Day Two of Camp Stew was highlighted by inconsistencies at the punting position.
West Virginia is looking for a player to replace last year’s starter Scott Kozlowski, a second-team all-Big East Conference selection.
It seems neither punter up for the spot, Corey Smith or Greg Pugnetti, has the upper edge – at least not after Sunday’s practice.
Both player struggled in punting drills at times. Each shanked at least two punts toward either sideline barely reaching 20 yards from the line of scrimmage before the first hop.
Still, both were able to have successful punts of more than 50 yards – but it varied per punt. Neither Smith or Pugnetti were consistent.
WVU head coach Bill Stewart was pleased with what he saw from the punters today, though.
“Our punters did a nice job,” Stewart said. “There’s healthy competition at the punter spot.”
The team has practiced special teams in its first two practices, and Stewart said he is pleased with the progression each facet has made.
While punting might be an issue for the 2010 Mountaineers, the kicking game should not be one. WVU returns last year’s starter Tyler Bitancurt, who is 100 percent healthy following ankle trouble that forced him to miss spring practice.
He missed two of his six tries Sunday, but was still more consistent than his replacements in the spring. Smith, a former kicker at Alabama before transferring to WVU, also attempted some field goals during practice. He made all three of his attempts.
Stewart said Bitancurt has “a little bit of a strain.” It didn’t seem serious enough to hurt his kicking during practice, though.
PRACTICE NOTES
– The talk at interviews focused on junior-college transfer linebacker Bruce Irvin. Defensive coordinator Jeff Casteel called Irvin “explosive, strong and physical.”
Casteel said it was one of his goals to evaluate Irvin, because he was not able to do so in the spring.
“We’re trying to find out a little about Bruce, and find out what he can do for us at this point,” Casteel said. “We need to determine where his strengths and weaknesses are and playing toward his strengths.”
Casteel said initially, Irvin will be a candidate for a third-down rushing specialist.
– Stewart said WVU worked on some two-minute drills, speed packages (with four wide receivers) and a nickel defense.
The nickel defense features four defensive linemen. Stewart said defensive end Will Clarke, defensive end/linebacker Bruce Irvin, defensive tackle Scooter Berry and defensive end Julian Miller were running up front in the four-down scheme.
– Running back Noel Devine, wide receivers Eddie Davis, J.D. Woods, Jock Sanders and Tavon Austin, and cornerback Brandon Hogan all took some reps on special teams as a return man Sunday.
– WVU’s offensive coaches continued to work slowly for the second-straight day in order to bring younger players along. Running backs/slot receivers coach Chris Beatty and wide receivers coach Lonnie Galloway spent nearly 10 minutes merely explaining the offensive formation before running the drill.
On the contrary, Stewart said the team didn’t work particularly slow Sunday. Instead, he said WVU worked at a fast pace. The Mountaineers’ head coach did say the offense will work slower because of the two freshman quarterbacks.
– Stewart believes WVU has more depth at wide receiver than many believe. He likes what he has seen from Stedman Bailey and Woods.
“Those guys have stepped up,” Stewart said. “Those are two guys that can step in for a guy like Brad Starks at times.”
Stewart also called wide receiver Ivan McCartney one of the best freshman deep-threats in the country.
– If anyone thought cornerback Brandon Hogan was in Stewart’s doghouse – he is not.
Stewart forced Hogan to run steps this spring for multiple reasons including academics and missed meetings. But, it appears his summer progression has put Hogan on Stewart’s good side.
“I think there were things that I thought he was being ornery about. He’s like me, I was hard-headed when I was a youngster too,” Stewart said. “But he’s doing really, really well.”