The WVU DBs are Getting Technical

WVU's defensive backfield is working to get more technically sound in their reps.

Author:
Julia Mellett
Publish date:
Aug 11, 2023 2:48 PM EDT

The WVU backfield will be more aggressive this season; co-defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach ShaDon Brown is guaranteeing it.

Along with the increased stat tracking on special teams, the West Virginia defense is also getting more technical with its approach ahead of the 2023 slate. Brown has taken a page from the playbook of, of all people, current St. John's men's basketball head coach Rick Pitino.

Over the seasons of University of Kentucky and Louisville basketball that Pitino coached, he became well known for his intricate, defensive stat charting. One such statistic: hands on ball.

How many times did his athletes make defensive contact in an effort to illicit a turnover? How many times were their pursuits fruitful?

Pitino had his assistants chart deflections in both practice and game scenarios, effectively constructing a crucial pillar of the press offense, a scheme West Virginia men's basketball fans have also become accustomed to seeing.

WVU defensive coordinator Jordan Lesley's backfield has been an area of contention in recent seasons. It's the little aspects of fundamentals, like ball touches, that Lesley and Brown are hoping can permanently alter games. Brown believes every offensive play has the potential to be a game-changing defensive play with the greedy position group he's assembled.

WVU CB Beanie Bishop makes a play on the ball during a drill on Aug. 11.
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"Something that we do here now is chart strip attempts and hands on balls," Brown said. "I stole that, years ago, from Rick Pitino. When he was a basketball coach at the University of Kentucky, he used to chart hands on balls, back tips, and all those things. We do the same thing, so guys that have strip attempts on a ball carrier, the guy may have broke a run and he may be forty yards downfield, we should be sprinting. That's an opportunity to make one of those game-changing plays from behind. Those are morale killers for an offensive player, but they're great boosts for defensive players.

"The guys that have the attempts are usually the guys that have the turnovers caused. That's what we talk about. The ball is money. You've got to make plays on the ball to win games. If you're making those plays, we're probably going to win games."