Behind the Curtain on Gameday, Zac Alley is 'Buttoned Up' and 'As Advertised'

Zac Alley is widely regarded in the coaching industry as one of the young stars in the game. His level of preparation, attention to detail, and feel for the game is unmatched. We've heard nothing but rave reviews about the new West Virginia defensive coordinator since he was hired, but Saturday was the first time we got to see his unit in real, live game action.

The WVU defense slammed the door shut on Robert Morris all day long, holding the Colonials to 123 yards of offense (70 passing, 53 rushing), a 3-for-15 day on third down while forcing a pair of turnovers. From the first snap to the final whistle, that group played hard and as if they were out to prove a point.

The offense, of course, didn't have a great first half, constantly turning the ball over, opening the door for Robert Morris to hang around. Alley's defense never gave them that opportunity.

Also on Saturday was the first time Jed Drenning, WVU's sideline reporter for Mountaineer Sports Network, was able to be around him for a game. He discussed what he encountered and why he was so impressed during this morning's episode of In the Gun.

“It was my first time being around him in that setting, behind closed doors. Pregame, halftime, with his unit. With his defense. I couldn’t be more impressed. I mean, before they even took the field, I was like, I tell you what…if you look up buttoned up in the dictionary, I think you’ve got a picture of what I just watched. That sounded buttoned up. The scenarios that he was floating back at them as a one more time run-through. Hey now, remember this, this, this, and they’re all nodding and they’re answering. They’re on the board, and he’s showing them things, and remember, this is the first play of the game they ran last year against South Dakota State, and that’s one of the reasons they were winning at halftime. They’re not going to get us on the first play of the game like they got South Dakota State, so be ready for that. But if they don’t do that, off of that, they could do this. And they were all just perfectly in sync with this. It was a very prepared defensive football team. As advertised. That’s how I would explain it. As advertised from Zac Alley, in terms of what I saw behind the curtain.”

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