By: Clark Johnson | WV Sports Chat
Morgantown, WV – West Virginia defensive coordinator Zac Alley is heading into his second year with the Mountaineers. To this point of his career, he has earned the reputation as an aggressive, creative, and dynamic defensive mind. At the time of his hiring, the WVU fanbase championed Alley as the man that would “save” the defense after several years of poor performance.
During his press conference on Thursday, head coach Rich Rodriguez took some time to acknowledge the defense to this point into spring camp. While he did not come out and state that he was displeased, Rodriguez was visibly frustrated when discussing the unit.
Here is what Rodriguez had to say regarding the defense’s progress:
“There’s a lot of new guys. I think I like our athleticism. I think we got a little bigger in the secondary…we got a little longer in the secondary. We got pretty good athletes. We should have more depth if we’re lucky and don’t get anybody hurt. But it’s still a lot of work in progress. I think we’re still kind of learning how to play and the level of intensity. I’m not happy with today’s day. I didn’t think the intensity and focus was as good as it needed to be on either side of the ball.”
With only nine practices out of the way, nobody expected the defense to be game-ready at this point. However, it does sound like the unit is where Rodriguez wanted it to be at this time.
What has caught the eye of many fans was the turn that this conversation took in terms of scheme. Though the term “simplify” was not used by Rodriguez, he alluded to a possible simplification of the defense, as well as the offense.
“We’re probably doing more than we need to, both offensively and defensively – scheme wise. It’s my responsibility but I’m going to make my guys dial it back some more because I’m not worried about tricking someone. You know, I wanna out-execute someone, not try to trick them.”
Though the entire staff is at fault, per Rodriguez, the conversation leading into this makes it appear that Zac Alley may be installing too much, too quickly. Nothing is wrong with running a complicated defensive scheme, however, having so many new players could pose issues with a rapid install.
Fans nor media will see this, but it can be expected that Alley will hit the brakes over the next several practices and get back to the basics.
(Photo by WVU Athletics)
