MAILBAG: Neal Brown's Job Security, 4th & 1 Decision, Reese Smith's Catch, RB Order + More

Answering this week's questions from the fans!

From @PMWearingHats: Thoughts on the defense going forward?

Answer: The back end is going to be a work in progress with a bunch of new faces. The severity of Charles Woods' injury will play a factor in the secondary's success too. As far as the front seven is concerned, I think you have to be more than thrilled with how they performed against Pitt. This unit still has a chance to be a top-three defense in the league, but they need Woods to be healthy. 

From @WVU2k96: Why hasn’t Neal clown been fired yet?

Answer: I get the frustration, but it's only the first game of the season and it's not like they were blown out. You could argue that they outplayed Pitt and if it weren't for a couple of untimely errors, they would have won the game. As much as it hurts losing to a rival, there is a lot of good that came out of this game.

From @B_Eanes40: If WVU loses to VT, does HCNB keep his job at the end of the season?

Answer: Whew. That's a tough one. Obviously, a lot of it is going to depend on what they do in the other ten games. If they go on a run and win nine games, it won't matter. Winning just five or six games with a loss to Virginia Tech isn't going to sit well with Shane Lyons. First and foremost, he's got to get past Kansas. They're a really well-coached team and are heading in the right direction. A loss to KU will firmly put him on the hot seat.

From @Michiganeer: Was that a catch at the 1 by Reese Smith? 

Answer: No, it wasn't. From my view during the game, it looked like the ball hit the ground. The replays they put on the scoreboard weren't very good angles and made it look like he may have got his hands under it. Our photographer was able to get a really good shot of it and you could tell the ball was on the ground. 

From @Michiganeer: Injury status on Woods & White?

Answer: No update yet. We'll more than likely get one on Tuesday during Neal's press conference. They typically don't give out injury updates after the game. Woods was walking pretty well in the boot but that doesn't really mean anything. It didn't look encouraging when he first came off the field. 

From @Michiganeer: What’s our corner situation going to be moving forward? 

Answer: If Woods is out for a few weeks, it will be Rashad Ajayi and Wesley McCormick. JUCO transfer Jaylon Shelton will start to work in there as well along with true freshman Mumu Bin-Wahad.

From @Michiganeer: How does our RB depth chart change? 

Answer: I imagine that it will remain the same against Kansas. Tony Mathis earned the right to be the starter and they aren't going to change everything after one game. However, I do think that C.J. Donaldson is clearly the No. 2 back and could take over the starting job by the end of the month. 

From @Michiganeer: Did Harrell want to go on 4th & 1 and Neal overrule him?

Answer: No one is really sure of that. I do know Harrell had a play call ready to go. My assumption is that Harrell wanted to go for it, but I can't confirm that. Most offensive coordinators in that situation are going to want to roll the dice.

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