MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Tony Gibson has replayed a certain zero blitz “a thousand times” in his mind. Will Grier’s valiant first impression as a Mountaineer alas became his first loss as a college QB.
West Virginia’s 31-24 loss to Virginia Tech, spirited and exhausting, made you dream about these teams wrestling for the Black Diamond Trophy every year … on campus of course, away from that D.C. traffic.
Let’s expound further upon some critical moments in the film room:
Hokies defense pulls fourth-down surprise
West Virginia’s first gamble of the season didn’t feel like much of one, because Jake Spavital thought he had an ideal fourth-and-short play call. This wasn’t mere presumption; it was based upon watching every fourth-down play Virginia Tech defended in 2016.
The Hokies would focus on Kennedy McKoy running right — where Eli Wellman provided the extra blocker — and the fullback would instead work back against the flow, slipping out into the left flat.
Then the cagey Bud Foster broke tendency. Safety Terrell Edmunds (22) hawked Wellman from the snap, and defensive end Trevon Hill (94) didn’t pinch down on the run, allowing him to peel off into the pattern. Linebacker Tremaine Edmunds ignores the false flow and shoots in to pressure Will Grier, whose only option on fourth down is to toss up a prayer.
“They put a new defense out there we hadn’t seen,” Spavital said.
———————————————————————————————————
Bush drops his first career TD
A great-looking third-quarter drive probably winds up in the end zone if Tevin Bush hangs on to this quick toss. With Wellman and Justin Crawford sealing the edge, the freshman has a lane outside, where much-improved blocker David Sills tying up the only defender who can make the stop.
”That would’ve been a pretty good play, but it happens,” Spavital said. “He’s a young kid. At least he was smart enough to get on the ball and not turn it into a disastrous play. I guarantee he’s going to catch it and score the next time.”
From second-and-5 to third-and-11, from knocking on the door to settling for a Mike Molina trey.
———————————————————————————————————
Hakeem Bailey arrives … eventually
WVU’s top cornerback in preseason camp played timid early, giving up three catches to Cam Phillips on three targets for 54 yards. His next stop was the sideline, with position coach Doug Belk giving him a break to “get his mind right” and acclimate to an atmosphere a tad more raucous than what Bailey witnessed in junior college.
The refocusing worked as Bailey made two TFLs and did not allow another completion in man coverage.
“He came back in and he played at a high level,” Belk said. “When he settled down, he played this butt off. High-effort plays and coming up playing physical in the run game.”
In two clips combined below, the soft Bailey yields a 28-yard catch to Phillips in the first quarter, and then a refocused Bailey steams past Phillips to crack Steven Peoples on a run blitz.
———————————————————————————————————
Jackson beats pressure on 3rd down
West Virginia’s defense kept expecting Josh Jackson to commit rookie mistakes, and this third-and-9 in the red zone sure presented a panic opportunity. Yet even with linebacker Al-Rasheed Benton in his grill, the freshman quarterback made a pinpoint running throw to C.J. Carroll at the sticks. The Hokies finished 3-of-15 on third downs and it’s a wonder that wasn’t 2-for-15 considering the play Jackson had to execute here.
“You’ve got to give Josh credit,” West Virginia’s Tony Gibson said. “He throws the ball side-armed while getting hit and he sticks it in a window where Kyzir (White) misses it by an inch.
“You know, if somebody earns it and scores a touchdown like that, good for them.”
Virginia Tech scored two plays later, taking a 10-7 lead into halftime instead of trailing 7-6.
———————————————————————————————————
Roberson’s assist
Compliments have been scarce for West Virginia’s backup receivers so far. Thus, Sunday turned into a marathon game for starters Gary Jennings, David Sills and Ka’Raun White.
At least freshman Reggie Roberson made a subtle contribution on this touchdown pass, running a rub route to give Sills room on an outside release. Then Grier made a perfect throw to the pylon, away from safety Terrell Edmunds.
———————————————————————————————————
Jackson fakes out the defense
In the midst of having his best career game at Mike linebacker, Benton hit the turf with severe leg cramps. He left for two plays. This was the second.
Jackson spurted straight through the intestines on a 46-yard run that set up the Hokies’ decisive touchdown.
While Gibson blamed himself for going zero blitz, that should have been a perfect call. Trouble arose because new Mike linebacker Brendan Ferns chased the ghost motion involving receiver Sean Savoy (15). And Ferns wasn’t the only one fooled: Safeties Dravon Askew-Henry and Toyous Avery and Will linebacker Dylan Tonkery all had eyes on the edge and the guy who didn’t have the football.
You can see backside linebacker Xavier Preston being picked off by 310-pounder Wyatt Teller (57) after overrunning the very gap through which Jackson darted.
———————————————————————————————————
Tight end victimizes Battle
Nevermind that Chris Cunningham caught only six passes last season, because WVU’s defensive coaches were certain Virginia Tech would involve the tight end at some point Sunday night. When that juncture finally arrived in the third quarter, cornerback Elijah Battle ignored him, too entranced by the play-action.
“Mental error there. Elijah ran right past the guy,” Belk said. “We knew it was going to come — just bad eyes and miscommunication on his part.”
Cunningham’s 39-yard catch, hot on the heels of the Mountaineers tying it at 10-all, was the key moment in a 71-yard touchdown drive that required only 1:28.
———————————————————————————————————
Another breakdown
What a tough third quarter for Battle, who endured another bust. Instead of bailing into zone coverage he stays with the screen action created by Savoy (rhymes with decoy). Cam Phillips enjoys an acre to himself and Jackson delivers the easy pass that becomes a 32-yard touchdown.
———————————————————————————————————
Tonkery holds up
There’s no question David Long’s dynamic presence was missed and would have been far more conspicuous if not for the steadiness of his Will linebacker stand-in, Dylan Tonkery.
Along with making two open-field tackles, the redshirt freshman finished with 1.5 TFLs, including this third-and-1 on the cusp of the red zone.
Solid scouting tipped off Tonkery to the play: “Once the formation lined up I pretty much knew what the play was going to be and I knew where my gap was going to be. Then I saw it open up.”
Watch for the ancillary contribution of true freshman nose tackle Lamonte Dougle, shoving back the Hokies’ senior center Eric Gallo.
———————————————————————————————————
Blind side exposed but Grier converts
Even on a 371-yard passing night, the deep balls were erratic. But Grier’s timing here proved impeccable — both in laying out the pass for Gary Jennings and launching it a nano-second before Trevon Hill arrived from the back porch. (This big whiff by left tackle Yodney Cajuste aside, the pass-pro looked sufficient in sacrificing only 6 yards in sacks on nearly 60 dropbacks.)