Quick Hits: Neal Brown recaps scrimmage, discusses position battles

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia University football head coach Neal Brown met with reporters Monday after the Mountaineers held a game-like scrimmage under the lights of Milan Puskar Stadium Saturday night.

Here are the biggest takeaways from Brown’s comments.

Saturday scrimmage recap

WVU ran over 100 plays in a scrimmage Saturday night. According to WVU Athletics, quarterbacks Garrett Greene and Nicco Marchiol each threw two touchdown passes, and newcomer Ryder Burton also added a long scoring pass to TJ Johnson. Will Dixon, Jaden Bray, Hudson Clement and Justin Robinson all hauled in touchdown passes.

“I thought we played — on offense — just inconsistent,” Brown said. “The good was really good, and then there [were] times we didn’t look like a veteran outfit like we are.”

On defense, Brown is pleased with the overall effort, but he is hoping for more red zone takeaways and overall consistency.

“Defensively, we weren’t able to maintain the energy from the start, which is something we’re going to have to do,” he said.

Position battles

Three of the biggest position battles on the WVU roster are those for cat safety, nose tackle and the team’s sixth offensive lineman.

Veteran safety Aubrey Burks is taking reps at spear instead of his typical cat safety position, so there is currently a hole in the WVU secondary. Brown shouted out senior Jacksonville State transfer Kekoura Tarnue as a potential replacement Monday, and both Tarnue and redshirt freshman Josiah Jackson are listed as potential starters on the team’s preseason depth chart.

Troy transfer TJ Jackson is listed as a defensive end, but his camp success makes things complicated for the WVU defensive line. Veterans Sean Martin and Eddie Vesterinen are locks for the starting lineup. So, will the versatile Vesterinen move from defensive tackle to nose tackle to make room for Jackson? Where do Hammond Russell, Fatorma Mulbah and Asani Redwood fit in?

“We need some of those guys to come through…to play supporting roles,” Brown said.

Brown also noted that Jackson and Vesterinen are performing “above everybody else to this point.”

As for depth on the offensive line, Jacksonville state transfer Xavier Bausley and redshirt sophomore Sullivan Weidman received praise from Brown Monday.

Injury updates

Redwood, who was limited in the first two weeks of camp, returned to practice as a full participant this week.

Cornerback Jacolby Spells remains limited in practice. Spells is participating in various team drills, but he is not tackling yet.

Linebacker Trey Lathan, who missed the back half of last season after he injured his leg at TCU, is back to full participation after missing one practice last week.

Brown is “hoping” safety Anthony Wilson will return Wednesday after missing the last week of practice.

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