead on our punt block team all year. He’ll add the responsibilities of punt team and be the lead on the punt team. And Chris Haering has been the lead on kickoff and kickoff return all year, he’ll continue in that role. That’s how we’ll divide up special teams.”

How the defense can improve in final four games

“I think consistency is the main issue. At times, we’ve played really good on defense. If you look at the first three quarters versus Arizona, I would say that’s winning defense. The first half versus Kansas State, I’d say that’s winning football. Second half versus Kansas, that’s winning football. We just haven’t been consistent. That’s the main issue. We’ve got to get some takeaways and we’ve got to minimize explosives. From a personnel standpoint, it’s going to be the same people. We’re not like the NFL. We’re not making any trades or anything. Who we’ve got is who we got. We’ve got to do a better job of getting lined up. We’ve got to do some things less predictable. We can’t give them the answers to the test. We’ve got to do a better job disguising whether it’s our movements up front or our coverages in the secondary, we’ve got to do a better job of that.”

Young guys on defense who stood out during bye week

“Defensively on the defensive line, Elijah Kinsler, who has kind of been our sixth guy. He’s been right there on the fringe whether he’s going to play these last four or not. But I thought he had a really good week. At linebacker, Rickey Williams. He’s coming on. He missed most of fall camp with an injury but he’s what we’re looking for at the linebacker position. And then DBs, Aden Nelson was good which we need him to step up, so hopefully he can put himself in position to play this last month. Jason Cross did a nice job. He can run. He’s got a bright future. He’s got to gain some weight. And the Keyshawn Robinson who has been a really good special teams player for us on kickoff and punt coverage, he had a nice week as well.”

Young guys on offense who stood out during bye week

“Diore Hubbard had two of the three days he was really good. He was really good yesterday. Up front, Kyle Altuner was released and practiced full go last week and showed some good things. And then I thought Justin Terry and Lucas Austin, both the young tackles did some nice things during the week. And then Brandon Rehmann he probably had his best day as a Mountaineer yesterday. He’s continuing to get stronger and could potentially help us on special teams down the line here this month.”

Injury update

“I would say Garrett (Greene) is doubtful for this week. (Aubrey) Burks, (Ayden) Garnes, and (Jaden) Bray will all be out.”

Next steps for Nicco Marchiol

“I think first of all he was really efficient in the game and he didn’t turn it over. What does he need to sustain? He needs to sustain taking care of the football. He needs to sustain being efficient and moving the chains on third downs. Now, what do we need to improve on? We need to hit some big balls. We’ve to take some shots down the field, which he did. He hit the big one to Traylon (Ray). Missed a couple, but we have to continue to grow in that area. There was some decision-making in the run game that we need to clean up. I think for us, it’s about putting him in the best situation possible from a game-planning perspective and how we’re calling it. If we continue to do that, then I believe he’ll play well.”

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