West Virginia coordinator Zac Alley believes the defensive unit that he is overseeing this fall is certainly ahead of the one he coached in the spring. Some of that comes with bringing more talent into the roster to compete, as well as the natural development that occurs with a good summer of strength and conditioning. […]
West Virginia coordinator Zac Alley believes the defensive unit that he is overseeing this fall is certainly ahead of the one he coached in the spring.
Some of that comes with bringing more talent into the roster to compete, as well as the natural development that occurs with a good summer of strength and conditioning.
But now, it’s about sorting through those options.
“No job has been earned yet; no job is safe. And everybody’s kind of mixing in between the ones, twos, and threes right now and seeing who can help us and who can’t,” he said.
One of the biggest talking points has boiled down to effort. Alley and the rest of the coaching staff have preached every day about running to the football and making plays to outwork the opposition.
That hasn’t just been spoken either, as Alley has been able to show examples of his former stops as well as at the NFL level of the backside defender running across the field and punching the ball out, among other things.
“Just always trying to encourage that mindset that every play, it’s everything you’ve got from the snap of the ball to the end of the whistle,” Alley said.
Causing turnovers is a major focus for the West Virginia defense and that boils down to what Alley believes is 70-percent effort and 30-percent technique.
“You have to try and strip the ball or put your hand on the ball or do something to cause a turnover. But a lot of times, it’s just the will to get there,” he said.
The Mountaineers have a standard every practice of trying to force at least three turnovers each day and it’s something that the coaching staff holds them accountable for each session.
“They hear us talking about it and you win the turnover margins it’s the number one indicator of winning,” Alley said.
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Category: General Sports
