WVU Football Neal Brown Albany Postgame | Sep 7 2024

all right first thank you all for being here um a little different uh setting than we had a week ago and so um I want to start off just I want to thank our fans uh we had a great crowd at the man trip and a lot of energy beautiful day that helps to and then um I thought our fans turned out uh today for a nonconference game especially after we didn't perform very well week ago and so really happy for them to stay behind our team and and it was a it was a good atmosphere and it was loud in the first half and and a lot of them stayed and and I hope they enjoyed the light show there uh in the second half um it's always good to win it's hard to do um and my man Tony K told me yesterday or two days ago that less than 3% of the year are are are game days and that kind of resonated with me and so um I trumped him I said 1.9% of them are home games and so um when we get those opportunities we need to enjoy them and winnings hard um and I was proud of our guys for bouncing back and aling's got a good FCS football team and and they did some nice things they they minimized possessions they held the ball um they did a nice job and they're well coached and the kids play really really hard and I thought they showed uh well on on a bigger stage today and they'll they're going to win their share games and be very competitive um in the CAA I'll start defensively I thought our Rush defense was really good our end of possession Downs were good uh we got off the field on fourth down um which was which was a positive um I thought Ben cutter and Anthony Wilson were really active in the game you know um we didn't get any takeaways we had our hands you know try and uh and ride both had opportunities to get picks um and we got to play the ball down the FI better I think that's that's evident uh offensively you know we really had three bad plays in the game um and and the rest of them we kind of kind of show beginnings of what we're capable of being which is a team that's balanced that can run and can throw it we got multiple weapons um Garrett had a ball slip out of his hand and then and then made a poor pass on one possession there where we where we punted and then Jim learned a hard lesson man you got to hold the ball the right way and and he had it he had it out the whole run and it was a explosive run but they got it out and so really three bad plays but you know we were five for five in the red zone and that was a huge flip from what we did a week ago um we had two 100 yard rushers thought we threw and caught the ball uh quite a bit better than we did a week ago and so and then on special teams did a nice job we're able to play a lot of people on special teams um played more on on defense than probably offense just because of how the game went uh I wanted to get more guys in we just it it was a fast game U which I know nobody in here's complaining about but I'd like to play a few more people so um but all in all good win and um we're going to enjoy it and then we'll get ready for for the brawl so questions great Neil start with the offens specifically the offensive line see like they had their way pretty well your Field view how how do you think the front play yeah better you know and in a week ago the numbers are a little deceiving because we had all those negative plays but um we really only had two negative rushing plays um and so I thought we were pretty clean they tried to um slant and kind of junk up the middle but I thought we sorted it out pretty well um the only Blitz we missed was a running back that's the only time they got pressure on Garrett um and so um a good day and our expectations are high for those guys you know we've got guys up there that played a lot of football and and we can we need them to continue to play at a high level and continue to get better had seven different people find The End Zone how big is that for confidence with your Playmakers well it's it's good I mean you know I don't really care who scores you know I'm more into just the scoring piece of it but it's good for team morale um and in these games you want to get guys touches and I thought we did a good job Distributing the ball um the fact that we that we had seven different scor touchdowns um is a positive just because it rewards people it reports it rewards guys for working and so I was really proud of Nico I thought he had a nice drive there uh I wanted to get him two or three more um but again it was just kind of an odd game it was really fast we had fewer possessions than we normally do um we only ran 58 plays um and so um but I was proud of him cuz I thought he was really efficient and how how he navigated he had a really tough read on his touchdown run and he he made the right decision after kind of a a rough outing against Penn State how would you evaluate the wide receivers Beyond just the numbers getting separation getting open well it wouldn't kind of rough like the whole team was rough like you're right Mike it's fair the whole thing was rough not just the white outs the really every phase of it except special teams um though we got good players at white out and we won last week against man coverage um we didn't throw it as well and we made some drops but we won like if you go back and watch the film like our white outs won the whole time you know so when I when I'm watching it when I'm when I'm frustrated with how they played it's really more I was frustrated they didn't run guys off when it was man coverage in the Run game because we'd had three or four more explosive runs and they know what to do um and then we had some some drops and some 50-50 balls we don't we didn't make in that game that's where the frustration but we won versus man we won versus man today we have the ability to win versus Man against everybody we play now we're going to get tested next week you know watch pit a little bit but but I know Nardi and they're going to line up and they're going to challenge our receivers because that's what they do um so we got to continue to get better but I was proud I thought Jaden Bray made a really good contested catch there in the third quarter um and I thought the guys uh did a nice job defensively on those downfield balls does it seem like maybe some of the guys were trying to give up the Home Run ball or what did you see I don't think they were trying to um now we did but um I think what um we got to do a better job playing the ball in the air you know like we had the pi call and we were in coverage but we didn't look back so it's the right call and then we had two other times where um we didn't make the play down the field really because we didn't we didn't have eyes back we got to do a better job of just playing the ball in the air and that's something we can continue to work in practice and here's the deal number seven's a good player you know he's a really good player and he made two really I mean he started at Oregon and they're not in the business of signing B players and he can play he can play he was really good last week um in their first game and he made a bunch of plays uh today and he's a good player and he made two really highly contested plays one of them was on a bender in the in the second quarter and the other one was the first play of the third quarter first play of second half those those were Big Time plays just disappointed you give up three third and 15 plus yeah yeah yeah that that's that's an obvious yes right um and we went into the game we wanted play more more man coverage um and we did um and and that's what we were in on two of those and so we got to mix it up you know you kind of pick and choose what you're going to do in these games um and sometimes you need a tendency break sometimes you need to um trial and error what you can do and so we learned some things we can do we learned some things we can't do you weren't very happy with Garrett's reads last week you your thoughts on his reads better today yeah he just did a better job of being in control you know he was he just got real um uh almost too high he's excitable and I think you'll see that and you got to be real careful because he does have high energy and he so I don't ever want to like like uh put out that flame but at the same thing same time he can't get overly High he's got to he's got to continue to play Within himself and I thought he did a better job of that and we did a better job of of of really talking about that as a week you know whether it's um our sports psychologist our staff you know and he did a better under understanding he he listen he is great he he handles the truth the hard truth and he didn't play as well as he's capable of playing last week um and he took that and just like the whole team like you got to own it you got to learn from it you got to grow and and we did that this week and we got to continue to do that Co comments on any concerns still on the secondary oh yeah well I mean yeah we didn't yeah we didn't we didn't uh we didn't I think I said that in the opening we didn't play the downfield pass um as well as we need to you know and they had 300 yards passing um and and I said I think I said this last week too sometimes the stat sheet doesn't say doesn't tell the story but sometimes it does and like 300 yards passing is and we got to get better I didn't think we played real fast back there you know and so we've got to we got to figure out why that is we didn't play real fast fast now we did a much better job getting lined and we did much better job of of of handling their formations but we didn't play the ball in the air very well and we just didn't I didn't think we played real fast you know coming off the goal line that's something you guys rehearse a bunch right but then you get in the open field and I don't know look like you try to play with Tempo and just do different stuff how do you balance out like the stuff you know you're good at to get out of there and then to get to the stuff that is different but still effective yeah so that was the first time um I I think is the first well I know it is cuz I was asking M that's the first time we went 99 since um TCU here in during Co in 20 um yeah so what you do is you have a plan for what you're going to do getting off you know and and and we practice that uh twice during the week and we usually stick pretty close to that and then really once we get off where you're not going to get a a holding call in the end zone or you're not going to uh have potential grounding or you can get a um a safety so that's usually around the six yard line we just play it normal and just go and and that's kind of how we did it tonight too um probably a simple question here but that right after the goal line stand maybe not with you see you needed that I'm guessing yeah we did I I don't necessarily think the game was in um was in question but that was a huge flip of it you know like that that stop and then us going ahead and scoring put the game Out Of Reach um and so now probably the ball shouldn't never got down there cuz two of those uh third downs we just talked about were on that drive and so but it was it was a great goal line stop I thought we were really good on Fourth Downs today on both sides um and so you know talking about stats that's one the stats that they should have is end possession stat not necessarily third and four downs because you look at it you're like one to six on third downs but we really only didn't make one you know and so um it's a uh it's a little misleading sometimes but I thought our our end of possession Downs on both offense and defense were were positives today Neil what do you think about that second defensive line rotation um just your evaluation and TJ Jackson uh is he a guy that could move around potentially yeah TJ Jackson is really active man and uh I think he's uh I think he is uh he's been a positive pickup uh he works every day really proud of him he's been active both games he played really he was one of the high points um against Penn Stadium just didn't finish on the quarterback um but he's he really moves he's our best move guy we've had since Darius um and so uh he's a really good player and we got those guys son redwoods coming on you know I thought he did some some nice things uh following up a really successful bowl game he did some nice things against Penn State um it's hard to tell o line dline till you watch the film but those guys we have a lot of confidence in them miles Burkin seemed like he had a lot of armed Talent just want you see from their quarterback yeah he did a nice job um played a lot better than he did in week one um and he's a kid that's that was a a power four transfer came in from Wisconsin I thought he was tough that's probably the best compliment I could give him I thought he was tough he took some hits um and did he their their Center was a little off on his snaps he had to handle some of those and still threw the ball um and I thought some of his seam balls were good were really big time throws any news on Eddie best friend yeah I think well we're got an MRI they got it back so probably he'll probably be out a few weeks we we'll kind of determine how long I'll know better on Monday CJ and Jim both hit the 100 yard Mark rushing um would you say that was more on the running backs being hot or the o line doing their jobs or both yeah I think both yeah both I think in the Run game it's always uh it's really um the team effort the schematic piece of it and then the athlete carrying the ball right and so the team effort of it is it's it's offensive line tight end and receivers you know because most of the schemes that we're doing tying the receivers a lot of times at the point of attack then they're schematic you know putting them in a schematic Advantage which what you try to do in the Run game and and the third thing is the athlete right and so both those guys are high-end players but I think it was a compilation of all three tonight ALB only had 29 yards on the first three series anything you can pinpoint as to why the defense has been better early in these first two games N I think that's that's not um unique just to our defense CU a lot of times offensives just take a little while to get into to a rhythm a little bit and so um I thought we came out and played really fast early um and then here's the other thing too is they started taking shots down the field and that's where they had success you know three or four kickoffs all into the corner well we're trying to kick it there we're not trying to kick it out of bounds but we do want to um there's there's there's an advantage to kicking it in the corner uh we really aim for the numbers is kind of if if we could take the ball and place it down there it'd be in the numbers um but he didn't get he didn't I think he was trying to overplay the wind I don't know if y'all can tell in the Press Box but the wind was kind of circling a little bit uh so when you're kicking toward the hospital it was and I think he overplayed it and kicked it out of bounds but we are trying to pin him down there that way we can get our cover Lanes down into that corner that strategy just takes away half field yeah it takes away half the field yeah we run really well in that unit we've we've gotten a lot better you pleased with your punt team first two weeks yeah yeah I wish we didn't punt today you know um and so but yeah Ali's playing well you know his family's in from Australia and and he's performing well for those guys so so I'm I'm proud of him and then we do a good job with our coverage too like our Gunners like those are kind of the Hidden guys behind that at linebacker last week it was Josiah Trotter this week it seems like Reed Caro was all over the place how do you feel that how how do they contribute to to this team yeah that this is the best group we've had we got more depth there you I thought Ben cutter I said that in the open I thought he was really good tonight and Reed and Reed Caro made some plays on kickoff and on on defense so he's been a positive addition too um but yeah that's the deepest group that we've had did uh did Jordan get taken out in the Seline he did yeah so well he might have no more on Monday too but like he did and credit to him and our credit to our medical staff cuz he got he really got hit hard on the sideline and and really concerned he went about a series maybe more where he didn't call the defense shadan called it and uh um but he got hit yeah he got to hit extremely hard okay thanks coach y thanks