Quick Hits: Spring QB Battle, Saint McLeod Update + More

An area where progress is being made

"Defensive backs. Because, really, Charles Woods is the only guy that has played significant playing time here at West Virginia. So, those guys, you see them getting better. I've been pleased with their communication. We're really athletic, we can run. I've said that and that was a point of emphasis. We wanted to be more athletic. We've simplified some things to make it easier on them but you can see them steadily improving as we've gone on."

Saint McLeod health update

"Yeah, I talked to him yesterday and he's feeling better. As far as when he can workout and everything, he told me he ran so wounds are healing and seems to be improving."

Format of spring game

"We're going to split up into a game. I don't want to necessarily how we're going to do it. I'll do it after Thursday's practice when I know exactly who we're going to have available. We're going to do some ones versus ones work within that. We may not tackle the whole time because I think that's where you've got to be careful. It's more of an exhibition so you don't want to get people hurt. But it's also for these young people who haven't performed in a stadium in front of a crowd, it's a really important evaluation. I like the competition piece of it, so as much as we can have it. We had fun with it last year. This year, it's going to be more of a true game. Divide them up, put them on separate teams, put them in separate locker rooms, run 'em out and let them play and see kind of where we're at."

Evaluation of right tackle

"[Brandon] Yates has played a lot. Yates has had really an unfortunate winter and spring. He's had a couple of injuries and he was out for a while in the winter and then he's missed a run of practices here with another injury. He came back and practiced Thursday of last week and practiced today as well, so hopefully he'll finish strong. He's played a lot of football, he really has. You know, at times, I thought through games 7-12 last year I thought he played at a high level. I hate it for him just because this winter and spring, through no fault of his own, they're all injuries that he incurred that he could not have helped. He'll be ready in the fall and we have high expectations for him."

Quarterbacks

"Last Thursday was big for them. This Thursday will be big for them and then Saturday will be kind of the final test for it. They've been up and down. There's been times man, where, just talking about them individually, I think Garrett [Greene] is operating at a better level than he has. I think the game has slowed down for him. He's throwing the deep ball extremely accurate right now. He's got to eliminate the big negative plays. I think for him it's not making bad plays worse. Every play is not going to be a big one. For Goose [Crowder], it's about confidence. The change of scheme probably effected him because he just now got the previous scheme down so he kind of had to restart after a year. He had his best day Thursday and I thought he was better today as well. Everything is just a little fast for him but it's starting to slow down. Nicco [Marchiol], it's a really hard transition especially in the first spring because the game is so fast. You can see some real flashes. Like, he had a great drive on Thursday. He had a naked out to the right and did a really good job of getting his shoulders around, it was a good progression, and it was a touchdown. He had another drive on Thursday that was a touchdown but he's also turned the ball over some which is to be expected. What really sticks out to me in him is that he's hungry. He hasn't repeated the same mistake very often."

You can follow us for future coverage by liking us on Facebook & following us Twitter:

Facebook - @WVUonSI

Twitter - @SI_WVU and Schuyler Callihan at @Callihan_.

Add us as a preferred source on Google