Hard to believe it, but this is the regular season finale. Cannot believe how quickly this season has gone by, and I certainly haven’t appreciated it enough, but time marches on. Let’s jump into what to expect from the Mountaineers on this Thanksgiving weekend in Lubbock.
Dynamic Run Game
This is what the Mountaineers hang their hats on and they get into it in a multitude of ways, it is really fascinating and fun to watch on tape. WVU has three rushers over 600 yards, and the leading rusher is Garrett Greene, the quarterback.
Not a ton has changed from last time we saw Greene, a strong runner who has great athleticism and is a very, very tough player. PFF has him hitting above 21 mph, which is really, really impressive for a QB.
Greene is complimented by a pair of backs that are completely different from one another. CJ Donaldson is the mainstay who is tough to tackle and Jahiem White is a dynamic, undersized skat-back.
What makes this very interesting is the different motions, shifts and misdirection that WVU employs into the scheme. Neal Brown’s offense motions on run plays 47.1-percent of the time, the 28th most in the country. A 17-percent explosive rate in the run game, the sixth-best mark in the country.
Tech’s linebackers and safeties must have their best effort from a tackling, eye discipline and angles perspective. Also going to be important for the DTs to play well, hopefully the older DTs are able to help.
Couple of Weapons To Keep You Honest
While Greene isn’t a great passer, he is still capable, and he has two really strong weapons in the passing game. One receiver and his tight end.
WR Hudson Clement is an extremely impressive sophomore who is extremely clean in and out of his breaks as a receiver. I believe he has some of the best route running ability that Tech has faced this season, he is really impressive to watch on tape.
TE Kole Taylor is a really solid option, I am pretty high on him as a pass catcher looking towards the next level. Taylor is a massive threat in the red-zone and on money downs. Wins with good ball skills and good balance/short area quickness while not having a ton of foot speed or great acceleration.
Very Strong OL
This unit is pretty impressive, I am extremely envious to look at their left tackle, Wyatt Milum, who will be an early draft pick next April. Milum is as good as it gets for a college tackle, not allowing a pressure in three seasons while being a very strong run blocker. Just watch him go to work.
Thomas Rimac at LG is another really strong option who is a good athlete with elite size for a guard. I believe he will have a shot at the league but isn’t as big of a threat as Milum.
The right side is where things start to go downhill in my estimation, all three lacking anchor and size to play their positions. The RG Ja’Quay Hubbard has been pretty poor this season, lacking the movement skills and anchor to be effective in pass pro and as a run blocker.
I also believe that the RT Nick Malone does not have the lateral agility necessary to play tackle effectively. Has good length but has a guard body type on his torso.
Defense
This unit overall has been a mess but has played pretty well since making a defensive coordinator change midway through the season. WVU is extremely multiple in their fronts while mixing up coverages in the backend. WVU sends pressure around 30% of the time and especially does so on second down, interestingly.
My personal favorite player on this defense is DE/DT Sean Martin (5) who has logged 26 pressures on the year and is a player with good length and athleticism as a pass rusher. Has room to improve from a strength and get off perspective, but a quality player nonetheless.
Also a fan of LB Trey Lathan (4) who is a quality coverage player and blitzer, but lacks discipline as a run defender and bluntly has questionable effort at times, but when he is engaged, he is a good player.
Not a massive fan of the backend, a lot of rotational types, especially at nickel, so I’m anticipating a strong outing for Josh Kelly and the Tech passing game, we’ll see how much they have the ball in this one.
I’ve really enjoyed writing these for y’all this year, thank you to those who have read.
Founded by a Red Raider, All Hands Craft Cocktails is proud to announce their partnership with RedRaiderSports.com. Try these bar strength, ready-to-drink vodka cocktails at Jones AT&T Stadium this football season or find them at a retailer near you. Cheers.
@ALL HANDS
Dynamic Run Game
This is what the Mountaineers hang their hats on and they get into it in a multitude of ways, it is really fascinating and fun to watch on tape. WVU has three rushers over 600 yards, and the leading rusher is Garrett Greene, the quarterback.
Not a ton has changed from last time we saw Greene, a strong runner who has great athleticism and is a very, very tough player. PFF has him hitting above 21 mph, which is really, really impressive for a QB.
Greene is complimented by a pair of backs that are completely different from one another. CJ Donaldson is the mainstay who is tough to tackle and Jahiem White is a dynamic, undersized skat-back.
What makes this very interesting is the different motions, shifts and misdirection that WVU employs into the scheme. Neal Brown’s offense motions on run plays 47.1-percent of the time, the 28th most in the country. A 17-percent explosive rate in the run game, the sixth-best mark in the country.
Tech’s linebackers and safeties must have their best effort from a tackling, eye discipline and angles perspective. Also going to be important for the DTs to play well, hopefully the older DTs are able to help.
Couple of Weapons To Keep You Honest
While Greene isn’t a great passer, he is still capable, and he has two really strong weapons in the passing game. One receiver and his tight end.
WR Hudson Clement is an extremely impressive sophomore who is extremely clean in and out of his breaks as a receiver. I believe he has some of the best route running ability that Tech has faced this season, he is really impressive to watch on tape.
TE Kole Taylor is a really solid option, I am pretty high on him as a pass catcher looking towards the next level. Taylor is a massive threat in the red-zone and on money downs. Wins with good ball skills and good balance/short area quickness while not having a ton of foot speed or great acceleration.
Very Strong OL
This unit is pretty impressive, I am extremely envious to look at their left tackle, Wyatt Milum, who will be an early draft pick next April. Milum is as good as it gets for a college tackle, not allowing a pressure in three seasons while being a very strong run blocker. Just watch him go to work.
Thomas Rimac at LG is another really strong option who is a good athlete with elite size for a guard. I believe he will have a shot at the league but isn’t as big of a threat as Milum.
The right side is where things start to go downhill in my estimation, all three lacking anchor and size to play their positions. The RG Ja’Quay Hubbard has been pretty poor this season, lacking the movement skills and anchor to be effective in pass pro and as a run blocker.
I also believe that the RT Nick Malone does not have the lateral agility necessary to play tackle effectively. Has good length but has a guard body type on his torso.
Defense
This unit overall has been a mess but has played pretty well since making a defensive coordinator change midway through the season. WVU is extremely multiple in their fronts while mixing up coverages in the backend. WVU sends pressure around 30% of the time and especially does so on second down, interestingly.
My personal favorite player on this defense is DE/DT Sean Martin (5) who has logged 26 pressures on the year and is a player with good length and athleticism as a pass rusher. Has room to improve from a strength and get off perspective, but a quality player nonetheless.
Also a fan of LB Trey Lathan (4) who is a quality coverage player and blitzer, but lacks discipline as a run defender and bluntly has questionable effort at times, but when he is engaged, he is a good player.
Not a massive fan of the backend, a lot of rotational types, especially at nickel, so I’m anticipating a strong outing for Josh Kelly and the Tech passing game, we’ll see how much they have the ball in this one.
I’ve really enjoyed writing these for y’all this year, thank you to those who have read.
Founded by a Red Raider, All Hands Craft Cocktails is proud to announce their partnership with RedRaiderSports.com. Try these bar strength, ready-to-drink vodka cocktails at Jones AT&T Stadium this football season or find them at a retailer near you. Cheers.
@ALL HANDS
