West Virginia’s season opener was messy enough to send plenty of fans straight to the panic button, but Eugene Napoleon isn’t ready to go there.
On this week’s episode of The Walk Thru Game Day Show, the former WVU running back said the game had the look of a classic early-season shakeup, especially with a roster that has been turned over. He doesn’t expect the second-half version of the Mountaineers to become the norm.
“What we saw in this first game it’s typical of what you’re going to see, and I know other people will say, ‘Well, we watched other first games didn’t look like that.’ But it’s typical of what you’re going to see with a turned over roster, and I know everybody has a turned over roster, but everybody’s team is built differently.
I don’t think we’re going to see what happened in the second half of this football game as opposed to what happened in the first half for the rest of the season," Eugene said. "I personally think we’ll probably see a nice blend of what happened in the first half with every now and again a glimpse of what happened in the second half.
A glimpse.
"Here’s the reasoning as to why. Rich and his staff full well know that you cannot go 11 games and not get better at every phase of this game throughout the entire season.
We know this. Rich has been doing this a long time.
He understands the way this goes. It’s almost a slow burn.
I think this game he’s going to open it up a little bit more. I think you’ll see a little bit more exotic fronts to get ready for I think a really good Virginia football team.
Pause for the cause. Relax a little bit.
Don’t get your school clothes all ruffled up about this second half. I don’t think you hit the alarm button just yet.
I really do think they’ll learn from it. I think this is a teachable moment in film.
And I think they’ll make the correct adjustments, in my opinion.”
The case for optimism starts with what West Virginia did when it actually let the offense breathe. Once the Mountaineers stopped trying to hammer away at a loaded box, they controlled the line, found some rhythm throwing the ball and could have reached 31 points if not for the fumble through the back of the end zone.
There was plenty to like on defense early, too. WVU shut Coastal down in the first half, though defensive coordinator Zac Alley said earlier this week that “some complacency” set in after the Mountaineers built a 24-0 lead.
The pressure numbers were real - more than 35 pressures on QB Deuce Bailey - but WVU also had trouble staying in contain, and that’s where the damage came from. Clean that up, and the picture looks a lot closer to the first 30 minutes than the second half.
In Other News...
West Virginia's Hot Start Was Overshadowed By An Ugly Blue Lot Scene
West Virginias fast start on game day was supposed to be all about the football, but the atmosphere outside the stadium took a sharp turn before kickoff. In the Blue Lot, a tailgate scene turned physical as multiple fans were involved in an altercation, with one man thrown to the ground while others looked on and tried to make sense of what was unfolding.
The confrontation was captured on video and spread publicly, turning a routine pregame setting into the kind of unwanted headline Mountaineer fans would rather forget. A shirtless fan stepped in during the chaos, but it remains unclear whether anyone was arrested or injured in the incident, leaving the postgame conversation focused on the scene in the parking lot instead of the early buzz around the team. [Read more 🡒]
Former Mountaineers Son Is Rising At Ohio State With A Powerful Story
Chris Henry Jr. has already found a role in Ohio States offense as a freshman wide receiver, and his rise carries a familiar name for anyone around West Virginia football. He is the son of Chris Henry Sr., who starred for the Mountaineers before going on to the Cincinnati Bengals, giving this latest chapter a clear link back to the programs own history.
His story reaches well beyond football, though, because Henry Jr. was raised by his mother and by Adam Pacman Jones, his fathers former teammate who later became a legal guardian and mentor. For West Virginia fans, it is another reminder of how tightly the sports past and present can overlap, even as Henry Jr. begins building his own path in Columbus. [Read more 🡒]
Travis Trickett May Be More Vital To WVU's Offense Than Fans Realize
Rick Trickett has spent a 53-year career around offensive line rooms, and his football family has deep West Virginia roots through sons Travis, Chance and Clint. At WVU, though, Travis Trickett is the one most directly shaping the Mountaineers' offense in the present tense. He serves as a senior offensive assistant and works closely with Rich Rodriguez, who handles the play-calling but leans on Trickett for the kind of in-game offensive insight that can help a staff stay a step ahead.
What makes Trickett especially important is that his value goes beyond one job title. He has built a reputation as a recruiter, and around the program there is growing speculation that his background and feel for the game could eventually make him a head coach somewhere down the line. For now, WVU benefits from having him in the middle of the operation, even if his influence is easy to miss from the outside. [Read more 🡒]