West Virginia’s defense walked out of last weekend’s loss to Oklahoma State carrying a brutal stat line: more than 600 yards allowed, 16 explosive plays, 18 missed tackles and 41 points surrendered. On Tuesday, defensive coordinator Zac Alley addressed it for the first time since that game, and he didn’t try to dress it up.
“It looked like everything from that game. Obviously, we weren’t prepared the way we need to be.
The plan wasn’t very good. Didn’t put our guys in position to win, so back to the drawing board on that, and all areas probably need to get better.”
Alley said the fix starts with making things cleaner for the players on the field. For him, that means trimming things down and tightening up the details.
“I think you simplify it for them. You know, keep them in some things they can match up and get going on.
A lot of it’s technique. We’ve got to work our technique better.
I think some of them, it’s not like the guy is wide open, or we’re getting beat in press man. We take our eyes off our guy in man coverage, and they run a wheel route - that’s going to happen if you don’t strain to do your job with great eyes and great technique.”
Another issue, Alley said, is simply how many snaps his group is being asked to handle. He pointed to the need for more depth and more rotation.
“I think we probably got to play more guys. You get out there, and guys are playing 81 snaps or whatever it is.
I know I’m not as good the first mile of my run versus the 15th mile of my run. We’ve got to get more guys ready to play, which I think we will this week.”
Alley also spoke about JaCorey Thomas and said he believes the defender is close to being ready. He praised Thomas’ athletic traits, physicality and experience in pressure situations.
“I think he can run; he can hit. He’s obviously played in big-time moments in front of lots of people.
He doesn’t shy away from that. I think he’ll be ready to play this week.
Obviously, he hadn’t been here too long, so getting him back ready to go- I think he’s ready to go now. I think he’s got a really high ceiling.
I mean, he started in a playoff game. I think there’s potential there, and he obviously wants to prove himself and have the opportunity to play in the NFL.”
Alley also mentioned Matt Sieg and Yendor Mack, noting that both have seen action. He said Mack is still developing as he gets more experience, and he pointed to the mistakes that have gradually been trimmed down.
“We’ve seen Matt (Sieg) be in there a lot. Yendor Mack is a guy that’s played.
He’s just growing up, you know, as you’re getting more reps in games. He made a lot of freshman mistakes in game one, some more in game two, and less in game three and less on Saturday.
We like where he’s going.”
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The impact does not stop on the hardwood, either. Football cornerback Jason Chambers and baseball pitcher Ben McDougal also gained eligibility for one more season, giving the Mountaineers added stability in two other key sports as they map out the year ahead. It is the kind of ruling that quietly changes a lot about a programs planning, even before a ball is tipped, snapped or thrown. [Read more 🡒]