After spending the last two days in shells, Wednesday was the first time the West Virginia football team practiced in full pads since opening fall camp.
It gave the Mountaineer coaching staff a different look when it came to evaluating some of the players, but head coach Dana Holgorsen said there really isn’t too much of a difference in practicing in full pads as opposed to the shells.
“There’s very little difference between full pads and half pads,” Holgorsen said. “It may slow you down a tick, but they’ve got to put them on and they’ve got to get used to them. It’s part of the process.”
Before the team’s practice, the team got a visit from former NFL cornerback Troy Vincent. Vincent, a five-time Pro Bowler who spent time with the Philadelphia Eagles, Buffalo Bills, Washington Redskins and Miami Dolphins, is currently the NFL Vice President of Player Development and spoke to the players about how they should carry themselves on and off the field.
“He educates young men on how to be better young men,” Holgorsen said. “If they have opportunities to meet people like that, I think it’s good.”
Holgorsen said the concept of bringing in guest speakers like Vincent is good for the team and it’s something he plans on doing a few more times before the team opens up the 2011 season.
“They just get tired of hearing things from me and their position coaches,” he said. “So we bring guys in that have some street credibility to the point that what they’re saying gets through to them a little bit.”
On the field, the day started — as it always does — with the special teams. And it looked like the field goal team regressed a little bit to where it was in the spring on the first kick of the day, when cornerback Pat Miller blocked a 20-yard field goal attempt.
But Holgorsen quickly credited that to the defense more than bad blocking or execution by the field goal team.
“It’s been better (than the spring). We coach the heck out of it on defense now,” Holgorsen said. “We’re not happy with (blocked field goals), but over three days, we’ve had one blocked and one nicked. Is that acceptable? No.
“We’re happy with the way they’re coaching it defensively. Offensively, we have to keep working at it”
Holgorsen also didn’t seem to be very happy with the progress his receivers have been making since camp opened. He said that Ryan Nehlen was the one who stood out the most on Wednesday, but didn’t have much to say about anyone else.
“The rest of them have been spotty,” he said. “I don’t know how those guys could get worse from spring, but it looks to me like a few of them have gotten worse.”
The main thing Holgorsen pointed out that his receivers were missing was consistency. He mentioned his breakout star at Oklahoma State last season, Justin Blackmon, as a prime example of what he would like to see from the WVU receivers in practice.
“They’ve got to come to work every day. It’s about coming in every day and being good every day,” Holgorsen said. “The great ones are consistent. Justin Blackmon last year was the most consistent guy I’ve ever seen. It was every single day.
“A lot of these guys right now are young and they don’t understand that.”
Another place Holgorsen saw room for improvement on Wednesday was, once again, on the offensive line.
“It’s a process,” he said. “We’re not going to get anything figured out overnight. I told them after practice, ‘You guys have got really good coaches and you need to listen to them.’ Those guys know how you look and you’re job is to come in here and learn from film and get out there and get better every day.
“If they do that, three weeks from now, we might be in position to win.”
From an injury standpoint, senior inside receiver Tyler Urban was back in his regular jersey on Wednesday, after spending the last two days in a green, “limited contact” jersey. But cornerback Lawrence Smith traded in his regular jersey for a green one, while safety Darwin Cook and inside receiver Andrew Goldbaugh sported the first red jerseys since fall camp opened up.