On Monday, West Virginia head coach Neal Brown gave his thoughts on where his team stands, how is team handled the bye week this past week, as well as giving insight to their matchup against Baylor this week.
Bye Week
During the bye week, Brown tried to give his players some time off. West Virginia had played five games in a calendar month, and Brown used the week to give his starters time off and give some of his younger guys a chance to get some key developmental time.
“We scrimmaged three times last week with our younger guys. How we handled our schedule is we practiced twice in a traditional bye week setting… and then we started our Baylor prep on Friday,” Brown said. “But we scrimmaged with our young guys Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday.”
Injuries
Brown gave a key update on cornerback Charles Woods, by giving a general timeline on his injury. Brown also assured CJ Donaldson’s status, while also giving an update on tight end Mike O’Laughlin.
“Charles Woods probably at least a week out. CJ I told you, he’s not going to play. Mike O’ Laughlin, I’ll update later in the week. Everybody else should be available,” Brown said.
Baylor
Brown turned his attention to Baylor, and reflected on how they played against the Mountaineers last season.
“A group that really dominated us last year,” Brown said of Baylor. “Had some chances in the first half to make it a game and they hit a bunch of explosive plays against us last year and then we didn’t do a very good job in the red zone. I thought they just physically got after us down in Waco last year.”
The Bears are coached by Dave Aranda, who Brown says has his personality instilled throughout his roster.
“Very well coached in all three phases, I think they’ve taken on the demeanor of Dave (Aranda). They don’t get rattled. They’re very consistent week in and week out,” Brown said.
Brown said Baylor wants to stop the run on defense, and they have done a good job on defense this season.
“Their front six there has done a really good job of controlling the run game,” Brown said. “Overall they’ve been really good defensively so far.”
Offensively, Brown said success for Baylor begins with their offensive line and the Bears have a quarterback who makes all the right decisions.
“Offensively, I think their strength is with their o-line,” Brown said. “Their quarterback is mobile, he’s got a quick release. He’s doing a really good job.. but (Blake) Shapen is a guy that can hurt you with his legs and he gets the ball out on time.”
Brown and the Mountaineers will host the Bears on Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. and the game will be televised on FS1.
Photo by Aaron Parker
