As fall camp concludes, West Virginia is beginning their final preparation for the 2022 season. Head coach Neal Brown spoke about position battles, having a mock game week, as well as answering questions on quarterbacks.
Fall Camp Update
West Virginia has more or less entered game mode. The Mountaineers are at a point where they are focusing their attention on getting ready for Pitt and the rest of the 2022 season. This includes the introduction of the Pitt gameplan, and simulating what a week of a game is like.
“We’ll get into some Pitt as we go, but it’s more of a mock game week to train our guys to get ready for what the game week’s actually going to be. We’ll really get into Pitt prep on Friday,” Brown said. “We’re going to work some Pitt this week don’t get me wrong, but our Pitt in-depth preparation will start on Friday.”
Scrimmage
On Thursdays, West Virginia has been scrimmaging, as they are playing Pitt on a Thursday. This past Thursday, Brown said he really liked what he saw on special teams.
“We did a lot of special teams work,” Brown said. “We’re a little further ahead than where we have been from a special teams standpoint. I think a lot of that has to do with our roster is in better shape, we have more guys that can run. I don’t think we will be as dependent on guys that are starters.”
Brown added he has been impressed with many on the team, and there are three running backs who should expect to see the field.
“Offensively, I thought we started fast which is something that was important. Both Justin Johnson and Tony Mathis and CJ Donaldson all ran the ball effectively,” Brown said.
Donaldson is a freshman from Miami, who is 6-foot-2, 240 pounds. Donaldson started as a tight end and he’s now in the running back room.
“CJ Donaldson, I think he’s proven that he’s ready to go,” Brown said. “He’s probably got more live action as far as full tackle than our other running backs.”
Quarterbacks
Obviously, the final decision about a quarterback looms large over Brown. Brown says he will announce a starter, but just doesn’t want to do it quite yet.
“I’m not going to announce anything today. We feel really good about our present and our future,” Brown said. “We’ll announce a starter for the game. We’re not at that point yet.”
Mike O’Laughlin
Mike O’Laughlin is in his fifth season at West Virginia. The tight end had his 2021 season come to an end early due to a lower body injury and Brown said he is confident O’Laughlin will be ready to go week one.
“Mike O’Laughlin did not go (scrimmage), but he practiced last Thursday,” Brown said. “We feel confident he’ll be ready for week one.”
Brown and WVU will practice this week and then treat this upcoming Friday as they would treat a Sunday during a normal game week ahead of their game on Sept. 1 against Pitt.
Discover more from Blue Gold Sports
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
