West Virginia Football: 5 things to watch for at the 2019 Gold-Blue Spring Game
By Phil Poling
2. Adjustment Period
Coaching changes often bring about new schemes, and new schemes might not always fit the current players. A good head coach can do one thing: adjust his approach to better suit his players.
Brown’s offensive approach is similar to Holgorsen’s, both having come up through the Hal Mumme Air-Raid attack. Defensive coordinator Vic Koenning’s system is similar to Tony Gibson’s 3-3-5, too, but it’s things like terminology and pre-snap positioning that muddy the waters.
However, there’ll need to be compromises on both sides. Coaches must place the players in a position to succeed, but the players have to trust the coaches. This means that some players will be forced to change positions, maybe moving from running back to wide receiver, safety to linebacker, or even defensive to offensive line,
How fast can Brown get these Mountaineers up to speed? Will he have them clicking on offense? How’s the timing between the receivers and quarterbacks? Is the offensive line working together? And the defense: Is the secondary communicating? Are defenders getting lined up right? These are all adjustments to keep an eye on for West Virginia in their first game-like action under Brown.