MORGANTOWN - West Virginia's offense worked less on the things it does well than those with which it struggles during Saturday's camp-ending scrimmage.
MORGANTOWN - West Virginia's offense worked less on the things it does well than those with which it struggles during Saturday's camp-ending scrimmage.
Needless to say, then, the exercise didn't leave coach Bill Stewart glowing.
Despite a handful of spectacular plays in the open field, the bulk of Saturday's 90-minute scrimmage was devoted to the one thing that concerns Stewart the most - digging out of field position holes near the offense's own goal.
For the most part it was a struggle.
"I saw improvement from [last Saturday's scrimmage] running the ball,'' Stewart said. "But I saw frustration, too, on my part and the offense's part in the goal-line drills. The defense really came downhill and they busted the offense. That's the only glaring spot right now that I'm concerned about running the ball.''
At the beginning of Saturday's scrimmage, the No. 1 offense ran three series beginning out on the field at its own 35 and three more in red zone situations at the defense's 25. In both those scenarios, the offense performed fairly well.
In between, though, there were six series starting at the offense's own 2-yard line. On only one did the first group get as much as one first down. Quarterback Geno Smith also threw an interception that linebacker Anthony Leonard returned for a touchdown.
And it left Stewart understandably concerned.
"I feel pretty good out on the field [away from the shadow of its own goal line] because we're quick and we can spread people,'' Stewart said. "Then when we get down in the red zone, I feel good with our motion and our movement, which can cause people problems. So that's very advantageous for us.
"[As for the] get off the goal line approach, our short yardage, I felt pretty good all camp. But I didn't feel very good about it today. So we'll continue to work on it.''
The offense tried a variety of approaches, using fullback Ryan Clarke, strong little back Daquan Hargrett and a combination of tailback Noel Devine and short passes. The only time the offense got a first down was when Smith managed to hit J.D. Woods for 10 yards to convert third-and-7.
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WVU offense struggles in goal-line drills
MORGANTOWN - West Virginia's offense worked less on the things it does well than those with which it struggles during Saturday's camp-ending scrimmage.
Needless to say, then, the exercise didn't leave coach Bill Stewart glowing.
Despite a handful of spectacular plays in the open field, the bulk of Saturday's 90-minute scrimmage was devoted to the one thing that concerns Stewart the most - digging out of field position holes near the offense's own goal.
For the most part it was a struggle.
"I saw improvement from [last Saturday's scrimmage] running the ball,'' Stewart said. "But I saw frustration, too, on my part and the offense's part in the goal-line drills. The defense really came downhill and they busted the offense. That's the only glaring spot right now that I'm concerned about running the ball.''
At the beginning of Saturday's scrimmage, the No. 1 offense ran three series beginning out on the field at its own 35 and three more in red zone situations at the defense's 25. In both those scenarios, the offense performed fairly well.
In between, though, there were six series starting at the offense's own 2-yard line. On only one did the first group get as much as one first down. Quarterback Geno Smith also threw an interception that linebacker Anthony Leonard returned for a touchdown.
And it left Stewart understandably concerned.
"I feel pretty good out on the field [away from the shadow of its own goal line] because we're quick and we can spread people,'' Stewart said. "Then when we get down in the red zone, I feel good with our motion and our movement, which can cause people problems. So that's very advantageous for us.
"[As for the] get off the goal line approach, our short yardage, I felt pretty good all camp. But I didn't feel very good about it today. So we'll continue to work on it.''
The offense tried a variety of approaches, using fullback Ryan Clarke, strong little back Daquan Hargrett and a combination of tailback Noel Devine and short passes. The only time the offense got a first down was when Smith managed to hit J.D. Woods for 10 yards to convert third-and-7.
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MORGANTOWN - West Virginia's offense worked less on the things it does well than those with which it struggles during Saturday's camp-ending scrimmage.
Needless to say, then, the exercise didn't leave coach Bill Stewart glowing.
Despite a handful of spectacular plays in the open field, the bulk of Saturday's 90-minute scrimmage was devoted to the one thing that concerns Stewart the most - digging out of field position holes near the offense's own goal.
For the most part it was a struggle.
"I saw improvement from [last Saturday's scrimmage] running the ball,'' Stewart said. "But I saw frustration, too, on my part and the offense's part in the goal-line drills. The defense really came downhill and they busted the offense. That's the only glaring spot right now that I'm concerned about running the ball.''
At the beginning of Saturday's scrimmage, the No. 1 offense ran three series beginning out on the field at its own 35 and three more in red zone situations at the defense's 25. In both those scenarios, the offense performed fairly well.
In between, though, there were six series starting at the offense's own 2-yard line. On only one did the first group get as much as one first down. Quarterback Geno Smith also threw an interception that linebacker Anthony Leonard returned for a touchdown.
And it left Stewart understandably concerned.
"I feel pretty good out on the field [away from the shadow of its own goal line] because we're quick and we can spread people,'' Stewart said. "Then when we get down in the red zone, I feel good with our motion and our movement, which can cause people problems. So that's very advantageous for us.
"[As for the] get off the goal line approach, our short yardage, I felt pretty good all camp. But I didn't feel very good about it today. So we'll continue to work on it.''
The offense tried a variety of approaches, using fullback Ryan Clarke, strong little back Daquan Hargrett and a combination of tailback Noel Devine and short passes. The only time the offense got a first down was when Smith managed to hit J.D. Woods for 10 yards to convert third-and-7.
Granted, there were some extenuating circumstances. Throughout the scrimmage, the coaches experimented with the right side of the line, using different combinations of Cole Bowers, Eric Jobe and Jeff Braun at right guard and tackle, as well as subbing Jobe in at center for Joe Madsen a few times. The goal was to find out who works best at each position and together, but it didn't lend much continuity to the power running game.
The No. 2 offense had a little more success getting off its own goal line, but that was against a defense made up of seconds and thirds. Freshman Trey Johnson had a 21-yard gain and freshman quarterback Jeremy Johnson completed a 10-yard pass to Ryan Nehlen, both for first downs.
With more field to work with or in the red zone, however, the offense was at times spectacular. The first play of the scrimmage was a 37-yard swing pass from Smith to Devine and the second was Devine's 18-yard run. The offense scored on Smith's 12-yard pass to Jock Sanders over the fingertips of safety Terence Garvin.
The No. 2 offense followed suit when on the first play Coley White made a leaping catch of a 45-yard pass from freshman Barry Brunetti. That led to a 30-yard Corey Smith field goal.
And in red zone drills, Tavon Austin scored on a first-play, 25-yard end-around; Smith completed passes of 12 yards to tight end Tyler Urban and then 5 yards to reserve fullback Matt Lindamood for a score; and Smith hit Stedman Bailey for 20 yards to set up a 5-yard Clarke run for a touchdown.
The No. 2 offense also had a few successes, including when Lindamood barreled over safety Darwin Cook at the line of scrimmage and rumbled 55 yards, although the drive didn't result in a score because Hargrett fumbled into the end zone. The twos did score when Jeremy Johnson lobbed a pass to fellow freshman Ivan McCartney in the end zone from 4 yards out.
Despite the emphasis on the short-yardage situations, there was considerably more passing this scrimmage than in the one a week ago, and more of it was downfield. Smith completed 14-of-18 passes for 152 yards and the TDs to Sanders and Lindamood, while Brunetti was 6-of-8 for 83 yards and Jeremy Johnson 5-of-6 for 51 yards. Brunetti was also picked off on the last play of the scrimmage, a one-handed grab by freshman safety Wes Tonkery.
Trey Johnson, Hargrett and Clarke were the workhorses running the ball - Johnson with 12 carries for 69 yards, Hargrett 12 for 20 and Clarke nine for 19. McCartney led all receivers with five catches for 46 yards, while Sanders caught four passes for 35 yards and Devine three for 50.
Starting linebacker Pat Lazear did not play because of a bone bruise below his knee and backup tailback Shawne Alston did not play because of a sore knee.
This article is available only to our premium digital content subscribers.
WVU offense struggles in goal-line drills
MORGANTOWN - West Virginia's offense worked less on the things it does well than those with which it struggles during Saturday's camp-ending scrimmage.
Needless to say, then, the exercise didn't leave coach Bill Stewart glowing.
Despite a handful of spectacular plays in the open field, the bulk of Saturday's 90-minute scrimmage was devoted to the one thing that concerns Stewart the most - digging out of field position holes near the offense's own goal.
For the most part it was a struggle.
"I saw improvement from [last Saturday's scrimmage] running the ball,'' Stewart said. "But I saw frustration, too, on my part and the offense's part in the goal-line drills. The defense really came downhill and they busted the offense. That's the only glaring spot right now that I'm concerned about running the ball.''
At the beginning of Saturday's scrimmage, the No. 1 offense ran three series beginning out on the field at its own 35 and three more in red zone situations at the defense's 25. In both those scenarios, the offense performed fairly well.
In between, though, there were six series starting at the offense's own 2-yard line. On only one did the first group get as much as one first down. Quarterback Geno Smith also threw an interception that linebacker Anthony Leonard returned for a touchdown.
And it left Stewart understandably concerned.
"I feel pretty good out on the field [away from the shadow of its own goal line] because we're quick and we can spread people,'' Stewart said. "Then when we get down in the red zone, I feel good with our motion and our movement, which can cause people problems. So that's very advantageous for us.
"[As for the] get off the goal line approach, our short yardage, I felt pretty good all camp. But I didn't feel very good about it today. So we'll continue to work on it.''
The offense tried a variety of approaches, using fullback Ryan Clarke, strong little back Daquan Hargrett and a combination of tailback Noel Devine and short passes. The only time the offense got a first down was when Smith managed to hit J.D. Woods for 10 yards to convert third-and-7.
