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00:00 You got a bowl game here against some guys that are out.
00:05 Is it almost like preparing for an opener in a way
00:11 because of the opt-outs and things that you see on tape
00:15 that you may not see in the game?
00:16 Well, not really.
00:17 From a personnel standpoint, it could be the case,
00:19 but from a schematic standpoint, not really.
00:21 You know, they're going to run what they're going to run,
00:23 and whoever the guys that replaced the guys
00:25 that opted out, you know, they'll do the same thing,
00:28 and they'll be simple in their approach
00:29 because some of the guys that have opted out,
00:31 at least defensively,
00:32 pretty much taken all of the snaps,
00:34 so you can't really imagine
00:37 that they'll ask them to do anything different
00:38 than what they've been doing.
00:41 As you watch their film,
00:43 why do you think they struggle so much against the run
00:45 in the second half of the game?
00:46 I couldn't tell you.
00:48 I don't know. They might be able to tell you that.
00:49 I couldn't tell you. I really couldn't tell you.
00:51 I don't know. I hadn't watched them in that regard
00:53 to see the answer to that question.
00:56 Big up front.
00:57 Is that what you see on tape, big up front?
00:59 Yeah. Yeah.
01:00 Yeah, really good size up front, across the board.
01:02 We matched up really well with us, as well.
01:04 I'm afraid it's been out,
01:05 but we got great size up front, too,
01:07 but so it'll be a similar game
01:09 that we've had all season long
01:10 where we, you know, going to tell our offense and defense
01:13 that it's going to be a battle of the trenches, man.
01:16 You know, both teams want to run the ball
01:17 and be physical up front,
01:19 so that's where it's going to --
01:20 that's where the game's going to lie.
01:22 I was asking Jaheim before you got in here,
01:25 Jaheim, before you got in here,
01:26 about the nucleus of skill players
01:29 that you guys have intact coming back,
01:33 what you've got coming back and what you're bringing in.
01:35 Yeah.
01:36 Do you feel, do you sense something special
01:39 kind of building with what you've got
01:41 and what you expect to have next year?
01:43 Absolutely. Very much so.
01:45 And the chemistry they have, as well,
01:47 on and off the football field,
01:49 and it's really just a tip of the iceberg with those guys,
01:53 you know, just to see what they're capable of doing.
01:55 And you guys got a great glimpse
01:58 of it the last seven games of the season.
02:00 Still getting a glimpse of it right now.
02:02 It's going through both practices
02:03 where they're playing for one another,
02:05 but it's going to be a special group.
02:07 And like I said, what makes it even more special
02:09 is the talent they have,
02:10 but the camaraderie that they have, as well.
02:12 And they want to go out there and perform well for one another.
02:15 They want to go block on the perimeter
02:16 for Jaheim to run the ball.
02:17 He wants to do a great job in pass pro
02:19 to allow those guys to get vertical downfield
02:21 and create one-on-one opportunities.
02:23 So, I do feel something special, bro.
02:25 Good selling point when you're out there.
02:26 I mean, you can tell a kid, "Hey, listen, we got these guys.
02:30 If you come and join them, this is what we can be."
02:33 Absolutely. Huge selling point.
02:35 That's exactly what we're selling.
02:37 And, you know, we do a phenomenal job playing fast
02:41 and being efficient with plays and keeping the change moving
02:45 so we're able to get more plays.
02:46 The more plays we get, the more opportunities guys get.
02:49 And I'm always talking to those guys
02:50 about being special with the ball.
02:51 So, not only are they getting opportunities,
02:54 but it's not taking a lot of opportunities
02:57 to be very efficient with the football.
02:58 You know, they're averaging a pretty decent
03:01 amount of yards per catch.
03:02 Obviously, Jaheim's running, averaging a pretty decent
03:04 amount of yards per carry.
03:05 So, they're being very efficient with the ball.
03:06 So, it's allowing more guys to get opportunities as well.
03:10 I was joking with Garrett about lobbying
03:14 to play a little more two-minute offense next year
03:17 because he's so good at the end of half, end of game.
03:19 Is that a consideration, something?
03:21 I mean, because he's so instinctive
03:23 and because he's such a reactive player,
03:26 he's really at his best when --
03:29 Is that something you guys will consider
03:31 and talk about a little bit when the offense --
03:32 Yeah, we will.
03:34 Well, that's one of the reasons why we try to play with tempo.
03:35 You know, he plays --
03:37 You know, we do a phenomenal job in practice
03:40 simulating that, you know, that happens in the game.
03:42 And so, we get in the game.
03:43 It's like rehearsal for those guys.
03:44 But it is something we talk about.
03:46 But we actually try to emulate that in,
03:48 you know, an actual game played by playing fast
03:51 because he responds to that really well,
03:53 and he does a phenomenal job of handling it really well.
03:55 And our guys around him do a great job
03:57 of getting lined up fast and getting set
03:58 so he can see what he needs to see to execute.
04:00 Kind of makes it easier as a coach, too,
04:02 in terms of planning because you don't have --
04:04 You don't have time to sit there and think about scenarios.
04:06 You just go play, play fast. Right.
04:08 Right. And the beauty of it is,
04:09 to be able to do what we're doing,
04:10 playing that fast, we don't have to be as complicated
04:13 because we got the right guys on the field.
04:15 And I mean by the right guys.
04:16 I talked to you guys early on about,
04:19 you know, playing the most productive players.
04:20 So, the right guys are on the field.
04:22 And so, we don't have to be, you know,
04:24 as complex with what we're calling
04:25 because of the talent we got in the football field
04:27 and the talent he has around him.
04:29 You know, so, we get honest defenses,
04:30 and those guys with their talent and ability
04:32 go out there and win the one-on-ones.
04:35 What do you think about Brandon at center?
04:39 And where we go up.
04:41 When you say what I think about it.
04:43 When you say what I think about it, what do you mean?
04:45 Just like, you know, this is going to be his first time.
04:47 He played a little bit at the end of Baylor,
04:48 but it's his first time, you know.
04:49 Well, we've done -- because Morris done a great job,
04:51 really, way back to spring ball.
04:54 You know, times when Zach might not have been in,
04:57 or we went with the twos and in Yates' place,
05:00 he stayed in and played center for the twos.
05:02 So, he's gotten a lot of reps playing it.
05:03 Not as -- obviously not, you know, a lot in the game play,
05:06 but, you know, in practice settings and scrimmage settings,
05:09 maybe back in spring ball, the fall camp.
05:10 And he's got a lot of work at it.
05:12 So, we're all good, man. Yeah, we're all good.
05:15 He's been doing a phenomenal job in these bowl practices, right,
05:17 snapping the ball really well.
05:18 Today, we got a -- today was a really intense practice
05:20 where we almost made it very similar to what we've done
05:23 in the -- like on a Wednesday game week during the season.
05:26 And everything's all good.
05:31 Approach these games, do you approach it
05:33 as the end of this year,
05:35 or is it more the beginning of next year?
05:38 I mean, it's different.
05:39 Bowl games used to be the end of the year.
05:41 Right.
05:43 But the way the game has changed,
05:45 is it more beginning of next year?
05:47 Oh, for me, I'm approaching it like it's the end of the season.
05:50 We got to finish. We need to finish.
05:52 You know, we need to finish.
05:53 We're still in a mindset
05:55 where we still got to prove guys wrong.
05:56 And so, we need to finish.
05:58 And it is, you know, the start of, you know, what's to come.
06:02 Because, obviously, we're getting a lot of work
06:03 with the younger guys.
06:04 It's like having extra spring balls.
06:06 So, you know, a lot of younger guys are getting some reps.
06:08 And guys that, you know, hadn't played as much
06:10 are getting a lot of reps to get ready.
06:14 But we're still in that mindset
06:15 where we got to finish this season off.
06:18 Yeah.
06:19 A lot of conversation around Beanie defensively
06:21 becoming the 13th consensual American
06:23 and how the coaching staff and Brown talked about
06:25 they can use that for future recruits.
06:27 Absolutely.
06:28 Especially defensive backs in the portal.
06:30 Who would be that guy that you could use
06:32 that took that jump by coming to West Virginia?
06:34 I'd imagine Cole Taylor maybe would be,
06:36 off the top of my head, one that you could bring up.
06:38 Like, how are you going to use that on offensive players
06:40 and what you did in the portal to say,
06:42 "Hey, come here and you're going to have success"?
06:44 Right. You said it exactly.
06:45 For us, it would be Cole Taylor coming in
06:48 and making an impact.
06:49 And with both of those guys, with Beanie and Cole,
06:52 they had the right mindset when they came in this summer.
06:55 When I mean by the right mindset,
06:56 they were wherever they've been in the past.
06:58 There was no when I was here, when I was there.
07:02 And when they came here, they were all in.
07:04 And, you know, they had a clear mindset
07:06 that they wanted to come here and be the best version
07:08 of themselves here at West Virginia
07:10 and not saying what they did there
07:11 and didn't in the comparison stuff.
07:13 And I always think the guys that come in
07:15 with a clean mindset, ready to move forward and be all in,
07:18 gives them guys -- gives themselves the best chance
07:20 to be as successful as they possibly can.
07:22 I think both of those guys had the right mindset
07:24 early on when they first got here.
07:26 But Cole Taylor would be that guy.
07:27 Does that kind of guide your approach?
07:32 I mean, Beanie came up here and said,
07:34 "Listen, a lot of guys,
07:36 they go because they're looking for the money.
07:37 They're looking for the NL money.
07:38 I came because I want to be a better football player."
07:40 -Right. -And I did.
07:42 Does that -- how you guys approach it,
07:45 we're going to go look for the guys
07:46 that want to be better football players?
07:47 Absolutely. And we want to also go for the guys.
07:49 You know, obviously, we want to get a great player out of it,
07:54 but you also want to get a guy that fits who we are, too.
07:57 You know, I think the culture of our locker room
07:59 has changed tremendously, man,
08:01 just the culture of this whole football team.
08:03 And so we also want to get the right kind of guy.
08:04 And those two guys got the right mindset
08:06 to come in and blend well with, you know,
08:09 our mentality of who we are as a football team now
08:12 and not something that can disrupt what we establish.
08:17 If you look at it from the mentality,
08:18 not just Beanie and Cole, but your place kicker,
08:21 there have been a lot of guys --
08:22 you hit on a lot of guys this past year.
08:24 Yeah, exactly right. Michael Hayes and who else?
08:29 Yeah. I mean, does that kind of put the pressure on you?
08:31 Okay, we got to do that again this year?
08:33 Or do you look at it as a way, okay,
08:36 if we can't get immediate guys,
08:37 get guys that fill in spots that we need and develop?
08:43 Well, if we need an immediate guy,
08:45 we need to come get a guy now.
08:47 Now, if it's not an immediate guy, in my mind,
08:49 I'd rather recruit a guy out of high school
08:52 if it's not an immediate guy.
08:53 But if it's an immediate guy,
08:54 you got to get the guy out of the portal.
08:56 You know, it happens so fast,
08:58 you got to get on those guys right away
08:59 so you give yourself a chance to get the guy
09:01 that can come help you.
09:02 I mean, in the case of --
09:04 I know he's a different position,
09:05 but Beanie came here in June or whatever it was.
09:08 Right. And became a consensus
09:10 All-American in four months.
09:11 And didn't even have any time for momentum
09:14 to promote him or anything.
09:16 Right. He just came out and performed.
09:18 That's pretty rare. Yeah, it is rare.
09:19 And then sometimes, you know,
09:21 I'm just speaking like in his situation,
09:22 maybe it's about guys being in the right environment
09:27 where they feel like they got an opportunity to flourish.
09:30 I believe the environment we have here
09:31 is more of a supportive environment,
09:33 even where the criticism they may have is constructive.
09:38 So they can learn from it and grow from it
09:40 and still have an opportunity to flourish
09:41 as opposed to being in a destructive environment.
09:43 So maybe sometimes guys that jump in the portal
09:45 may not feel like they're given the proper opportunity
09:48 or maybe they're not in an environment
09:50 that they feel like is supportive enough
09:51 for them to go flourish.
09:53 And that's the kind of environment
09:54 that we have around here because he's a talented player.
09:56 So I'm pretty sure a guy that can be a consensus
09:58 All-American, he ain't all of a sudden
10:00 just turning on overnight, man.
10:01 He's been a good player.
10:02 Is there enough hungry guys out there today
10:04 to find those guys? Are there enough?
10:06 Yeah, I think it is. You got to find them, though.
10:09 I don't believe it's as many as it has in the past,
10:12 but I do think there are some out there.
10:14 And we just got to do a great job of digging to find them.
10:16 Sometimes guys like that that feel, you know,
10:19 like, for example, like a Jaheim White,
10:21 you know, could be one of those guys
10:22 you got to do a great job digging and finding
10:24 that feel like they've been slighted and overlooked.
10:27 And then those guys, you know, they take that as a knock-in.
10:30 That ends up being like a chip on their shoulder
10:32 that, you know, they just kind of carry with them.
10:35 It allows them to go play that much harder,
10:37 you know, that much more determined
10:39 to go prove people wrong, you know.
10:40 So you just got to do a great job of finding those guys.
10:42 You can't be scared sometimes to go recruit a kid
10:45 and trust your own eyes that what you watched on film
10:47 and what you watched when you went and saw that kid perform,
10:50 whether it be in press or a game,
10:52 that what you saw, you actually liked that he fits in.
10:54 Just because he may not have the offers attached to it,
10:57 you know, doesn't allow that to scare you away.
10:59 But trust your own evaluation of that kid
11:01 that he is what you guys need and that fits in your program
11:04 and that can do it.
11:05 And then put your arm around him and remind him,
11:06 "Hey, you were overlooked."
11:08 Exactly. And that's 100% a fact.
11:10 You remind him all the time.
11:11 And no doubt.
11:13 For DJ, it's been a really good year for him.
11:18 He's grown a lot, a lot.
11:21 And I remember when he first came in, you know,
11:24 came in, I don't want to say later, but, you know,
11:26 as opposed to guys coming in early,
11:27 sometimes came in a little later,
11:29 struggled a little bit at first, you know,
11:30 just understanding the offense, whatnot.
11:32 And just that, but he's mature, very mature kid.
11:34 So, you know, took everything,
11:36 gives it like a, you know,
11:37 learn lesson opportunity to grow.
11:38 But from where he was when they started
11:40 to where he is right now,
11:41 just turns overall level of confidence,
11:44 his comfort is on a whole different level right now.
11:48 The one area where he's always been really good at,
11:50 you know, is a pass protection.
11:51 Just in terms of the recognition,
11:52 he's been really good at that.
11:54 But just in terms of overall,
11:55 just confidence and knowing what to do per play
11:58 and where he is right now, man,
11:59 he's made a huge jump from where he was now to then.
12:03 Even in terms of just changing like his body,
12:05 still a really big kid, but he's leaned up a lot more
12:07 and he's explosive.
12:10 So, he's fun to watch.
12:11 - I don't know what, how long of a conversation it was,
12:14 but he could have played in a furnace right?
12:15 He's playing special teams fairly,
12:17 fairly consistently, I think at some point.
12:19 Just the conversation with him, was it easy?
12:21 Did he want to play? Did he understand?
12:22 - Yeah, he understood. He understood.
12:24 Yeah. And he's just a really,
12:26 he's a great football player.
12:27 Just, you know, obviously he's running back,
12:29 but you know, he picks up on, you know,
12:31 special teams drills, any of those drills,
12:34 he picks up on it, you know, with ease.
12:37 But he did understand it.
12:39 And obviously, with the NCAA rules,
12:41 allowing those guys to play this game
12:43 and not count as a fifth game, that's huge.
12:46 - Did he know that before?
12:47 I know that they haven't really,
12:48 that hadn't been that clarified until recently,
12:50 but like, did he think a bowl was a possibility?
12:53 Is he relieved now that he knows he can play
12:54 and keep it here?
12:55 - Yeah.
12:56 - Okay. And then enough practice for him
12:58 to be a factor on offensive special teams, I'm guessing, but.
13:00 - Yeah. Yeah, absolutely.
13:01 He's been playing.
13:02 - Yeah.
13:03 - He's been playing, you know, right now,
13:04 we just got three of them.
13:06 So he's been getting a lot of reps.
13:07 He's been doing really well too.
13:09 And the first day or so, first day or two or so,
13:13 he was a little, you know, like,
13:15 not one to say not tentative, but just hesitant.
13:17 You know what I mean?
13:18 And now that he's running out of offense,
13:19 he's been off some scout team and,
13:21 and today, man, he turned loose.
13:22 I told him, just go out there and just go play ball.
13:24 Just go let it loose.
13:26 Play confidently. Don't worry about,
13:27 I don't want to tell him, "Fell up."
13:29 Don't worry about, you know, failing.
13:30 Just go play ball.
13:31 And he had a really good day today.
13:32 He's had a good, you know, a couple of days of practice,
13:34 but today was his best day by far.
13:36 - How dynamic does he make the running back for the room?
13:40 When obviously, you know, he and Jaheim
13:42 are two different styles of running backs.
13:43 And then going into next year,
13:44 you'll have those two plus CJ.
13:46 - Right. Very dynamic.
13:48 Cause he's, he's, he's the same size as CJ,
13:51 but he is fast.
13:52 He can, like, he can legit run.
13:54 So funny, like when I tell you guys that,
13:55 you probably see how big he is.
13:56 You probably look at me like, "Really?"
13:58 And that's what all the guys on the football team thought too
14:00 until they see him run.
14:01 Like he can legit run.
14:02 He's extremely powerful.
14:04 He's strong.
14:05 You know, he's a power lifter in high school.
14:06 So he's naturally strong.
14:08 Bends really well.
14:09 The one area of improvement,
14:11 speaking of improvement,
14:12 when he first got here, you know, his hands,
14:14 his hands weren't the best at all.
14:16 And they ain't asked him to catch the ball
14:17 a lot of high school.
14:18 He's really improved on catching the football.
14:20 That would be his biggest improvement,
14:21 is catching the football.
14:22 But he's extremely fast.
14:24 It's going to be an interesting dynamic
14:25 because he can legit run.
14:26 Like, like, take it to the house,
14:28 bro, legit run.
14:30 - Okay, anything else for Coach?
14:35 - Thank you.
14:36 - Appreciate it.