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The John Pennington Show – Season Preview: Loaded Offense, Rebuilt Defense, and Chowan on Deck · The John Pennington Show

• 0:11
  Speaker 1: It's time for the John Pennington Show live from the
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: pitch at Shawnee. Your weekly look inside the West Virginia
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: State Yellow Jackets. Join us all season long at the
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: pitch to break down Yellow Jacket football like nobody else
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: does with West Virginia State Head Coach John Pennington. Now,
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: live from the pitch at Shawnee with Coach Pennington, here's
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: Daniel Woods.
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: Welcome inside the pitch at Shawnee. This is the new
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: home of the John Pennington Show for this 2026 season
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: as the West Virginia State Yellow Jackets get ready to
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: open things up this weekend. And we are ready now.
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: for football season here in Institute here around the Kanawha
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: Valley and here in the state of West Virginia for
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: no question. As you heard the man say there, I
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: am Daniel Woods, and I am pleased once again to
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: be joined to start off the season by West Virginia
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: State Head Coach John Pennington. Coach, thank you for being here.
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: It is an exciting time as always.
• 1:06
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, this is the best time of year, right?
• 1:08
  Speaker 4: College football kicks off tomorrow night and then full go
• 1:12
  Speaker 4: on Saturday. So just excited for college football and glad
• 1:16
  Speaker 4: to be back with you for year two.
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: Absolutely. Really big thanks to the folks here at the pitch.
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: We have been wanting to get the show out here,
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: get out amongst the people, so if you're out there listening,
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: we do have to let you know it is Wing
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: Wednesday here at the pitch, in addition to us being
• 1:31
  Speaker 2: live on location. So we've got $ 1 wings for the
• 1:34
  Speaker 2: duration of the show all the way to close. We've
• 1:36
  Speaker 2: got $ 1 off all draft beer here at the pitch,
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: and we are fired up for that. We hope to
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: see it out here as the season goes on. We
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: will be here every Wednesday night from 7 until 8 o'clock.
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: Except for the bye week, we've got the show every
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: game week. So we're here this week, we're here next week,
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: we're off week after that, and then all the way
• 1:54
  Speaker 2: through the end of the season every Wednesday night here
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: at the pitch at Shawnee. We hope you will come
• 1:59
  Speaker 2: join us. So as we get into the show here tonight,
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: we're going to be doing a little bit of a
• 2:04
  Speaker 2: different show than we will the rest of the season
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: because there's a whole lot to preview tonight. As the
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: season goes on, we'll be bringing on special guests, players, coaches,
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: other folks from West Virginia State as we go along.
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: But tonight, it's really about previewing the season. We're going
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: to talk About the offseason, we're going to talk about
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: the offense, we're going to talk about the defense, and
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: then we're going to talk about the opponent on Saturday
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: with Shawan coming to West Virginia State. So let's start
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: with the offseason. Let's talk about how things went over
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: the summer, how things went in the spring. I know
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: you had some guys come in in the spring that
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: you were then happy to have in the program over
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: the summer. What's that transition been like going from the spring,
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: having these guys around, and really solidifying what you're doing
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: this fall?
• 2:46
  Speaker 4: I think it started with Brian Reynolds, our new strength coach.
• 2:49
  Speaker 4: He's also our co-defensive coordinator, linebacker coach. Just did an
• 2:53
  Speaker 4: outstanding job getting the guys ready and prepared.
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: Is he a little bit intense?
• 2:56
  Speaker 3: A little bit, yeah.
• 2:58
  Speaker 4: He was a Marine, and he looks like he probably
• 3:02
  Speaker 4: can lift more than anyone on our team.
• 3:04
  Speaker 3: So he brings great energy, and the guys bought into
• 3:07
  Speaker 3: him and connected with him immediately. And then we were
• 3:09
  Speaker 3: able to retain....
• 3:11
  Speaker 4: Pretty much everybody from the spring through the summer and
• 3:15
  Speaker 4: into the fall and I think that's a you know
• 3:17
  Speaker 4: something that's not very common in today's football so that
• 3:19
  Speaker 4: gives us you know an advantage as far as the
• 3:22
  Speaker 4: guys know what it's expected of them they know our
• 3:24
  Speaker 4: culture they know you know how we expect Yellow Jackets
• 3:28
  Speaker 4: to play the game of football and it makes it
• 3:30
  Speaker 4: easier to coach them and They lead the new guys,
• 3:33
  Speaker 4: the new freshmen, and we didn't bring in a lot
• 3:35
  Speaker 4: of transfers. I think we had maybe two that come
• 3:39
  Speaker 4: in and are going to be in the mix, but
• 3:41
  Speaker 4: for the most part, it's everybody that was here in
• 3:43
  Speaker 4: the spring, and we coached them up all summer, and
• 3:47
  Speaker 4: then once they got here in August, we hit the
• 3:48
  Speaker 4: ground running.
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: So you look back at last season, finished five and six,
• 3:52
  Speaker 2: but there's three one-score games in there, and I mean,
• 3:55
  Speaker 2: some of which... as you all know, came down to
• 3:59
  Speaker 2: literally the last play of the game. So how do
• 4:02
  Speaker 2: you take guys from that mindset of, all right, we
• 4:06
  Speaker 2: had a couple of close calls here, too. We're coming back.
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: We've proven that we can compete. Now let's go win
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: some games.
• 4:12
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I think our guys see how close we were
• 4:15
  Speaker 4: last year, and we had a lot of new faces.
• 4:18
  Speaker 4: We've typically won a lot of those close games throughout
• 4:20
  Speaker 4: my career, so that was... something that we've taken a
• 4:23
  Speaker 4: lot of pride in. So, you know, using that as
• 4:26
  Speaker 4: motivation to focus on the little things, the details, you know,
• 4:30
  Speaker 4: as far as keeping your foot on the line or
• 4:33
  Speaker 4: running two yards past the line, just making sure we're
• 4:35
  Speaker 4: doing all the little things right. But I think that
• 4:37
  Speaker 4: leadership and the family environment and mental toughness, that usually
• 4:41
  Speaker 4: gets you those wins. But, you know, last year we had,
• 4:45
  Speaker 4: you know, new coaches in different roles. And I think
• 4:48
  Speaker 4: this year we got the same coordinators back. The same
• 4:51
  Speaker 4: special coordinator, special teams coordinator is back. So I think
• 4:54
  Speaker 4: having those guys in the same role and having a
• 4:57
  Speaker 4: full year to kind of implement what they want to implement.
• 5:00
  Speaker 4: will give us some better execution in those key moments.
• 5:03
  Speaker 2: And then you mentioned having some new coaches last year.
• 5:05
  Speaker 2: You've got new coaches this year. You mentioned Brian Reynolds
• 5:08
  Speaker 2: coming in and helping you set that tone. I know
• 5:10
  Speaker 2: that you've got some new position coaches. You've got some
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: guys that maybe have moved around on the staff. So
• 5:15
  Speaker 2: what does that look like this year, and how has
• 5:17
  Speaker 2: that affected the way that you're preparing for the season?
• 5:19
  Speaker 4: Yeah, the coordinators have stayed the same, and a lot
• 5:22
  Speaker 4: of our young assistants have stayed the same. We've got
• 5:24
  Speaker 4: a new O-line coach, Connor Walsh, He's been incredible. He
• 5:29
  Speaker 4: fit right into our coaching staff culture and just an
• 5:33
  Speaker 4: excellent O-line coach. Shout out to Ryan Stanchek, a former
• 5:36
  Speaker 4: teammate of mine that played for Coach Trickett. He was
• 5:39
  Speaker 4: at UTEP and Connor GA'd for him. He highly recommended
• 5:43
  Speaker 4: him and he fit right in. Our O-line has looked
• 5:46
  Speaker 4: probably the best they've looked in a long time.
• 5:48
  Speaker 2: That's awesome. Really glad to hear. As far as how
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: your returners may be, work with new coaches at their
• 5:56
  Speaker 2: positions or just new coaches on the staff in general?
• 5:59
  Speaker 2: You know, you've got three returning starters on your offensive
• 6:01
  Speaker 2: line working with a new O-line coach. You know, how
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: does that come together for these guys as the spring
• 6:06
  Speaker 2: and then summer and then fall have gone on?
• 6:08
  Speaker 3: Well, I mean, we have our veteran Dalton Hall.
• 6:11
  Speaker 4: He's a five-year player for us and a two-time all-conference player.
• 6:14
  Speaker 3: He started basically since he got here. So I think having.
• 6:18
  Speaker 4: Dalton in that room and Brody Sipple is another, you know,
• 6:21
  Speaker 4: five-year guy that started a lot of games for us.
• 6:23
  Speaker 4: Having two elder statesmen in there to kind of let
• 6:26
  Speaker 4: the younger guys know that that's pretty common in college
• 6:28
  Speaker 4: football that, you know, position coaches, you know, they don't
• 6:32
  Speaker 4: stick around for five to 10 years typically at a
• 6:34
  Speaker 4: lot of college programs. So they can communicate that and
• 6:38
  Speaker 4: that was an easy transition having those older guys to
• 6:41
  Speaker 4: pass that message on.
• 6:42
  Speaker 2: Having guys coming back, Dalton, Brody, other guys on both
• 6:46
  Speaker 2: sides of the ball. Malik Baker was only here last year,
• 6:49
  Speaker 2: but I've seen how much he impacts guys off the
• 6:52
  Speaker 2: field as well. You look at your defense, and you've
• 6:54
  Speaker 2: got even more guys that are here for a second
• 6:58
  Speaker 2: year that can take that jump. Keontavious McGrew, Keyshawn Washington,
• 7:02
  Speaker 2: those are guys that got on the field, made an
• 7:05
  Speaker 2: impact last year. Then how does that carry over this
• 7:08
  Speaker 2: year for some of those guys to step up and say,
• 7:10
  Speaker 2: all right, I'm comfortable. Now I can be a leader.
• 7:13
  Speaker 4: Yeah, that was really, it was kind of like a
• 7:15
  Speaker 4: clean slate on defense where, you know, there were new
• 7:18
  Speaker 4: guys taking over. So we kind of got to build
• 7:21
  Speaker 4: it the way that we wanted to. And, implement the
• 7:24
  Speaker 4: things that we really wanted to see on the field
• 7:26
  Speaker 4: as far as pursuing the football, tackling the fundamentals of
• 7:31
  Speaker 4: the game. I know Keyshawn Washington, Greg DeLoach is another
• 7:35
  Speaker 4: guy that's played a lot of games in our program who.
• 7:37
  Speaker 3: Stepped up as a leader. A lot of the guys
• 7:39
  Speaker 3: you see on that board have been here in.
• 7:42
  Speaker 4: The program for a while and they know what's expected.
• 7:46
  Speaker 4: I think that having those guys here in the spring
• 7:49
  Speaker 4: and being able to work with them all spring and
• 7:50
  Speaker 4: then getting them back and just building on top of
• 7:53
  Speaker 4: the foundation we laid in the offseason.
• 7:55
  Speaker 2: I want to talk maybe in broad strokes about recruiting
• 7:58
  Speaker 2: and the way things have gone in the offseason. You
• 8:02
  Speaker 2: mentioned not a whole lot of transfers in and over
• 8:03
  Speaker 2: the summer. I know you had some of those guys
• 8:05
  Speaker 2: in the spring. But this freshman class, you look at
• 8:09
  Speaker 2: the 2-D for this team, and it's immediately– Jumping out,
• 8:13
  Speaker 2: there's a true freshman starting here. There's a true freshman
• 8:16
  Speaker 2: backing that guy up here. Not necessarily to get into
• 8:18
  Speaker 2: specific guys because we'll go into that, but you've mentioned
• 8:21
  Speaker 2: to me a couple of times just how talented this
• 8:23
  Speaker 2: freshman class is.
• 8:24
  Speaker 3: Yeah, especially on defense.
• 8:26
  Speaker 4: I think one of our goals in recruiting was using
• 8:29
  Speaker 4: those freshmen as our depth.
• 8:32
  Speaker 3: And a lot of times freshmen.
• 8:33
  Speaker 4: Even if they're really good, it takes them a few weeks,
• 8:37
  Speaker 4: game weeks, to really be ready for college football. So,
• 8:40
  Speaker 4: you know, you've got guys, a lot of guys that
• 8:42
  Speaker 4: are backing up positions that you think by week three, four, five,
• 8:46
  Speaker 4: when you're in the meat of conference play, have the
• 8:49
  Speaker 4: experience and now really understand what it's like, you know,
• 8:51
  Speaker 4: to be a college football player on Saturdays. I think
• 8:54
  Speaker 4: Otis Guyton is a guy that's really stuck out. He's
• 8:57
  Speaker 4: got an incredible motor, just an incredible young man.
• 9:00
  Speaker 3: You'll see him on the field. Julian Whitfield, same thing
• 9:04
  Speaker 3: at corner.
• 9:04
  Speaker 4: He's a very talented young corner that's going to get
• 9:07
  Speaker 4: a lot of playing time.
• 9:08
  Speaker 3: And some of those guys have, you know, a little
• 9:11
  Speaker 3: more ready than we expected.
• 9:12
  Speaker 4: But we brought in a lot of freshmen to fill
• 9:15
  Speaker 4: in some of those gaps as far as depth. And that's,
• 9:18
  Speaker 4: you know, we knew that coming in. And those guys
• 9:20
  Speaker 4: have really embraced that role. And they've shown up.
• 9:22
  Speaker 3: On the field.
• 9:22
  Speaker 2: And I know your old head coach, Rich Rodriguez, has
• 9:25
  Speaker 2: talked about this with The transfer portal and with red
• 9:29
  Speaker 2: shirts seemingly going away, there's no point in keeping guys
• 9:32
  Speaker 2: on the sidelines if you think they can contribute. So
• 9:36
  Speaker 2: do you kind of look at it that way? It's like,
• 9:37
  Speaker 2: I've got these guys. I might have them for five years.
• 9:40
  Speaker 2: I might have them this year. Let's get them out
• 9:41
  Speaker 2: on the field if they can go.
• 9:42
  Speaker 3: 100%.
• 9:42
  Speaker 4: And I think, too, those guys, because of the portal,
• 9:47
  Speaker 4: a lot of these freshmen get overlooked.
• 9:49
  Speaker 3: Sure.
• 9:49
  Speaker 4: And there's definitely a handful of freshmen that are playing
• 9:53
  Speaker 4: right now that a couple years ago would have probably
• 9:56
  Speaker 4: gotten an fcs offer so and and we realize that
• 9:59
  Speaker 4: you know that some of these guys are going to
• 10:01
  Speaker 4: be really good and they're probably they might move up
• 10:03
  Speaker 4: to division one and and we'll we'll celebrate that if
• 10:05
  Speaker 4: we can help them better themselves you know that's uh
• 10:08
  Speaker 4: we'll be their biggest fans you know but uh biased
• 10:11
  Speaker 4: i'm completely biased but i i always feel like we
• 10:14
  Speaker 4: have a great program if they stay here and stick
• 10:17
  Speaker 4: it out they're they're going to have an incredible career
• 10:19
  Speaker 4: and and be successful after college. But if they want
• 10:21
  Speaker 4: to move on up to the next level, like I said,
• 10:24
  Speaker 4: we're going to celebrate it and be their biggest fan.
• 10:28
  Speaker 2: Sounds like a great mindset if you ask me, and
• 10:30
  Speaker 2: it's certainly something in this changing world of college football
• 10:33
  Speaker 2: that a lot of coaches are having to figure out,
• 10:34
  Speaker 2: and it seems like you guys really have it figured
• 10:36
  Speaker 2: out here at West Virginia State. If you're tuning in,
• 10:39
  Speaker 2: still plenty of time to come see us here at
• 10:41
  Speaker 2: the pitch at Shawnee. It's Wing Wednesday, Dollar Wings, Dollar
• 10:45
  Speaker 2: Off-Draft Beer, until close here at the pitch. That is
• 10:48
  Speaker 2: traditional and boneless wings if you're more of a saucy
• 10:52
  Speaker 2: nugget fan out there. But we will be here until
• 10:54
  Speaker 2: 8 o'clock talking West Virginia State football. Get ready to
• 10:56
  Speaker 2: take our first break here. When we come back, we'll
• 10:59
  Speaker 2: talk a little offense, this West Virginia State team, bringing
• 11:02
  Speaker 2: back a lot of firepower, a lot of depth, and
• 11:05
  Speaker 2: some additions that we're also very excited for. That's coming
• 11:08
  Speaker 2: up next with more to follow. It's the John Pennington
• 11:11
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  Speaker 1: Let's talk football. The John Pennington Show is on 107.3
• 15:22
  Speaker 1: The Beat.
• 15:24
  Speaker 2: John Pennington Show continues live from the pitch at Shawnee,
• 15:28
  Speaker 2: our home for the whole season here on 107.3 The Beat.
• 15:31
  Speaker 2: Every Wednesday game week here on 107.3 The Beat, we're
• 15:35
  Speaker 2: talking West Virginia State football with the voice, or I'm
• 15:38
  Speaker 2: the voice of the Yellow Jackets. He's the coach of
• 15:40
  Speaker 2: the Yellow Jackets. John Pennington. And you can, as always,
• 15:43
  Speaker 2: hear every West Virginia State football game right here on 107.3,
• 15:46
  Speaker 2: the beat your home for the Yellow Jackets. All season long,
• 15:49
  Speaker 2: we are on the air this Saturday for a noon
• 15:52
  Speaker 2: kickoff with 11.30 pregame coverage as the Yellow Jackets start
• 15:56
  Speaker 2: the season off against Shawan. And we'll be talking about
• 15:59
  Speaker 2: that matchup here in just a little while. But we've
• 16:02
  Speaker 2: got a lot of scene to set here with this
• 16:04
  Speaker 2: West Virginia State team. And, Coach, a lot of returners
• 16:07
  Speaker 2: on offense, a lot of guys that made big impacts
• 16:10
  Speaker 2: last year. But I think maybe as far as continuity goes,
• 16:14
  Speaker 2: maybe the most important thing, you've got the same guy
• 16:16
  Speaker 2: back running the offense. Matt Cavallaro is back for his
• 16:20
  Speaker 2: second year as your offensive coordinator. Got a chance to
• 16:22
  Speaker 2: talk to him on the show last year. Got a
• 16:24
  Speaker 2: chance to be around him on game days and throughout
• 16:27
  Speaker 2: the week. Somebody that I know you hold a high
• 16:29
  Speaker 2: opinion of and somebody that really came in last year
• 16:32
  Speaker 2: and made a difference.
• 16:33
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean, he's an extremely talented young coach. Not
• 16:36
  Speaker 4: only that, but he's got a toughness to him. He's
• 16:39
  Speaker 4: a hockey player.
• 16:40
  Speaker 16: Right.
• 16:40
  Speaker 4: He's not, you know, so he brings some toughness to
• 16:44
  Speaker 4: the offense. And last year, you know, I worked hand
• 16:47
  Speaker 4: in hand with him and really wanted to, develop him
• 16:50
  Speaker 4: and to take over the offense, to fully take it over.
• 16:52
  Speaker 4: And that's what he's done this fall. I've been in,
• 16:56
  Speaker 4: I might have been in the defensive meeting rooms more
• 16:58
  Speaker 4: than I have been with the offense just because, you know,
• 17:01
  Speaker 4: he has a.
• 17:02
  Speaker 3: Great handle on it.
• 17:03
  Speaker 4: We have, I mean, I think the only way to
• 17:06
  Speaker 4: put it on offense is that we're loaded. We have
• 17:09
  Speaker 4: a lot of talent on offense. So I've been spending
• 17:11
  Speaker 4: a lot of my time with Coach Jack and the
• 17:13
  Speaker 4: defense and trying to help them out and, you know,
• 17:17
  Speaker 4: chip in where I can there.
• 17:18
  Speaker 3: When I'm not doing special teams. So Cav and.
• 17:21
  Speaker 4: Walsh, Connor Walsh, they've done an incredible job with the
• 17:23
  Speaker 4: offense so far.
• 17:24
  Speaker 2: All right, let's just go kind of position by position here,
• 17:27
  Speaker 2: talk about your team a little bit. Everybody wants to
• 17:29
  Speaker 2: talk about the quarterback. Caleb Jackson was honorable mention All-Mountain
• 17:33
  Speaker 2: East Conference last year. But I know even beyond him,
• 17:37
  Speaker 2: Joe Daly saw some time last year towards the end
• 17:40
  Speaker 2: of the season in situational roles. And I know Brian
• 17:43
  Speaker 2: Johnson is a guy that was on the team last year,
• 17:45
  Speaker 2: didn't get a lot of burn, but is somebody that
• 17:47
  Speaker 2: you really like.
• 17:48
  Speaker 7: Yeah.
• 17:48
  Speaker 3: I mean, you saw what Caleb did last year.
• 17:50
  Speaker 4: I mean, he, he played incredibly well and he's, he's
• 17:53
  Speaker 4: a guy that has a lot of, you know, experience
• 17:56
  Speaker 4: playing in the quarterback position, but it's good to be
• 17:58
  Speaker 4: deep in today's college football. Joe Daly's a big, strong
• 18:02
  Speaker 4: quarterback that, you know, he can throw the ball, but he's,
• 18:05
  Speaker 4: he's a powerful runner.
• 18:06
  Speaker 3: And so we used him in some wildcat stuff and I'm.
• 18:09
  Speaker 4: Sure you'll see him on the field plenty doing some
• 18:11
  Speaker 4: different wildcat things and playing some, some quarterback.
• 18:14
  Speaker 3: And then Brian Johnson has looked incredible.
• 18:16
  Speaker 4: So All three guys are playing at a high level,
• 18:18
  Speaker 4: and Caleb's got the experience. Brian is more of your
• 18:23
  Speaker 4: pocket passer, and Joe is more of your physical runner.
• 18:25
  Speaker 4: So I think in today's game, it's good to have
• 18:28
  Speaker 4: multiple guys back there that can do multiple things.
• 18:31
  Speaker 2: And then you look at the running back position. It
• 18:33
  Speaker 2: is not often that you can sit down and look
• 18:37
  Speaker 2: at a group's accolades and have three all-conference running backs
• 18:41
  Speaker 2: on the same roster, but that's what you've got. Justin Pessoa, obviously...
• 18:45
  Speaker 2: I was a tremendous player his first couple of years
• 18:47
  Speaker 2: on campus, dealt with some injuries last year, have a
• 18:50
  Speaker 2: void there. JoJo Restall steps up. He's your leading rusher,
• 18:53
  Speaker 2: earns all conference honors. And then, oh, by the way,
• 18:56
  Speaker 2: there's this kid named Devin Cox that was on the
• 18:58
  Speaker 2: scout team week one, and he was the offensive freshman
• 19:00
  Speaker 2: of the year in the league. And all of those
• 19:02
  Speaker 2: guys are on your roster this year.
• 19:03
  Speaker 7: Yeah.
• 19:04
  Speaker 4: I mean, I can't say enough about Justin Devon. I mean,
• 19:07
  Speaker 4: Justin's been, he's a program guy. He's been here for
• 19:09
  Speaker 4: five years and he's one of the hardest working players
• 19:13
  Speaker 4: on the team. He's got probably a 4.0 GPA, just
• 19:16
  Speaker 4: does everything right. And him and Devon are so locked
• 19:19
  Speaker 4: in and focused at every meeting, at every practice.
• 19:22
  Speaker 3: I mean, you can coach them hard.
• 19:24
  Speaker 4: You know, even though they're the star players, you can,
• 19:27
  Speaker 4: I mean, I can yell at them in front of
• 19:29
  Speaker 4: the whole team, and they're going to take.
• 19:30
  Speaker 3: It and keep moving forward.
• 19:31
  Speaker 4: So those two guys are special, and they're both so efficient, blocking, catching,
• 19:36
  Speaker 4: running the football. They're really fun to watch. And JoJo Restall,
• 19:41
  Speaker 4: he's out with an injury right now. He'll be back
• 19:44
  Speaker 4: here in a couple weeks and ready for conference play.
• 19:46
  Speaker 4: But right now, those two are running the show. We
• 19:49
  Speaker 4: got a transfer in the spring, Shaka Griffin, who was
• 19:53
  Speaker 4: looked outstanding. He'll be on the field, and we got
• 19:56
  Speaker 4: a bunch of good young running backs as well. Those
• 19:58
  Speaker 4: two definitely carry the torch.
• 20:00
  Speaker 2: I want to talk about Pessoa a little bit, just
• 20:02
  Speaker 2: with his leadership, because being around this team last year,
• 20:05
  Speaker 2: I mean, he gets hurt, he tried to give it
• 20:08
  Speaker 2: a go, and you shut him down. And just being
• 20:12
  Speaker 2: with this team last year, I mean, that is a
• 20:13
  Speaker 2: guy who, despite the fact that he knew he wasn't
• 20:15
  Speaker 2: going to play again the rest of the season, He
• 20:17
  Speaker 2: never lost focus. He was engaged the entire time. And
• 20:22
  Speaker 2: that has to make your eyes light up as a
• 20:23
  Speaker 2: coach and say, that's the kind of guy I want
• 20:25
  Speaker 2: in my program. Well, yeah.
• 20:26
  Speaker 3: And Justin was, he wasn't a highly recruited guy. He
• 20:29
  Speaker 3: kind of recruited us.
• 20:30
  Speaker 4: And so when he got here, you know, we didn't
• 20:34
  Speaker 4: think he would turn into this.
• 20:36
  Speaker 3: And he worked his way into it. And we always,
• 20:38
  Speaker 3: I always believe in our players.
• 20:41
  Speaker 4: I know if they just put in the work, they
• 20:42
  Speaker 4: can do whatever they dream of. And Justin is one
• 20:46
  Speaker 4: of those guys that did all the extra work, and
• 20:49
  Speaker 4: now I can't imagine life without him.
• 20:51
  Speaker 3: Because he's just so efficient.
• 20:53
  Speaker 4: But when we talk about our culture being the locked-in culture,
• 20:56
  Speaker 4: it's a mentality. Justin and Devin Cox are the two
• 21:00
  Speaker 4: guys that embody that.
• 21:02
  Speaker 3: Everyone we recruit, we recruit. They need to have that.
• 21:05
  Speaker 4: Mindset that those two young men have. They're writing down
• 21:08
  Speaker 4: notes outside and inside zone, and they've run them thousands
• 21:13
  Speaker 4: of times, and they're still taking notes and trying to
• 21:15
  Speaker 4: get better at it. They embody what we're looking for
• 21:18
  Speaker 4: from any Yellow Jacket that we recruit.
• 21:20
  Speaker 2: Let's talk a little bit about the other guys that
• 21:23
  Speaker 2: you might see lining up in the backfield there. I
• 21:24
  Speaker 2: know your H-back kind of tight end position is dealt
• 21:28
  Speaker 2: with some issues last year. There were some injuries. There
• 21:30
  Speaker 2: were some guys that were in and out. I know
• 21:32
  Speaker 2: Marshall Humphrey's a guy that you really like, a guy
• 21:34
  Speaker 2: that you're going to have back available this year leading
• 21:37
  Speaker 2: that group.
• 21:38
  Speaker 4: Yeah, Marshall's that blue guy. There's times when we want
• 21:42
  Speaker 4: to get a lot of basketball. You get a lot
• 21:45
  Speaker 4: of shooters on the floor and spread people out, but
• 21:47
  Speaker 4: it's always good to have that guy that's going to
• 21:48
  Speaker 4: get rebounds, set screens, do all the dirty work, and
• 21:52
  Speaker 4: that's Marshall Humphrey for us.
• 21:53
  Speaker 3: He makes our offense go with that H position. He
• 21:55
  Speaker 3: can play tight end, receiver.
• 21:57
  Speaker 4: Fullback and he can do a lot of different things
• 22:00
  Speaker 4: but uh preston cooper is a local guy that's uh
• 22:03
  Speaker 4: that plays with incredible effort that knows what to do
• 22:06
  Speaker 4: and has been the program and we've got two outstanding
• 22:09
  Speaker 4: well really three freshmen uh benji adkins from chapmanville is has.
• 22:15
  Speaker 3: Exceeded my expectations a big kid that can move he's a.
• 22:18
  Speaker 4: Big guy and a really smart young man he retains
• 22:22
  Speaker 4: a lot of the And that position has to know protection.
• 22:25
  Speaker 4: It's got to know run game. It's got to know receivers.
• 22:28
  Speaker 4: So he's done great. We've got Preston Fagans, who our
• 22:31
  Speaker 4: athletic director helped recruit. He's been outstanding at that HVAC position.
• 22:37
  Speaker 4: And then Titan Parsons, who is extremely talented HVAC. And
• 22:42
  Speaker 4: he's a great receiver. You know, he can do some
• 22:44
  Speaker 4: things in the backfield as well. So all three of
• 22:47
  Speaker 4: those young guys are going to be on the field
• 22:49
  Speaker 4: at some point this season.
• 22:51
  Speaker 2: Exciting stuff for that group, because I know how much
• 22:54
  Speaker 2: you like to use that position. I think last year
• 22:56
  Speaker 2: maybe there were just, between some injuries and some guys
• 22:59
  Speaker 2: not necessarily being available, you didn't necessarily see that group
• 23:04
  Speaker 2: come to its full potential.
• 23:05
  Speaker 4: Yeah, and Marshall was probably, and he'll tell you this,
• 23:09
  Speaker 4: he was probably like the.
• 23:11
  Speaker 3: the worst player on our team when he got here.
• 23:14
  Speaker 4: I mean, he was the very bottom and to see
• 23:16
  Speaker 4: him continue to grow and get better. And now to
• 23:20
  Speaker 4: be a guy that we, we can't, you know, like
• 23:22
  Speaker 4: if he's not in there, it's devastating. So, and losing
• 23:25
  Speaker 4: him last year was, you know, really hurt our offense.
• 23:28
  Speaker 4: So having him back makes a huge difference. And, He's
• 23:31
  Speaker 4: another guy that's come a long way, just like Justin Pessoa.
• 23:34
  Speaker 2: All right, we've talked about your star-studded running backs. Let's
• 23:37
  Speaker 2: talk about your wide receivers, because if there's a group
• 23:40
  Speaker 2: deeper than your running backs, it's your wide receivers. Malik Baker,
• 23:42
  Speaker 2: first-team All-Mountain East Conference last year. Osama Hurst comes from
• 23:47
  Speaker 2: West Liberty within the league. and is a guy that
• 23:50
  Speaker 2: has been productive in your conference. And oh, by the way,
• 23:52
  Speaker 2: you're adding a slot receiver in Samaj Demps that got
• 23:56
  Speaker 2: legitimate playing time snaps targets at FIU over the last
• 24:00
  Speaker 2: three years. Plus, you throw in the young guys you've
• 24:03
  Speaker 2: developed in your program. I mean, this is a group
• 24:06
  Speaker 2: that any quarterback would be salivating over.
• 24:08
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean, there's so many weapons out there. Samaj
• 24:11
  Speaker 4: that you mentioned from FIU, extremely fast, extremely quick. We'll
• 24:16
  Speaker 4: get him some screens. He can go deep in the slot,
• 24:20
  Speaker 4: and he's a really physical blocker. For his stature, he's
• 24:23
  Speaker 4: a shorter guy, but he's.
• 24:25
  Speaker 3: An explosive player. You're going to see Malik Baker is
• 24:29
  Speaker 3: he has to be the best receiver in the conference.
• 24:31
  Speaker 3: I mean, he is so good.
• 24:33
  Speaker 4: So, you know, he's going to get open and he's
• 24:35
  Speaker 4: going to make tough catches. Just an incredible player. And
• 24:38
  Speaker 4: then Osama is the big.
• 24:41
  Speaker 3: Guy, 6'4, 6'5, whatever he is. Caught the Hail Mary
• 24:44
  Speaker 3: against us.
• 24:44
  Speaker 4: I was going to let you bring it up. Yeah,
• 24:47
  Speaker 4: if you can't beat him, join him. And he's a
• 24:50
  Speaker 4: very mature young man. He's a professional out there on
• 24:54
  Speaker 4: the field. And he's a big guy that we can
• 24:56
  Speaker 4: throw the ball up to at.
• 24:58
  Speaker 3: Any point, any one-on-one matchup.
• 24:59
  Speaker 4: And really excited about Malik Leggett and Tony Richardson. They're
• 25:03
  Speaker 4: both guys that were true freshmen last year.
• 25:05
  Speaker 3: That have really.
• 25:06
  Speaker 4: Stepped up and shown that they can play with those
• 25:08
  Speaker 4: guys and be contributors on Saturday. So I think our
• 25:12
  Speaker 4: biggest weakness is trying to keep everybody happy.
• 25:15
  Speaker 2: Sure.
• 25:15
  Speaker 3: There's a lot of mouths to feed. Exactly.
• 25:18
  Speaker 4: And we have older guys, so we can have those conversations.
• 25:21
  Speaker 4: But depending on matchups, it's going to go one way
• 25:24
  Speaker 4: or the other. But you'll definitely see Malik Baker and
• 25:28
  Speaker 4: Samaj and Osama and then Malik and Tony, depending on
• 25:31
  Speaker 4: the week, could be big-time playmakers.
• 25:33
  Speaker 2: I like what I hear. And then offensive line is
• 25:36
  Speaker 2: a group that you probably thought with the returners was
• 25:40
  Speaker 2: going to have a chance to be a strength, and
• 25:42
  Speaker 2: you understand why. Let's start with the guys that are
• 25:45
  Speaker 2: back because they stand out. Dalton Hall, Benin Lowe, Brody Sippel.
• 25:48
  Speaker 2: That's 33 starts from last year. Left tackle, Benin moves
• 25:52
  Speaker 2: from right tackle to center, and right guard, Brody Sippel's back.
• 25:56
  Speaker 2: Do you kind of look at those as just like
• 25:57
  Speaker 2: set it and forget it? These guys are going to
• 25:58
  Speaker 2: do their jobs?
• 25:59
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean, Dalton Hall has to be an all
• 26:02
  Speaker 4: American left tackle. I mean, I can't imagine there's a
• 26:05
  Speaker 4: better left tackle in the country.
• 26:06
  Speaker 3: I mean, he's just a great player. He's been two
• 26:09
  Speaker 3: time all conference. Uh, he's got the size, he's got
• 26:12
  Speaker 3: the athleticism, he's got the mentality.
• 26:14
  Speaker 4: Uh, he's a guy that's, you know, if you love
• 26:16
  Speaker 4: football and you want to watch O'Lyman, watch our left
• 26:19
  Speaker 4: tackle Dalton Hall.
• 26:20
  Speaker 3: And then Brody is, uh, you know, from Huntington, he's
• 26:22
  Speaker 3: a grinder.
• 26:23
  Speaker 4: He's a physical player in the, in the interior. And
• 26:26
  Speaker 4: like you said, I think Brody probably has over 30
• 26:28
  Speaker 4: starts in his career, uh, Dalton's probably got 40-some. And
• 26:31
  Speaker 4: then Benin started every game as an extremely talented freshman
• 26:35
  Speaker 4: last year.
• 26:35
  Speaker 3: So those three guys anchor everything.
• 26:37
  Speaker 4: And then Isaiah Ray was a freshman last year that's
• 26:42
  Speaker 4: done a great job for us and excited to watch
• 26:44
  Speaker 4: him at left guard.
• 26:45
  Speaker 3: And then we got two guys at right tackle.
• 26:47
  Speaker 4: Desmond Self is a transfer that's a senior that's played
• 26:50
  Speaker 4: a lot of football.
• 26:51
  Speaker 3: And then Makai Morris is a freshman transfer. A true freshman.
• 26:54
  Speaker 3: We call him the dancing bear.
• 26:55
  Speaker 4: He's about 340, but his feet, he's got incredible feet
• 27:00
  Speaker 4: back there.
• 27:00
  Speaker 2: I was going to say, I've seen the number on
• 27:02
  Speaker 2: the roster, and I've seen him on the field. I
• 27:04
  Speaker 2: wasn't necessarily sure where those matched up, but okay.
• 27:08
  Speaker 3: Never seen a big guy move like that.
• 27:10
  Speaker 2: I'll take it. Big guy with good feet. That's what
• 27:13
  Speaker 2: you're looking.
• 27:13
  Speaker 3: For at that spot.
• 27:14
  Speaker 4: He wasn't necessarily a tackle, but We needed a tackle,
• 27:18
  Speaker 4: and he's so athletic that he can do all those things.
• 27:20
  Speaker 2: I like to hear it. I like to hear it.
• 27:22
  Speaker 2: How important is it if you're bringing on a guy
• 27:24
  Speaker 2: like Isaiah that was a true freshman last year, didn't
• 27:28
  Speaker 2: really see a whole lot of time, and if it
• 27:30
  Speaker 2: is a true freshman here in Mackay out there on
• 27:32
  Speaker 2: the right, to have those three guys available to you
• 27:36
  Speaker 2: that can can be there not just a mentor but
• 27:39
  Speaker 2: to maybe even clean up some of the mistakes.
• 27:41
  Speaker 4: Yeah i mean you know ben and knows he's going
• 27:43
  Speaker 4: to make all the calls you know isaiah's got dalton
• 27:46
  Speaker 4: beside him he's sandwiched between two great players so uh
• 27:49
  Speaker 4: and he's a guy that's going to give everything he's
• 27:51
  Speaker 4: got and uh so those guys can help him with
• 27:54
  Speaker 4: maybe where to go and how to do it or
• 27:55
  Speaker 4: uh and he's going to give you you know everything
• 27:58
  Speaker 4: he has in his tank and then uh out there
• 28:00
  Speaker 4: at right tackle mckay He's got Brody beside him to
• 28:04
  Speaker 4: help him. So I think that's a big factor that
• 28:07
  Speaker 4: you just brought up. And Desmond has a lot of experience.
• 28:09
  Speaker 4: So he's played in a lot of college football games.
• 28:12
  Speaker 2: Well, if you haven't been paying attention to this conversation
• 28:15
  Speaker 2: about West Virginia State's offense, the words deep and talented
• 28:17
  Speaker 2: have come up quite a bit. And that typically is
• 28:20
  Speaker 2: a recipe for success. And I kind of have a
• 28:24
  Speaker 2: feeling that's what we're going to see starting on Saturday.
• 28:26
  Speaker 2: We have another break to take. We'll talk defense when
• 28:29
  Speaker 2: we return. Again, we are here live. at the pitch
• 28:32
  Speaker 2: at Shawnee for the John Pennington Show, 7 to 8
• 28:35
  Speaker 2: every Wednesday night during the West Virginia State football season.
• 28:38
  Speaker 2: And again, it is Wing Wednesday, $ 1 wings, $ 1 off
• 28:42
  Speaker 2: all of your draft beer all the way until close,
• 28:45
  Speaker 2: not just during the show, but we would love it
• 28:47
  Speaker 2: if you come out and see us before we're done
• 28:48
  Speaker 2: here at 8 o'clock. We've got defense to talk about
• 28:51
  Speaker 2: when we return. This is the John Pennington Show on 107.3
• 28:54
  Speaker 2: The Beats.
• 28:55
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• 30:47
  Speaker 18: brand scrubs, plus shoes, stethoscopes, accessories, and gifts for every occasion.
• 30:52
  Speaker 18: Tasha's Uniform, same great style.
• 30:55
  Speaker 9: Brand new location.
• 30:56
  Speaker 16: Call attorney Mike Carey. If you or someone you know
• 30:58
  Speaker 16: has lost a loved one because of possible negligence or
• 31:01
  Speaker 16: suffered a serious injury due to medical malpractice at a
• 31:03
  Speaker 16: hospital or medical facility, call Michael Carey at Carey Law
• 31:07
  Speaker 16: Office at 304-804-6369 for a free consultation. Our firm handles
• 31:12
  Speaker 16: wrongful death and medical malpractice cases involving hospitals, doctors, nursing staff,
• 31:17
  Speaker 16: surgical errors, delayed diagnosis, and other serious medical mistakes that
• 31:21
  Speaker 16: cause harm to patients and families. Call Attorney Mike Carey today. 304-804-7000.
• 31:28
  Speaker 5: Deserve options.
• 31:29
  Speaker 6: At Charleston Job Corps, you'll find free tuition, free room
• 31:32
  Speaker 6: and board, and with free training in HVAC, medical administrative assisting,
• 31:36
  Speaker 6: network cabling, carpentry, painting, facility maintenance, and office administration, Charleston
• 31:42
  Speaker 6: Job Corps is the place to be.
• 31:43
  Speaker 5: If you're ages 16.
• 31:44
  Speaker 6: To 24, get the skills you need for success.
• 31:47
  Speaker 5: When it comes to your future, choices matter.
• 31:50
  Speaker 6: Start your journey with career training tailored for you at.
• 31:53
  Speaker 5: Charleston Job Corps.
• 31:55
  Speaker 6: Visit online at charleston.jobcorps.gov and become ready and motivated to succeed.
• 32:01
  Speaker 12: When the game is on, make your next stop, the
• 32:03
  Speaker 12: Pitch Sports Bar and Grill at Shawnee Sports Complex. Built
• 32:06
  Speaker 12: around a love of sports, great food, and community, the
• 32:09
  Speaker 12: Pitch brings craft food, craft beer, and craft service together
• 32:12
  Speaker 12: under one roof. Dig into signature pizzas, burgers, and locally
• 32:16
  Speaker 12: sourced favorites. made fresh and served with plenty of hometown flavor.
• 32:20
  Speaker 12: Bring your crew, check out Wing Wednesdays and Trivia Night Thursdays,
• 32:24
  Speaker 12: and make memories at The Pitch at Shawnee. Full menu
• 32:27
  Speaker 12: at thepitchwv.com.
• 32:30
  Speaker 11: Your Putnam County Assessor's Office is mandated to ensure your
• 32:33
  Speaker 11: real estate is evaluated properly and fairly. This year, their
• 32:38
  Speaker 11: field personnel will be in the Winfield Town first and
• 32:41
  Speaker 11: then move to Scott District to revisit homeowners. Plus, new
• 32:45
  Speaker 11: construction in the county will be assessed. They will be
• 32:48
  Speaker 11: in marked vehicles and will have photo ID and business cards.
• 32:52
  Speaker 11: If you have any questions about this process, visit their
• 32:55
  Speaker 11: website at PutnamCOassessor.com.
• 32:58
  Speaker 2: That's PutnamCOassessor.com.
• 33:00
  Speaker 1: Now back to the John Pennington Show, only on 107.3
• 33:04
  Speaker 1: The Beat.
• 33:06
  Speaker 3: Let's talk football.
• 33:07
  Speaker 4: Woo!
• 33:09
  Speaker 2: We're back at the pitch at Shawnee. You're home for
• 33:11
  Speaker 2: the John Pennington Show all season long here on 107.3
• 33:15
  Speaker 2: The Beat. I am Daniel Woods, seated with the head
• 33:17
  Speaker 2: coach of the West Virginia State Yellow Jacket football team,
• 33:19
  Speaker 2: John Pennington. We've talked offseason, we've talked offense, and let's
• 33:23
  Speaker 2: talk a little bit about defense. But before we do that,
• 33:26
  Speaker 2: I do have to say, once again, it is Wing
• 33:27
  Speaker 2: Wednesday here at the pitch. That means dollar wings, dollar
• 33:31
  Speaker 2: off draft beers here in the restaurant all the way
• 33:34
  Speaker 2: up until close. You've still got a little under 30
• 33:37
  Speaker 2: minutes if you want to come see us. And then,
• 33:39
  Speaker 2: of course, they're open after the show ends as well.
• 33:42
  Speaker 2: This is going to be the site for the show
• 33:44
  Speaker 2: all season long, and we're very excited for that. But, Coach,
• 33:47
  Speaker 2: let's talk defense. This is maybe a group compared to
• 33:50
  Speaker 2: the offense that doesn't have as many returners. But just
• 33:52
  Speaker 2: looking at it big picture, you see it on paper
• 33:55
  Speaker 2: with maybe some guys that had spot rolls last year.
• 33:58
  Speaker 2: You've talked a little bit about your freshmen. This is
• 34:00
  Speaker 2: a talented group on that side of the ball.
• 34:02
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I think what you'll see, what you'll notice is
• 34:06
  Speaker 4: the athleticism. We are extremely athletic on defense. Like I said,
• 34:10
  Speaker 4: all those guys were here in the spring. Everyone on that,
• 34:13
  Speaker 4: you know, those starters were here in the spring, so they're.
• 34:16
  Speaker 3: Familiar with what we're doing.
• 34:17
  Speaker 4: And I love our safeties. You know, Greg DeLoach has
• 34:23
  Speaker 4: been a guy that's been in the program, and he's
• 34:25
  Speaker 4: a hitter.
• 34:25
  Speaker 3: He can cover.
• 34:26
  Speaker 4: He was a corner, so he'll come up and hit guys,
• 34:29
  Speaker 4: and he can cover at the free safety spot. Eric
• 34:32
  Speaker 4: McGuire is coming off an ACL surgery, and we weren't
• 34:36
  Speaker 4: sure he'd be ready to play. He's really little, but
• 34:40
  Speaker 4: he's like a missile out there.
• 34:42
  Speaker 3: You'll notice him.
• 34:43
  Speaker 4: He's impossible to block, and he makes some big-time plays.
• 34:48
  Speaker 4: We got some injuries at our boundary safety, but Manny Toussaint,
• 34:53
  Speaker 4: he was here this spring.
• 34:54
  Speaker 3: He's a true freshman, but he was an early graduate.
• 34:57
  Speaker 3: Manny's a hitter. He'll come up and hit you right
• 35:00
  Speaker 3: in the face and.
• 35:02
  Speaker 4: I like that we've got three guys back there that
• 35:04
  Speaker 4: are going to hit receivers and be physical. In the interior,
• 35:09
  Speaker 4: Keyshawn Washington is really the key in the linebacker room.
• 35:15
  Speaker 4: He's extremely athletic. He used to be a safety, so
• 35:18
  Speaker 4: he's a physical guy. Justin Kalitsnik is a– I mean,
• 35:22
  Speaker 4: he'll run right through anybody.
• 35:24
  Speaker 2: I'll take that.
• 35:24
  Speaker 3: Yeah, so he's been.
• 35:26
  Speaker 4: Here, and you'll see him blitzing and probably on some
• 35:29
  Speaker 4: big hits.
• 35:30
  Speaker 7: Okay.
• 35:30
  Speaker 3: He always has a couple sports center highlight-type hits.
• 35:33
  Speaker 2: I was going to say, anything to give the play-by-play
• 35:35
  Speaker 2: guy some highlights, I'll take that.
• 35:36
  Speaker 3: Yeah, Justin will get you a couple of those. Okay.
• 35:39
  Speaker 4: Deshaun Jackson played last year. He's a great outside linebacker.
• 35:43
  Speaker 4: He can line up and play some defensive end. But
• 35:45
  Speaker 4: those three are so athletic, and the back end– All
• 35:49
  Speaker 4: those guys could probably play corner if we needed them to.
• 35:52
  Speaker 4: And then the linebackers could probably play some safety. So
• 35:55
  Speaker 4: you're going to see a lot of athleticism and some
• 35:58
  Speaker 4: different fronts to utilize that. And then we've got some
• 36:01
  Speaker 4: experience up front with McGrew and Dante Harris and Dwight Fiala.
• 36:06
  Speaker 2: I like a lot of what I'm hearing with the guys,
• 36:09
  Speaker 2: particularly your returners, but you bring some guys in. And
• 36:12
  Speaker 2: I want to kind of ask the same question that
• 36:13
  Speaker 2: I did with the offense because you've got now a
• 36:16
  Speaker 2: second-year defensive coordinator with Rashad Jackson. I know it was
• 36:19
  Speaker 2: kind of a late thing last year to get him in,
• 36:22
  Speaker 2: get this opportunity for him as the defensive coordinator, but
• 36:27
  Speaker 2: you had some big moments last year. How has it
• 36:30
  Speaker 2: been for him now settled into that defensive coordinator role?
• 36:33
  Speaker 4: Yeah, you know, it was a last-minute thing, and he
• 36:35
  Speaker 4: stepped into that role, and he's such a great leader
• 36:38
  Speaker 4: and just a great guy, and he didn't bat an eye.
• 36:43
  Speaker 4: He stepped in there and, you know, basically ran, you know,
• 36:46
  Speaker 4: the previous defense and did a good job with it,
• 36:49
  Speaker 4: and then he had the whole offseason to put in
• 36:51
  Speaker 4: what he was passionate about and what fit our guys,
• 36:54
  Speaker 4: and that's just how athletic they are, so I think
• 36:57
  Speaker 4: you'll see a lot of different fronts and Things that
• 37:00
  Speaker 4: may look a little different, but they're really the same
• 37:02
  Speaker 4: thing for our defense. And to try to utilize some
• 37:05
  Speaker 4: of those athletic guys and not just having four down linemen.
• 37:09
  Speaker 4: We can have four linebackers and bring them from different angles. So,
• 37:13
  Speaker 4: you know, being able to look... You know, difficult, but
• 37:16
  Speaker 4: it's really pretty simple for our guys.
• 37:18
  Speaker 2: I was going to ask, you know, I take a
• 37:20
  Speaker 2: look at the 2D. If I watch these guys in practice,
• 37:22
  Speaker 2: we've talked a little bit. Even just looking at the
• 37:25
  Speaker 2: depth chart, there are different names for positions just this
• 37:29
  Speaker 2: year alone. So what maybe year over year is going
• 37:34
  Speaker 2: to change? I'm not going to ask you to give
• 37:35
  Speaker 2: away the state secrets, but, you know, what differences do
• 37:38
  Speaker 2: you see in your defense scheme-wise this year?
• 37:41
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean, really it's just being able to go
• 37:44
  Speaker 4: from those different fronts. and use Deshaun Jackson as a linebacker,
• 37:49
  Speaker 4: but also use him as a defensive end.
• 37:51
  Speaker 3: We can use Justin Kalitsnik as a linebacker.
• 37:54
  Speaker 4: We can blitz him in certain gaps to basically do
• 37:57
  Speaker 4: what a defensive lineman would do. So I think those
• 38:00
  Speaker 4: guys are so multi-talented, and we look for that in recruiting.
• 38:04
  Speaker 4: We look for those hybrid guys, and then we build
• 38:07
  Speaker 4: our defense around– You know, you can use line stunts
• 38:11
  Speaker 4: if you don't have as big of a front and
• 38:13
  Speaker 4: use their athleticism to an advantage. So just being able
• 38:16
  Speaker 4: to do that and get guys in different gaps instead.
• 38:18
  Speaker 3: Of just lining them up.
• 38:19
  Speaker 4: You know, we don't have the size to just line up,
• 38:22
  Speaker 4: you know, maybe like a shepherd did where they just
• 38:24
  Speaker 4: line up and hold the A gap. You know, we're
• 38:26
  Speaker 4: going to move people around and kind of get different
• 38:29
  Speaker 4: people in those gaps.
• 38:30
  Speaker 2: Dante Harris is a unique guy out there. You don't
• 38:34
  Speaker 2: see guys that big that can move like he does
• 38:37
  Speaker 2: a whole lot in Division II football. And then you
• 38:39
  Speaker 2: put Keontavious on one side of him who was really
• 38:42
  Speaker 2: productive last year. And then you've got some younger guys
• 38:45
  Speaker 2: maybe in more of that true edge rusher position that
• 38:49
  Speaker 2: it seems like really are coming along and fighting for
• 38:51
  Speaker 2: reps up front. That's another thing that I've noticed in
• 38:54
  Speaker 2: these practices.
• 38:54
  Speaker 3: Yeah, a guy like Willie DeSantis, I guess he's a
• 38:58
  Speaker 3: true freshman.
• 38:58
  Speaker 4: He was at Fork Union, but he was here in
• 39:01
  Speaker 4: the spring. I mean, he's 6'3 or 6'4, really long arms.
• 39:04
  Speaker 4: He can play D-end. He can also play a three
• 39:07
  Speaker 4: technique or in the interior. You'll see Willie move into
• 39:10
  Speaker 4: the interior on some passing downs because he's a great
• 39:13
  Speaker 4: interior pass rusher. And then some of those young guys,
• 39:16
  Speaker 4: Otis Guyton, you're going to call his name on some sacks.
• 39:21
  Speaker 4: Extremely speedy guy off the edge. And Antonio Simpson. So
• 39:24
  Speaker 4: on third down, you're going to see those guys come
• 39:26
  Speaker 4: on the field they're tough off the edge DJ Harmon
• 39:31
  Speaker 4: is a linebacker that's going to make a splash as
• 39:34
  Speaker 4: a freshman but those guys they play with such their
• 39:38
  Speaker 4: pursuit is better than a lot of our older guys
• 39:41
  Speaker 4: they just fly to the football so they're fun to watch.
• 39:45
  Speaker 2: And then your corners, I think it's an interesting group
• 39:48
  Speaker 2: because there's a lot of turnover at corner. You mentioned
• 39:50
  Speaker 2: moving Greg Deloach into the back end, and you've got
• 39:53
  Speaker 2: new faces, but guys that it sounds like you're really
• 39:56
  Speaker 2: excited about. Quan Floyd is a guy that's just played
• 39:59
  Speaker 2: a lot of football. And the same goes for Lee Levingston,
• 40:02
  Speaker 2: who's another transfer into the program. But then you've got
• 40:04
  Speaker 2: some freshmen. You've already talked about Julian Whitfield that are
• 40:07
  Speaker 2: showing up early. Yeah.
• 40:09
  Speaker 4: And one of the things I heard coach Rod talk
• 40:10
  Speaker 4: about this, and this is something we did in the
• 40:12
  Speaker 4: transfer portal. We wanted to find guys that had been
• 40:15
  Speaker 4: starters in other programs, like not just try to get
• 40:18
  Speaker 4: a backup, you know, cause he's division one, like guys
• 40:21
  Speaker 4: that have experience playing college football. And that was Quan
• 40:24
  Speaker 4: Floyd and Lee Livingston. And, Quan was here in the spring.
• 40:27
  Speaker 4: He is all Yellow Jacket. I mean, he plays with effort.
• 40:31
  Speaker 4: He's got a great attitude. He does everything right off
• 40:34
  Speaker 4: the field. I mean, we love him, and he's our
• 40:37
  Speaker 4: cornerstone there at corner. And then Lee has been a
• 40:40
  Speaker 4: great guy that's come in and added some experience. And
• 40:42
  Speaker 4: Julian Whitfield is six foot, but he's probably the fastest
• 40:46
  Speaker 4: guy on the team.
• 40:46
  Speaker 3: So he's had a couple interceptions too.
• 40:48
  Speaker 4: He's been a playmaker back there, and him and Lee
• 40:51
  Speaker 4: will both get some burn there at corner.
• 40:53
  Speaker 2: Looks like a good group on defense. And then before
• 40:55
  Speaker 2: we take our last break, I have to talk special
• 40:58
  Speaker 2: teams with you because I know you're a special teams guy.
• 41:01
  Speaker 2: It's near and dear to your heart. Let's talk about
• 41:03
  Speaker 2: Alex Schrader. This year was a guy that came in,
• 41:07
  Speaker 2: won the punter's role for you a year ago. Now
• 41:10
  Speaker 2: he's going to be, it seems like, at the very least,
• 41:12
  Speaker 2: doing both for you to start the year.
• 41:14
  Speaker 3: Yeah, he won the battle with himself. He's doing all three.
• 41:18
  Speaker 4: So we have a couple other guys that can They
• 41:22
  Speaker 4: play other positions that can kick and punt, but we
• 41:25
  Speaker 4: knew Alex was going to be shouldering all three, kickoff,
• 41:28
  Speaker 4: field goal, and punt, and he's ready for that role.
• 41:32
  Speaker 4: He did an outstanding job as a true freshman and
• 41:35
  Speaker 4: was a highly recruited guy for us. He was a
• 41:37
  Speaker 4: big signee, and he's looked great. He crushes the ball
• 41:41
  Speaker 4: on kickoff. He's gotten, he's so, he's much improved on
• 41:44
  Speaker 4: his field goals and he's, you know, he was a
• 41:46
  Speaker 4: great punter last year, but Will Seitz, the long snapper
• 41:49
  Speaker 4: from Parkersburg.
• 41:50
  Speaker 2: I was going to say, was Will Seitz a long
• 41:52
  Speaker 2: snapper yet at this time last year?
• 41:54
  Speaker 4: I think this time was when he started long snapping
• 41:57
  Speaker 4: and he's never looked back and that's been his sole
• 42:00
  Speaker 4: role this season. And he was excited about, you know,
• 42:03
  Speaker 4: really embracing that and him and Alex work together every
• 42:05
  Speaker 4: day and Like Marshall Humphrey is the holder. He's that
• 42:09
  Speaker 4: glue guy that does everything. So those three do a
• 42:11
  Speaker 4: really good job. And Alex will be doing everything for us.
• 42:15
  Speaker 4: And not only that, he's been a leader. He's stepped up,
• 42:19
  Speaker 4: been more vocal, which is tough when you're only a
• 42:21
  Speaker 4: second-year guy. But they know when special teams are out there,
• 42:24
  Speaker 4: it's his show.
• 42:25
  Speaker 2: And then when you've got this many weapons on offense...
• 42:29
  Speaker 2: You've got guys that you can put back to return
• 42:30
  Speaker 2: punts and kicks, right?
• 42:31
  Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah. There's some talent back there to do the returning.
• 42:34
  Speaker 4: And the talent level, the freshman talent level is so high. Like,
• 42:39
  Speaker 4: those guys are going to be on a lot of
• 42:41
  Speaker 4: special teams. And, you know, we don't shy away. Justin
• 42:43
  Speaker 4: Pessoa is playing some special teams. Kalitsnik's playing special teams.
• 42:47
  Speaker 2: Keyshawn.
• 42:48
  Speaker 3: I mean, we're going to get some starters on some
• 42:50
  Speaker 3: special teams as well.
• 42:51
  Speaker 16: Well.
• 42:52
  Speaker 2: I like what I hear as far as personnel goes.
• 42:55
  Speaker 2: When you look at this team, what did you identify
• 42:59
  Speaker 2: maybe as places, either side of the ball, places coming
• 43:03
  Speaker 2: into the spring, maybe even into the summer and the fall,
• 43:07
  Speaker 2: that you wanted to shore up, and how do you
• 43:09
  Speaker 2: feel about what you did with that?
• 43:11
  Speaker 4: Really, it was just not having the experience on defense.
• 43:16
  Speaker 4: We got everyone in in the spring. It was really
• 43:19
  Speaker 4: about finding depth with some of those true freshmen.
• 43:22
  Speaker 3: We did need to find some experience depth at.
• 43:25
  Speaker 4: Corner, which Lee Livingston has provided for us. We always
• 43:31
  Speaker 4: want to continue to add weapons, so we added Osama,
• 43:34
  Speaker 4: a wide receiver. If you can get enough weapons out there,
• 43:37
  Speaker 4: then That'll take some heat off of those running backs
• 43:39
  Speaker 4: and that O-line. So that was really it, was find
• 43:42
  Speaker 4: one more weapon, which Osama was the guy, and then
• 43:45
  Speaker 4: to find some depth on the defensive side of the ball.
• 43:48
  Speaker 3: And the guys like D.J.
• 43:49
  Speaker 4: Harmon and Whitfield and Otis Guyton and Antonio Simpson, those
• 43:53
  Speaker 4: guys have really provided that.
• 43:54
  Speaker 8: All right.
• 43:54
  Speaker 2: Well, we are... Almost 45 minutes into the program, we
• 43:57
  Speaker 2: haven't talked about an opponent yet for week one. Shawan
• 44:00
  Speaker 2: coming to West Virginia State this Saturday. Again, that is
• 44:03
  Speaker 2: a noon kickoff. Pre-game coverage starts at 11.30 right here
• 44:07
  Speaker 2: on 107.3 The Beat. And just a reminder. We are
• 44:09
  Speaker 2: at the pitch at Shawnee. That is our home for
• 44:12
  Speaker 2: the John Pennington Show all season long, all the way
• 44:15
  Speaker 2: through the end of the campaign, 7 to 8 every
• 44:18
  Speaker 2: Wednesday night of a game week, and we will always
• 44:22
  Speaker 2: be excited to see you. It's Wing Wednesday, Dollar Wings,
• 44:25
  Speaker 2: and Dollar Off Draft Beer all the way through close
• 44:27
  Speaker 2: tonight here at the pitch. We're back to take a
• 44:30
  Speaker 2: look ahead to Saturday after this on the John Pennington Show.
• 44:33
  Speaker 2: This is 107.3 The Beat.
• 44:34
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  Speaker 17: In North Charleston. Back to the conversation.
• 48:41
  Speaker 1: The John Pennington Show is on.
• 48:43
  Speaker 8: 107.3 W.
• 48:46
  Speaker 2: Back for the final time here on the John Pennington
• 48:48
  Speaker 2: Show on 107.3 The Beat. I am Daniel Woods joined
• 48:51
  Speaker 2: by head coach John Pennington of the West Virginia State
• 48:54
  Speaker 2: football program here at the pitch at Shawnee. Talking West
• 48:58
  Speaker 2: Virginia State football just like we will be all season long.
• 49:01
  Speaker 2: 7 to 8 live here at the pitch every Wednesday
• 49:05
  Speaker 2: during West Virginia State football season and Coach, it's time.
• 49:08
  Speaker 2: It's game week. Let's talk a little bit about what's
• 49:10
  Speaker 2: going down on Saturday. You've got a Shawan team coming
• 49:13
  Speaker 2: in that comes from maybe a familiar place to a
• 49:17
  Speaker 2: team you've played the last couple of years. in Barton,
• 49:20
  Speaker 2: but obviously a totally different program, but still a head
• 49:25
  Speaker 2: coach that you're at the very least familiar with, with
• 49:28
  Speaker 2: Paul Johnson, who's a West Virginia guy, coached up the river,
• 49:32
  Speaker 2: and somebody that you certainly have seen over the years.
• 49:35
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I've known Paul for two decades. We're both from
• 49:38
  Speaker 3: West Virginia.
• 49:39
  Speaker 4: And so, you know, I've talked to him a couple
• 49:42
  Speaker 4: times this week, you know, trying to get things figured out.
• 49:44
  Speaker 3: But he's a good coach.
• 49:46
  Speaker 4: They'll be a well-coached team. They've also got Maverick Wolfley,
• 49:49
  Speaker 4: who was Dale Wolfley's son. And I know he'll do
• 49:53
  Speaker 4: an outstanding job with their special team. So we know
• 49:55
  Speaker 4: they're going to be well-coached. And they were four and
• 49:58
  Speaker 4: seven last year, but they– They were in that West
• 50:01
  Speaker 4: Florida conference, so they've got some really tough opponents. So
• 50:04
  Speaker 4: I think it's, you know, from last year, you know,
• 50:06
  Speaker 4: two pretty evenly matched teams, and, you know, it would
• 50:09
  Speaker 4: be a good litmus test for us on Saturday.
• 50:11
  Speaker 2: Well, you look at their offense, and you're kind of,
• 50:14
  Speaker 2: I don't want to say flying blind, but this is
• 50:16
  Speaker 2: a team in Shawan that replaces a lot of guys
• 50:20
  Speaker 2: on that offense. Four new starters on the offensive line.
• 50:23
  Speaker 2: New starting quarterback, new starting running back, some receivers that
• 50:27
  Speaker 2: are back, but maybe not a ton of production. Not
• 50:29
  Speaker 2: necessarily to get into their personnel, but when you have
• 50:32
  Speaker 2: a team coming in like that, game one with nine
• 50:36
  Speaker 2: or ten new starters that some of them you don't
• 50:38
  Speaker 2: probably have a whole lot of film on. What's that
• 50:40
  Speaker 2: like preparing for a team like that?
• 50:42
  Speaker 3: Well, I've got to give our assistant coaches a lot
• 50:44
  Speaker 3: of credit.
• 50:45
  Speaker 4: Ben McAllister and Corlin Witcher just digging up any film
• 50:49
  Speaker 4: they could find on transfers and stuff like that.
• 50:52
  Speaker 3: But we do know that they've got a great tight end, and.
• 50:55
  Speaker 4: We know that he's going to be involved, and a
• 50:57
  Speaker 4: lot of the offense is going to revolve around setting
• 51:01
  Speaker 4: things up for him or him being involved in the offense.
• 51:04
  Speaker 4: So we know that he's going to be involved, and
• 51:06
  Speaker 4: I know that Paul does a great job with their
• 51:09
  Speaker 4: run game, so... You know, definitely expecting some heavier personnels.
• 51:14
  Speaker 4: And that quarterback, you know, we got a lot of
• 51:16
  Speaker 4: film on him. I mean, he can throw the ball around. So,
• 51:19
  Speaker 4: you know, we don't know what the wide receivers are like,
• 51:21
  Speaker 4: but we know that it's going to go through their
• 51:23
  Speaker 4: tight end.
• 51:23
  Speaker 7: Right.
• 51:24
  Speaker 2: So you've got Tyler Adkins, who's the starting quarterback, has
• 51:26
  Speaker 2: been named there. Was Division III Conference Player of the
• 51:30
  Speaker 2: Year two years ago at Aurora. He's a guy that,
• 51:33
  Speaker 2: like you said, can throw it around. He's a capable runner.
• 51:37
  Speaker 2: The thing that you do notice a little bit on
• 51:40
  Speaker 2: paper is, in 15 starts, 21 games, he throws 23
• 51:45
  Speaker 2: interceptions and you've got some guys on that back end
• 51:47
  Speaker 2: that can fly around.
• 51:48
  Speaker 3: Yeah, we, we, we really harp, you know, takeaways.
• 51:51
  Speaker 4: I mean, that's been a huge emphasis always since coach
• 51:53
  Speaker 4: Jackson's taken over and we, we practice it and rep
• 51:56
  Speaker 4: it all the time.
• 51:57
  Speaker 3: So we're hoping to get a couple.
• 51:58
  Speaker 4: Of those and you know, you, you, you get in,
• 52:00
  Speaker 4: you get in your zones, you can get some tip
• 52:02
  Speaker 4: balls and things like that and get some pressure on them.
• 52:04
  Speaker 3: But You know, he can throw it.
• 52:06
  Speaker 4: And I know there's no way that any team in
• 52:09
  Speaker 4: the country hit their quarterbacks as much as we did.
• 52:12
  Speaker 4: We go live with those guys a lot. Now, we're
• 52:15
  Speaker 4: not doing that this week. But Coach Cab, he wants
• 52:18
  Speaker 4: those guys to be playing real football. So we've got
• 52:21
  Speaker 4: some athletes back there, and our defense has been chasing
• 52:24
  Speaker 4: them around for weeks.
• 52:25
  Speaker 3: So I think they'll be at least used to that.
• 52:27
  Speaker 3: They're not going to pull up.
• 52:28
  Speaker 4: They're not going to pull up, and they're not just
• 52:29
  Speaker 4: going to run blind. That guy's going to stand there
• 52:32
  Speaker 4: and let him hit him. So we're used to it
• 52:35
  Speaker 4: a little bit. We know how to get the guy,
• 52:37
  Speaker 4: get on that guy. So we're hoping to get some–
• 52:41
  Speaker 4: hits on the quarterback legally and and try to you
• 52:44
  Speaker 4: know ruffle his feathers a little bit but the main
• 52:47
  Speaker 4: thing is we got to stop number nine.
• 52:48
  Speaker 2: Sure and that's Desmond Randolph the the tight end who
• 52:51
  Speaker 2: was second team all-conference last year for this Shawan team
• 52:55
  Speaker 2: it all goes through the tight end for this offense
• 52:58
  Speaker 2: on defense this is where they have some more guys
• 53:00
  Speaker 2: back yeah a few talented guys that were all-conference last
• 53:04
  Speaker 2: year you've got Daryl Harris in the back end Malachi
• 53:07
  Speaker 2: Howell up front. And interestingly enough, also on that defensive line,
• 53:11
  Speaker 2: a guy you saw last year at Concord, Jaden Acevedo
• 53:15
  Speaker 2: comes over. So this is a group that, like the offense,
• 53:18
  Speaker 2: doesn't have a ton of starters back, but those core
• 53:20
  Speaker 2: guys are really talented.
• 53:21
  Speaker 3: Yeah, Malachi, number three, is a great player.
• 53:26
  Speaker 4: It's going to be a fun matchup to watch him
• 53:28
  Speaker 4: and Dalton Hall when you do get them on the
• 53:30
  Speaker 4: same side. If you're a football junkie, you want to
• 53:34
  Speaker 4: watch when our left tackle is lined up against number
• 53:36
  Speaker 4: three because that's going to be fun.
• 53:38
  Speaker 3: They've got a great linebacker, Cameron Richardson, number zero. And
• 53:43
  Speaker 3: they've got talent. They've got length. They've got talent.
• 53:46
  Speaker 4: It's certainly a really good defense with a lot of
• 53:50
  Speaker 4: guys returning compared to their offense. So we have a
• 53:52
  Speaker 4: little bit better idea. But they've got a new coordinator.
• 53:55
  Speaker 4: It was their D-line coach last year. So you don't
• 53:58
  Speaker 4: know if you're going to get the exact same thing.
• 54:01
  Speaker 4: So for us, it's been more focused on what we
• 54:03
  Speaker 4: do and executing against going against our defense.
• 54:07
  Speaker 2: And then before we get out of here, it's game week.
• 54:10
  Speaker 2: Football is back at Institute. Football is back at Dickerson Stadium.
• 54:13
  Speaker 2: And what is the feeling like now? Three days away,
• 54:17
  Speaker 2: really less than three days away from kicking things off
• 54:19
  Speaker 2: on Saturday.
• 54:20
  Speaker 4: I mean, you can feel it in the air at practice.
• 54:22
  Speaker 4: I mean, it's gotten a little chippier. You know, guys
• 54:25
  Speaker 4: know that it's... They want to hit somebody else. Yes,
• 54:27
  Speaker 4: they're playing for keeps and they're sick of hitting each other.
• 54:29
  Speaker 4: But I think this team, you know, they've been in
• 54:33
  Speaker 4: our program so long, like, you can coach them so hard. Like,
• 54:36
  Speaker 4: we can just continuously raise the standard. We don't have
• 54:39
  Speaker 4: to try to sugarcoat anything. We can just let them
• 54:42
  Speaker 4: know that, you know, hey, we expect more, we expect more.
• 54:45
  Speaker 4: And all they do is take the coaching and keep
• 54:47
  Speaker 4: trying to get better. So they've been a fun group
• 54:49
  Speaker 4: to coach, especially those older guys. When you can coach
• 54:53
  Speaker 4: Dalton Hall and Pessoa and Keyshawn Washington, I can scream
• 54:57
  Speaker 4: at them until I'm red in the face. And they're
• 55:00
  Speaker 4: going to do this. They're going to say, I got you, coach.
• 55:02
  Speaker 4: I'm going to keep chopping. I'm going to keep moving forward.
• 55:04
  Speaker 4: And that always makes it a lot easier as a coach.
• 55:07
  Speaker 4: So you're going to see a team that plays with emotion,
• 55:11
  Speaker 4: hopefully not emotional. They just play with passion because they
• 55:14
  Speaker 4: love Being Yellow Jackets, they really want to do something
• 55:18
  Speaker 4: special here, and you're going to see those guys play
• 55:20
  Speaker 4: with a lot.
• 55:21
  Speaker 3: Of passion, so it'll be fun to watch.
• 55:22
  Speaker 2: And then you kind of take a step back, look
• 55:24
  Speaker 2: at the Mountaineers as a whole this year. I know
• 55:26
  Speaker 2: you don't put a lot of stock in preseason polls,
• 55:28
  Speaker 2: but you're picked for the three teams ahead of you.
• 55:31
  Speaker 2: You've got a Frostburg State team that went to the
• 55:33
  Speaker 2: quarterfinals last year, has a ton back. They're ranked in
• 55:35
  Speaker 2: the top 25. You've got the team up the river
• 55:38
  Speaker 2: that I know you want some revenge on. You always
• 55:41
  Speaker 2: look forward to that game. And then a Fairmont State
• 55:43
  Speaker 2: team that you beat last year. But even beyond that,
• 55:46
  Speaker 2: you've got Wheeling Fifth. You've got other programs like Glenville State,
• 55:50
  Speaker 2: West Liberty that have first-year head coaches. Same goes for
• 55:53
  Speaker 2: a West Virginia Wesleyan team that I know you know well.
• 55:56
  Speaker 2: The Mountaineers Conference, at least to me, you look at
• 55:58
  Speaker 2: it on paper, you've got a much higher floor in
• 56:01
  Speaker 2: the league this year, and then you've got teams in
• 56:03
  Speaker 2: that upper echelon fighting out for that conference title that
• 56:07
  Speaker 2: obviously you want to be in that conversation, and I
• 56:09
  Speaker 2: think you are. This is, I think, going to be
• 56:12
  Speaker 2: a great year for Mountaineers football.
• 56:13
  Speaker 4: Yeah, Paul Johnson mentioned that to me when I talked
• 56:15
  Speaker 4: to him, just how much better the Mountaineese looks overall.
• 56:19
  Speaker 4: There's a lot of great teams, but that's out of
• 56:21
  Speaker 4: our control.
• 56:22
  Speaker 3: Right, exactly.
• 56:24
  Speaker 4: I want to be the best at whatever I'm doing,
• 56:26
  Speaker 4: and I want our players to want to be the best.
• 56:28
  Speaker 4: I want to be the best father. I want to
• 56:29
  Speaker 4: be the best husband. I want to be the best coach.
• 56:31
  Speaker 4: And there's nothing that's going to satisfy me unless we
• 56:36
  Speaker 4: are operating at that level all the time. So that's
• 56:40
  Speaker 4: the standard that we've set, and the standard is the standard.
• 56:43
  Speaker 3: As we've said all camp.
• 56:45
  Speaker 4: So we're going to continue to hold those guys to
• 56:46
  Speaker 4: a high level as far as how they are in meetings,
• 56:49
  Speaker 4: how they are off the field, and how they are
• 56:51
  Speaker 4: as a family. And we're definitely not going to be
• 56:54
  Speaker 4: satisfied until we look up and the scoreboard says zero,
• 56:57
  Speaker 4: and hopefully we're on top.
• 56:58
  Speaker 2: What are you looking forward to seeing from this team
• 57:01
  Speaker 2: the most when you get out there on the field?
• 57:03
  Speaker 2: Noon hits on Saturday. Alex Schrader's foot hits the ball.
• 57:07
  Speaker 2: Are you sending Tony Richardson back for that opening kickoff?
• 57:10
  Speaker 4: Just watching them have fun playing a game. It's such
• 57:13
  Speaker 4: a great game, and sometimes it can get job-like. So
• 57:19
  Speaker 4: just watching them go out there and play the game
• 57:21
  Speaker 4: they love and see them.
• 57:23
  Speaker 3: Celebrate with each other after big plays.
• 57:27
  Speaker 4: Instead of just constantly grinding on them in practice. Just
• 57:31
  Speaker 4: watching them kind of come out of their shell and
• 57:33
  Speaker 4: do what they love to do in front of their
• 57:35
  Speaker 4: families and in front of our crowd.
• 57:36
  Speaker 3: I mean, I can't wait to watch it.
• 57:38
  Speaker 2: I'm really excited for this Saturday. And again, that game
• 57:41
  Speaker 2: will be right here on 107.3 The Beat. Noon kickoff,
• 57:44
  Speaker 2: West Virginia State and Shawan. That means pregame coverage with myself.
• 57:48
  Speaker 2: And I have failed to mention my broadcast partner for
• 57:51
  Speaker 2: this season, who is here with us at the pitch.
• 57:54
  Speaker 2: Hollis Lewis is going to be... Joining the family for
• 57:56
  Speaker 2: the broadcast this year. Very excited to have him alongside.
• 57:59
  Speaker 2: You can join Hollis and myself starting this Saturday at
• 58:02
  Speaker 2: 1130 for pregame coverage. Kickoff at noon. And, Coach, I
• 58:06
  Speaker 2: know that's a guy that you're excited to have around
• 58:08
  Speaker 2: the program, too. Yeah, you couldn't have picked.
• 58:09
  Speaker 3: A better guy. I mean, I wish he was throwing
• 58:12
  Speaker 3: me some passes out there.
• 58:13
  Speaker 2: That only happened a few times, right?
• 58:16
  Speaker 4: Yeah, we probably still got a 25 pass in us. But, uh, no,
• 58:21
  Speaker 4: he's one of my best friends. I've known him for decades.
• 58:23
  Speaker 4: He's a, and he's a diehard yellow jacket fan and
• 58:26
  Speaker 4: a big supporter of West Virginia state.
• 58:28
  Speaker 3: And he knows the game of football.
• 58:29
  Speaker 4: So, uh, when me and him get together, I don't
• 58:31
  Speaker 4: think anyone else likes being around us watching the game.
• 58:34
  Speaker 4: Cause we get into the, get into the weeds a
• 58:36
  Speaker 4: little bit. So people are going to have fun here
• 58:38
  Speaker 4: in his perspective.
• 58:39
  Speaker 2: I'm looking forward to it. We're excited to have him alongside. And, uh, Well,
• 58:42
  Speaker 2: we're just about out of time here. I'm excited to
• 58:44
  Speaker 2: do this 10 more times. This has been some fun.
• 58:46
  Speaker 4: Yeah, and I'm excited to bring some guests on and
• 58:48
  Speaker 4: let everyone hear some of these guys that I speak
• 58:51
  Speaker 4: so highly of and let them get to know them
• 58:53
  Speaker 4: a little bit.
• 58:53
  Speaker 2: Yeah, looking forward to a whole season of the John
• 58:56
  Speaker 2: Pennington Show here on 107.3 The Beat here live from
• 58:59
  Speaker 2: the pitch at Shawnee. We will be here every Wednesday
• 59:03
  Speaker 2: night during the season from 7 until 8. Every single
• 59:07
  Speaker 2: show is Wing Wednesday. That is $ 1 Wings. and $ 1
• 59:10
  Speaker 2: off draft beer here at the Pitch at Shawnee. Big
• 59:13
  Speaker 2: thanks to the folks here at the Pitch. Big thanks
• 59:15
  Speaker 2: to everybody listening at home. Big thanks to everybody that
• 59:18
  Speaker 2: came out tonight. And big thanks to the head coach
• 59:20
  Speaker 2: of the West Virginia State Yellow Jackets, John Pennington. For him,
• 59:23
  Speaker 2: for Woody Woods at the controls back on Virginia Street,
• 59:26
  Speaker 2: I am Daniel Woods. Saying so long, this has been
• 59:29
  Speaker 2: the John Pennington Show, week one on 107.3 The Beats.
• 59:33
  Speaker 1: Thanks for listening to the John Pennington Show, live from
• 59:37
  Speaker 1: the pitch at Shawnee. 107.3 The Beat is the exclusive
• 59:41
  Speaker 1: home of the John Pennington Show and West Virginia State
• 59:45
  Speaker 1: Yellow Jacket Football. Join us every Wednesday night at the
• 59:48
  Speaker 1: pitch from 7 to 8 p.m. as we go inside
• 59:51
  Speaker 1: the game with head coach John Pennington.