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The John Pennington Show – Overtime Win at Wheeling, Offensive Coordinator Matt Cavallaro, and Monroe Preview · The John Pennington Show

• 0:12
  Speaker 1: It's time for the John Pennington Show live from the
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: pitch at Shawnee. Your weekly look inside the West Virginia
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: State Yellow Jackets. Join us all season long at the
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: pitch to break down Yellow Jacket football like nobody else
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: does with West Virginia State Head Coach John Pennington. Now,
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: live from the pitch at Shawnee with Coach Pennington, here's
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: Daniel Woods.
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: It's another edition of the John Pennington Show on your
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: Wednesday here on 107.3 The Beat as the West Virginia
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: State Yellow Jackets play their final non-conference game of the season.
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: Coming up this Saturday, we'll dive into the matchup with
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: Monroe this Saturday with head coach John Pennington here in
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: just a little bit. We've got a special guest coming
• 0:55
  Speaker 2: along with offensive coordinator Matt Cavallara as well. And we
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: will talk to him. We will talk about this West
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: Virginia State offense. We'll talk about all the things going
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: down at West Virginia State, of course.
• 1:04
  Speaker 3: But.
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: I will introduce the man whose name is on the
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: title of the show. That's the head coach of West
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: Virginia State football, John Pennington. And coach, we're a little
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: bit happier on this Wednesday because it's a victory week.
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: It's a victory Wednesday, so to speak. I post highlights
• 1:19
  Speaker 2: on Victory Monday. Haven't talked to you since the game
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: against Wheeling on Saturday, but it's a victory Wednesday.
• 1:24
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I thought you were going to say we're happy
• 1:25
  Speaker 4: because we just crushed some wings.
• 1:26
  Speaker 5: We did do that as well. It's wing Wednesday here
• 1:28
  Speaker 5: at the pitch.
• 1:29
  Speaker 4: No, it feels great to get in the wing column.
• 1:32
  Speaker 3: I was really proud of our team, the effort that
• 1:35
  Speaker 3: they played with, the way that they battled all week
• 1:38
  Speaker 3: in practice.
• 1:39
  Speaker 4: On Saturday, they.
• 1:40
  Speaker 3: Played with crazy effort, and they really earned that victory.
• 1:46
  Speaker 3: It wasn't pretty all the time, but you're on the road.
• 1:49
  Speaker 4: It's homecoming, outwheeling.
• 1:51
  Speaker 3: They've got a good team, and for us to bounce
• 1:53
  Speaker 3: back after a couple of hard weeks, back-to-back-to-back, Just was
• 1:58
  Speaker 3: really proud of the– not just the players, but the.
• 2:00
  Speaker 4: Staff, everybody.
• 2:01
  Speaker 3: There was– you know, everybody was locked in, you know,
• 2:03
  Speaker 3: stayed together, kept trying to move forward. And, you know,
• 2:07
  Speaker 3: we put some things together and made some plays and
• 2:10
  Speaker 3: got a win, especially there at the– you know, walk-off
• 2:12
  Speaker 3: victory was– It was a nice way to get off
• 2:14
  Speaker 3: the schneid.
• 2:15
  Speaker 2: So a 30-24 win in overtime against Wheeling on Saturday.
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: To go to 2-5 on the season, like you said,
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: it was Wheeling's homecoming.
• 2:22
  Speaker 5: Great crowd.
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: Hollis Lewis and I were outside for the broadcast, which
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: was always enjoyable with the cold snap that we had
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: this weekend. But big shout-out to the folks at Wheeling
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: for the way they accommodated us. First class experience as always,
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: and it's always nice to walk out of a situation
• 2:37
  Speaker 2: like that with a win. So you look back on
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: this performance. You've taken a couple days to look at
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: the film. What stands out about what your guys did
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: to end that losing streak on Saturday?
• 2:47
  Speaker 3: I mean, I think we played sound, you know, really
• 2:50
  Speaker 3: smart football. I mean, we had a controlled run game.
• 2:54
  Speaker 3: It wasn't the best we've run the football, but we
• 2:56
  Speaker 3: had a good run plan. You know, we made some
• 3:00
  Speaker 3: critical plays on offense that, you know, that led to points.
• 3:04
  Speaker 3: I think, you know, the defense played with outstanding effort.
• 3:08
  Speaker 3: I mean, they were hitting, they were flying around, got
• 3:10
  Speaker 3: some critical stops, you know, throughout the game. And then just,
• 3:14
  Speaker 3: you know, in overtime, both sides of the ball did
• 3:16
  Speaker 3: an excellent job. You know, we did a good job
• 3:20
  Speaker 3: at the end of the first half, you know, almost
• 3:22
  Speaker 3: had that. And then right before the end of the,
• 3:24
  Speaker 3: I don't know if it was halftime, what was that
• 3:26
  Speaker 3: V route to A1?
• 3:27
  Speaker 4: It was the end of the game.
• 3:28
  Speaker 3: Yeah, we almost had the touchdown on the Hail Mary
• 3:31
  Speaker 3: to A1 at the very end of the game. So,
• 3:34
  Speaker 3: I mean, I think there was some really good, you know,
• 3:37
  Speaker 3: in-game situational plays on top of the effort, on top
• 3:41
  Speaker 3: of a, you know, if you go on the road
• 3:43
  Speaker 3: against a good team, like, you're going to have to
• 3:45
  Speaker 3: be able to run the ball, you know, not make mistakes,
• 3:49
  Speaker 3: which we didn't turn the ball over on offense, and
• 3:51
  Speaker 3: and then capitalize on their mistakes, which.
• 3:54
  Speaker 5: We were able to do.
• 3:55
  Speaker 2: Second consecutive start for Joe Daly at quarterback since Caleb
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: Jackson went down, and gritty is the word that came
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: to mind for what Joe gave you on Saturday. Close
• 4:03
  Speaker 2: to 200 yards passing, ended up as your leading rusher,
• 4:06
  Speaker 2: made some big throws when you needed it, and I
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: think at times took a beating, but man, did he
• 4:11
  Speaker 2: just keep coming at that wheeling defense.
• 4:14
  Speaker 3: Yeah, he made some huge plays, got out of a
• 4:18
  Speaker 3: pass rush, and uh, hit Malik Leggett at least once,
• 4:22
  Speaker 3: maybe twice.
• 4:22
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 4:23
  Speaker 3: And then, um, you know, he made some throws while,
• 4:25
  Speaker 3: while taking a shot and, uh, I thought he managed
• 4:28
  Speaker 3: the game well. I mean, he ran the ball well and, uh,
• 4:30
  Speaker 3: you know, he didn't, didn't turn it over.
• 4:31
  Speaker 4: He made some, there was some big throws, uh.
• 4:33
  Speaker 3: That he made in, uh, I know there was one
• 4:35
  Speaker 3: to Amari, um, you know, just kind of touched the
• 4:38
  Speaker 3: ball over a defender's head. Amari made a great catch
• 4:40
  Speaker 3: on it, but He made some great plays. He had
• 4:43
  Speaker 3: a knockdown on that reverse. That's kind of what Joe
• 4:46
  Speaker 3: gives you. He's a physical football player. He's not just
• 4:50
  Speaker 3: a quarterback, per se. He's a football player, and I
• 4:53
  Speaker 3: think that's what showed up on Saturday.
• 4:55
  Speaker 2: Hollis, on the broadcast with me, always talks about when
• 4:57
  Speaker 2: you've got Joe in there, you're playing 11-on-11 football. I
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: think that is the best way to define what he
• 5:03
  Speaker 2: gives you out there on the field. But to talk
• 5:06
  Speaker 2: about what your defense did, I mean, that's a Wheeling
• 5:08
  Speaker 2: team that is really talented and has a lot of
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: guys that can hurt you. And outside of really the
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: first drive of the game and then the drive that
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: tied it for Wheeling, which was a 16-play, 8-minute drive,
• 5:25
  Speaker 2: I thought your defense just went out there and made
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: plays where it needed to, none bigger, obviously, than the
• 5:30
  Speaker 2: stop they got in overtime.
• 5:32
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, they got, you know, that quarterback is
• 5:34
  Speaker 3: a fifth-year guy, great player. They got a good O-line,
• 5:37
  Speaker 3: good run game. And, you know, obviously we heard the
• 5:40
  Speaker 3: noise from the previous game about the pass defense.
• 5:43
  Speaker 4: And, you know, that's a tough pill to swallow all week.
• 5:46
  Speaker 3: But I thought, you know, Coach Jack and our defensive players,
• 5:50
  Speaker 3: you know, put a good plan together and, you know,
• 5:52
  Speaker 3: just went up, you know, didn't let any, didn't worry
• 5:54
  Speaker 3: about the pass, didn't worry about, you know, what may
• 5:55
  Speaker 3: or may not happen. They just went up there and executed.
• 5:57
  Speaker 3: But it was the effort. I already mentioned to you
• 5:59
  Speaker 3: that we were in punt safe. on that botched snap
• 6:03
  Speaker 3: by them. Normally on punt safe, those guys don't really rush.
• 6:07
  Speaker 3: The defense is kind of happy to get off the field.
• 6:09
  Speaker 4: It's fair catch the ball.
• 6:10
  Speaker 3: But Eric McGuire and a handful of guys came after
• 6:13
  Speaker 3: it anyway, and they got a bad snap and ended up.
• 6:17
  Speaker 4: I don't think they actually blocked the punt. I think
• 6:18
  Speaker 4: they just smoked the punter.
• 6:19
  Speaker 5: He never kicked the football.
• 6:22
  Speaker 4: Yeah, we're going to have to work on that.
• 6:23
  Speaker 3: Fiala's scoop and score ability, but I think that summed
• 6:28
  Speaker 3: up the effort. A play that you're not typically going
• 6:30
  Speaker 3: to see crazy effort on, those guys were just playing hard.
• 6:35
  Speaker 3: I think if you do that as a defense, you're
• 6:36
  Speaker 3: going to give yourself a chance nine times out of ten,
• 6:39
  Speaker 3: and then just shutting down the pass game, which we
• 6:42
  Speaker 3: have not done all year, and that was really, I think,
• 6:45
  Speaker 3: the deciding factor on that side of the ball.
• 6:46
  Speaker 2: Absolutely, and then obviously I would have to imagine long
• 6:50
  Speaker 2: bus ride home felt a whole lot better.
• 6:53
  Speaker 5: After a win. Yeah.
• 6:55
  Speaker 3: I mean, it's, it's hard, it's hard to put into
• 6:56
  Speaker 3: words what a loss does to you as a human being.
• 6:59
  Speaker 4: Uh, it, it really, uh, it, it, you feel it
• 7:02
  Speaker 4: in your soul. Like you feel like you let people down.
• 7:05
  Speaker 3: You feel like, uh, you know, that you're not doing
• 7:07
  Speaker 3: things good enough. And then after a win, you know,
• 7:09
  Speaker 3: you just feel that relief of like, all right, you know, I, I,
• 7:12
  Speaker 3: we did our job. Uh, you know, you see the
• 7:15
  Speaker 3: watching the players celebrate after the game and hearing them
• 7:17
  Speaker 3: celebrate in the locker room. Like I could have sat
• 7:19
  Speaker 3: and listened to that for hours, just seeing our guys, uh,
• 7:22
  Speaker 3: you know, celebrating and feeling good, you know, after a
• 7:25
  Speaker 3: victory was... That was something that'll kind of be sketched
• 7:29
  Speaker 3: into my memory for a long time.
• 7:30
  Speaker 2: All right, and then you transition that into another game week.
• 7:34
  Speaker 5: You've got Monroe coming up on Saturday.
• 7:36
  Speaker 2: What has that momentum looked like now rolling into the
• 7:40
  Speaker 2: next couple of practices?
• 7:41
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, we tried to Sunday just put that
• 7:44
  Speaker 3: game to bed quickly. I think our coaching staff has
• 7:48
  Speaker 3: been on our guys. We've been maybe on them a
• 7:51
  Speaker 3: little harder than normal. They're pretty locked in, got to win,
• 7:53
  Speaker 3: so they're They're eager to listen and learn, so we've
• 7:57
  Speaker 3: been coaching them hard. Reynolds talked about it last week,
• 8:02
  Speaker 3: but just that six-second mantra of just let go of
• 8:06
  Speaker 3: the past, quit worrying about the future, just win every snap,
• 8:10
  Speaker 3: win six seconds.
• 8:11
  Speaker 4: We're six seconds away. Our guys really bought into that.
• 8:15
  Speaker 3: And that's kind of been the message all week as
• 8:17
  Speaker 3: far as just don't worry about anything else, just win
• 8:20
  Speaker 3: right now. Win the meeting, win the practice, win the rep.
• 8:23
  Speaker 3: And our guys are kind of sinking their teeth into that.
• 8:25
  Speaker 3: I thought we had a really good, you know, it's
• 8:27
  Speaker 3: homecoming for women's soccer. So they were out there playing
• 8:31
  Speaker 3: really well.
• 8:31
  Speaker 4: So shout out to Jake Edwards. Absolutely.
• 8:33
  Speaker 3: It was fun to see that, see them get a
• 8:35
  Speaker 3: couple goals. But I thought it was, you know, we
• 8:37
  Speaker 3: had a shorter practice because we had to get in
• 8:39
  Speaker 3: on and off the field. And I thought our guys,
• 8:41
  Speaker 3: they were having fun. They seemed to be enjoying themselves.
• 8:43
  Speaker 3: We got a lot of work done. We'll check out
• 8:46
  Speaker 3: the film. It's never as good as you think or
• 8:49
  Speaker 3: never as bad as you think. But I just thought
• 8:51
  Speaker 3: it was a good focus. Coaches were coaching hard. Players
• 8:54
  Speaker 3: were taking coaching. And it seemed like they were just
• 8:57
  Speaker 3: enjoying being out there playing ball. So hopefully that correlates
• 8:59
  Speaker 3: to some good execution on Saturday.
• 9:01
  Speaker 5: I certainly like the sound of that.
• 9:02
  Speaker 2: Again, Monroe coming up this Saturday for West Virginia State
• 9:06
  Speaker 2: as the Yellow Jackets take on the Mustangs. Final non-conference
• 9:09
  Speaker 2: game of the season for West Virginia State. We'll get
• 9:11
  Speaker 2: into the preview of that here in just a little bit.
• 9:13
  Speaker 2: Another reminder, it's Wing Wednesday. Here at the pitch, every
• 9:16
  Speaker 2: time we're out here for the John Pennington Show, that
• 9:18
  Speaker 2: means dollar wings, traditional and boneless, all the way up
• 9:21
  Speaker 2: until close, as well as dollar off all draft beer.
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  Speaker 2: You do not want to miss out on this. You
• 9:25
  Speaker 2: don't want to miss out on the West Virginia State
• 9:27
  Speaker 2: football talk as well. When we come back, we'll bring
• 9:30
  Speaker 2: the offensive coordinator, Matt Cavallaro, into the conversation. Because this
• 9:35
  Speaker 2: West Virginia State team, we've talked a lot about the defense,
• 9:38
  Speaker 2: it seems, as this year has gone on. And we
• 9:40
  Speaker 2: want to talk about the offense a little bit as well.
• 9:42
  Speaker 5: He's up next. This is the John Pennington Show on 107.3
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  Speaker 1: Back to the conversation. The John Pennington Show is on.
• 14:13
  Speaker 10: 107.3 The Beat.
• 14:16
  Speaker 5: It's 107.3 The Beat.
• 14:17
  Speaker 2: It's the John Pennington Show coming your way on another
• 14:20
  Speaker 2: Wednesday night, getting you ready for West Virginia State and Monroe.
• 14:24
  Speaker 2: coming up this Saturday, and that's a noon kickoff here
• 14:26
  Speaker 2: on the beat. Pre-game coverage starts at 11.30, so you're
• 14:29
  Speaker 2: not going to want to miss out on the action
• 14:31
  Speaker 2: here on the beat. Of course, West Virginia State coming
• 14:34
  Speaker 2: off of a win Saturday against Wheeling, and it is
• 14:36
  Speaker 2: Wing Wednesday here at the pitch. Dollar Wings, Dollar Off
• 14:39
  Speaker 2: Draft Beer, all the way up until close at 9 o'clock.
• 14:41
  Speaker 2: We're here until 8, talking West Virginia State football, and
• 14:44
  Speaker 2: we're going to bring in the offensive coordinator, Matt Cavallaro,
• 14:47
  Speaker 2: for the first time this season, because like I said,
• 14:50
  Speaker 2: we've had Coach Jackson, we've had Coach Reynolds, we've had,
• 14:55
  Speaker 2: seems like a whole bunch of people from defense.
• 14:56
  Speaker 5: Let's talk about the offense a little bit. So first
• 14:59
  Speaker 5: of all, thanks for making the time for us.
• 15:01
  Speaker 15: Yeah, thanks for having me.
• 15:02
  Speaker 2: So let's talk a little bit about what you saw
• 15:05
  Speaker 2: from this offense on Saturday.
• 15:06
  Speaker 5: Obviously, you are in charge of the quarterbacks.
• 15:10
  Speaker 2: You've had to move guys around a good bit this year,
• 15:13
  Speaker 2: but Joe Daly makes his third start of the season,
• 15:16
  Speaker 2: second in a row.
• 15:17
  Speaker 5: What did he show you on Saturday?
• 15:19
  Speaker 15: Yeah, I was excited about how he played. I think
• 15:21
  Speaker 15: he's improved every time he's been on the field. And
• 15:24
  Speaker 15: like you guys talked about, he's just a great guy.
• 15:26
  Speaker 15: He plays really hard. It's not always going to be perfect,
• 15:30
  Speaker 15: but he's going to make things right, and he's not
• 15:32
  Speaker 15: afraid of anything out there. So he's going to play hard.
• 15:35
  Speaker 15: He's going to run through people. He's going to block people. Really,
• 15:39
  Speaker 15: whatever he's got to do to help us have success
• 15:42
  Speaker 15: out there, he's going to do.
• 15:43
  Speaker 2: As far as what you saw from the offense as
• 15:46
  Speaker 2: a whole on Saturday, I know you obviously got creative sometimes.
• 15:50
  Speaker 5: You had seven-minute drives sometimes.
• 15:54
  Speaker 2: What necessarily stood out about the performance you got across
• 15:58
  Speaker 2: the board with that one?
• 16:00
  Speaker 15: I would say it's similar to what I said about Joe.
• 16:02
  Speaker 15: I thought we played hard. We didn't play our best
• 16:04
  Speaker 15: as an offense that game, but we played hard throughout
• 16:07
  Speaker 15: the entire game. We found different ways to execute, get
• 16:11
  Speaker 15: first downs, score in the red zone, whether it's touchdowns
• 16:14
  Speaker 15: or field goals, and just continue to make plays and
• 16:17
  Speaker 15: finish the football game. That's what I was really excited
• 16:20
  Speaker 15: about for them. We struggled a little bit in the
• 16:24
  Speaker 15: second half. We had limited possessions, but I thought we
• 16:27
  Speaker 15: took advantage of just being able to finish and Our
• 16:30
  Speaker 15: defense did a great job, too, so having them play well,
• 16:33
  Speaker 15: and especially in the second half and in overtime, getting
• 16:36
  Speaker 15: a stop and just letting us go out there and
• 16:37
  Speaker 15: finish it was really good to see.
• 16:39
  Speaker 2: All right, let's talk a little bit more big picture.
• 16:42
  Speaker 2: I'll question that to both of you, kind of similar
• 16:44
  Speaker 2: to the conversation we had with Rashad Jackson when he
• 16:46
  Speaker 2: was on the show. When you're going into the offseason,
• 16:50
  Speaker 2: after what you saw last year, where were the priorities
• 16:53
  Speaker 2: for putting this offense together and where you needed to add,
• 16:57
  Speaker 2: where you saw guys stepping up? What did that first
• 16:59
  Speaker 2: conversation kind of look.
• 17:00
  Speaker 15: Like going from last season to this season you're saying
• 17:03
  Speaker 15: yeah um yeah i think it it was kind of
• 17:07
  Speaker 15: it starts as a whole right i think you look
• 17:09
  Speaker 15: back at what you did well as an offense uh
• 17:12
  Speaker 15: where we were consistent at where we were explosive and
• 17:14
  Speaker 15: then kind of where we struggled i think you got
• 17:17
  Speaker 15: to start with up front and say you know who's
• 17:19
  Speaker 15: coming back and what can we do in the run
• 17:21
  Speaker 15: game and pass protection and And then it goes to
• 17:24
  Speaker 15: backs and quarterbacks. And then what do we have out
• 17:26
  Speaker 15: at the skill position? So I think we were confident
• 17:29
  Speaker 15: coming into the season that we had really good players
• 17:31
  Speaker 15: at a bunch of different positions. And it was just
• 17:33
  Speaker 15: kind of how do we get the best 11 guys
• 17:35
  Speaker 15: on the field for each snap for us to have success.
• 17:39
  Speaker 2: And from the head coach's perspective, you know, what do
• 17:41
  Speaker 2: you go into that conversation kind of looking for?
• 17:44
  Speaker 3: You know, kind of similar to what Cab said, like
• 17:47
  Speaker 3: just looking at our personnel and What is their skill set?
• 17:52
  Speaker 3: You want to kind of match the schematics to what
• 17:57
  Speaker 3: your guys do well. Like Cap said, it starts with
• 18:00
  Speaker 3: the O-line. What kind of run scheme can we run
• 18:03
  Speaker 3: and be successful with? We knew we had a lot
• 18:06
  Speaker 3: of running backs coming back. We knew we had some
• 18:09
  Speaker 3: skill outside. I think the biggest thing we talked about
• 18:11
  Speaker 3: in the summer was how do we all get these
• 18:14
  Speaker 3: guys the ball and get people in rhythm? and screens
• 18:19
  Speaker 3: for wide outs and get people touches. So just trying
• 18:21
  Speaker 3: to create that where you can get multiple people involved
• 18:24
  Speaker 3: and you're not just loaded in on one part of
• 18:28
  Speaker 3: the game or one particular player.
• 18:30
  Speaker 2: When you're putting an offense together like this, how valuable
• 18:33
  Speaker 2: is it? I mean, I feel like this is a
• 18:36
  Speaker 2: stupid question because I know it's incredibly valuable, but how
• 18:39
  Speaker 2: valuable is it to have those three anchors coming back
• 18:42
  Speaker 2: on your offensive line that you can say, all right,
• 18:44
  Speaker 2: we've got left tackle, center right guard, set it, forget it,
• 18:48
  Speaker 2: run behind those guys, let them protect your quarterback.
• 18:51
  Speaker 5: This is locked. We don't have to worry about this.
• 18:53
  Speaker 15: Yeah, I mean, it's huge. Just to know the, you
• 18:56
  Speaker 15: got consistent pieces there that have been really good for
• 18:59
  Speaker 15: multiple years, multiple seasons, and know that they're going to
• 19:02
  Speaker 15: come in and do a great job for you. It's
• 19:04
  Speaker 15: just a matter of filling in some other spots. And
• 19:06
  Speaker 15: I think we felt confident coming into the year about
• 19:08
  Speaker 15: the other spots. It was just a matter of, you know,
• 19:11
  Speaker 15: those guys hadn't really played snaps yet. So once they
• 19:13
  Speaker 15: get in, are they going to do what we've seen
• 19:14
  Speaker 15: them do in practice? And and I think they have
• 19:16
  Speaker 15: so far, so I've been happy about that.
• 19:18
  Speaker 2: We've talked a little bit about Isaiah Ray at that
• 19:20
  Speaker 2: left guard spot. I mean, he's just like, I don't
• 19:23
  Speaker 2: know how to describe him. He's just like a little
• 19:25
  Speaker 2: powder keg out there. He just lines up, and he
• 19:27
  Speaker 2: hits people, and low man wins is the cliche, and
• 19:31
  Speaker 2: he's usually the low man, right?
• 19:32
  Speaker 5: Yeah, yeah.
• 19:33
  Speaker 15: We had a coach, one of the coaches I know
• 19:35
  Speaker 15: from another school in our comments called me the other day,
• 19:37
  Speaker 15: was watching some film, and called him the pit bull
• 19:39
  Speaker 15: back there.
• 19:40
  Speaker 5: Okay.
• 19:41
  Speaker 15: I think that's a pretty good way to describe him.
• 19:43
  Speaker 15: I would say him, obviously, you know, you've got your
• 19:45
  Speaker 15: big three with Ben and Lowe and Brody and Dolan
• 19:48
  Speaker 15: at center guard and left tackle. But I think he's
• 19:52
  Speaker 15: probably been our most underrated player on offense. You know,
• 19:55
  Speaker 15: I don't think he gets a ton of, you know,
• 19:57
  Speaker 15: love for what he does. And I would say kind
• 19:59
  Speaker 15: of the same with Brody Sippel. When you don't talk
• 20:02
  Speaker 15: about those guys, it's a good.
• 20:04
  Speaker 8: Thing, right?
• 20:04
  Speaker 15: It means they're not making any mistakes. They just do
• 20:07
  Speaker 15: their job. They play hard. They play well. and they
• 20:09
  Speaker 15: get a ton of movement for us and protect. So
• 20:12
  Speaker 15: those guys are so valued before us. All right, so
• 20:15
  Speaker 15: you get into fall. This is year two for you
• 20:17
  Speaker 15: with the program. And again, I'll kind of ask both
• 20:20
  Speaker 15: of you about this.
• 20:23
  Speaker 2: How different is the relationship, head coach to offensive coordinator,
• 20:27
  Speaker 2: going into year two for you guys as far as synergy,
• 20:32
  Speaker 2: who's thinking what, communication on the sideline?
• 20:35
  Speaker 5: What does that look like compared to last year?
• 20:37
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I think, you know, for me, I've definitely taken
• 20:40
  Speaker 3: a bigger step away, you know, from the offense. Cavs,
• 20:44
  Speaker 3: you know, got experience. You know, we worked together all
• 20:47
  Speaker 3: year last year. And, you know, I find my way
• 20:50
  Speaker 3: in there plenty. But I'm with the defense a lot,
• 20:55
  Speaker 3: you know, and I do the special teams. So I
• 20:57
  Speaker 3: try to, I feel like I can kind of tell
• 20:59
  Speaker 3: when I'm, when I'm wearing my welcome thin and I
• 21:01
  Speaker 3: just jump over to the other side. But, you know,
• 21:04
  Speaker 3: very confident in what he's doing. You know, and on
• 21:08
  Speaker 3: the game planning side, you know what I mean? Last year,
• 21:10
  Speaker 3: I was heavily involved. This year, you know what I mean?
• 21:13
  Speaker 3: I kind of give my two cents early in the
• 21:15
  Speaker 3: week and then pop over to defense kind of in
• 21:17
  Speaker 3: the middle of the week. and then jump back in
• 21:20
  Speaker 3: offense towards the end.
• 21:21
  Speaker 4: But a lot of confidence in him.
• 21:24
  Speaker 3: I've definitely been able to do a lot more with
• 21:26
  Speaker 3: the defense, which is what I wanted to do. And
• 21:28
  Speaker 3: when you've got a great young coach that you can trust,
• 21:30
  Speaker 3: you can get away.
• 21:31
  Speaker 4: And do the things that you need to do as
• 21:33
  Speaker 4: a head coach. So it's definitely something that.
• 21:35
  Speaker 3: I'm learning to do better at, and I think we're
• 21:37
  Speaker 3: learning together how to do it at the right time.
• 21:41
  Speaker 4: Right calibration sure but we're working every week.
• 21:44
  Speaker 3: We're working together and trying to figure out the best
• 21:46
  Speaker 3: way to you know move the ball and get points
• 21:47
  Speaker 3: on the board.
• 21:48
  Speaker 15: Yeah I would say about everything it says right and
• 21:51
  Speaker 15: then I think that also having coach Walsh here he's
• 21:55
  Speaker 15: done a great job for us and that he's been
• 21:57
  Speaker 15: really good to come in and kind of earn trust
• 21:59
  Speaker 15: from me and from coach Penn and just to see
• 22:02
  Speaker 15: everything that he's able to do with the offense and
• 22:05
  Speaker 15: not just the O-line play but schematically and pairing things
• 22:08
  Speaker 15: up it's been it's been awesome it's made my life
• 22:10
  Speaker 15: easier and I know, I'm sure Coach Penn's too.
• 22:13
  Speaker 5: So, as far as the... I'm trying to figure out
• 22:19
  Speaker 5: the best way to phrase this.
• 22:21
  Speaker 2: From a play-calling perspective, you said one of the big
• 22:24
  Speaker 2: concerns over the summer has been, or had been, we
• 22:27
  Speaker 2: got all these guys, how are we going to get
• 22:28
  Speaker 2: them the football? To this point in the season, how
• 22:32
  Speaker 2: do you feel about the way that you have utilized
• 22:35
  Speaker 2: the weapons that you've got and gone out there and gotten.
• 22:39
  Speaker 5: ball into playmakers hands.
• 22:40
  Speaker 15: Not good enough would be my answer uh yeah i
• 22:43
  Speaker 15: think it's a struggle every week to try to get
• 22:45
  Speaker 15: everybody's football at a consistent pace and to know you're
• 22:49
  Speaker 15: going to get them the ball i think that's the
• 22:50
  Speaker 15: hard part is you put plays together and you have
• 22:54
  Speaker 15: an idea of where the ball should go and then
• 22:56
  Speaker 15: you call it and the defense comes something different the
• 22:58
  Speaker 15: ball goes to a different guy and you don't get
• 23:00
  Speaker 15: the touch you think you called it for um so
• 23:02
  Speaker 15: it's it's always a challenge um but our guys have
• 23:06
  Speaker 15: done a really good job being patient and knowing that
• 23:09
  Speaker 15: They believe in what we're doing, and they believe in
• 23:11
  Speaker 15: wherever the ball goes that it's for the right reason.
• 23:14
  Speaker 15: And if they don't get it, they're going to block.
• 23:15
  Speaker 15: They're going to play for each other. So I think
• 23:17
  Speaker 15: that's been good to see. And I don't think that
• 23:20
  Speaker 15: has been the same all year. I think we've grown
• 23:22
  Speaker 15: into it as the year has gone and played less
• 23:26
  Speaker 15: selfish and played more for the team. And I think
• 23:28
  Speaker 15: that's been really good to see the growth of that
• 23:30
  Speaker 15: from our guys.
• 23:31
  Speaker 5: How big was the smile on your face when Amari
• 23:32
  Speaker 5: Airy showed back up?
• 23:34
  Speaker 15: That was a pretty big smile, no doubt about that.
• 23:38
  Speaker 15: I think it was bigger when no one knew who
• 23:40
  Speaker 15: was playing, and then the first game he caught a
• 23:42
  Speaker 15: 50-yard bomb on the second drive. Yeah, that was exciting.
• 23:48
  Speaker 2: So when you look at that receiver group in particular,
• 23:50
  Speaker 2: obviously you've got Amari that was the leading receiver in
• 23:54
  Speaker 2: the conference last year. Malik Baker was first-team all-conference. But
• 23:58
  Speaker 2: we were talking about it before the show got started.
• 24:00
  Speaker 2: You look at the guys maybe a little further down
• 24:03
  Speaker 2: that list, Malik Leggett had a couple of big plays
• 24:06
  Speaker 2: on Saturday. Tony Richardson, we were talking about it. The
• 24:09
  Speaker 2: catch Tony had Saturday was the first time he's caught
• 24:11
  Speaker 2: a ball that didn't go for a touchdown this year.
• 24:14
  Speaker 2: So what's it been like to see that group develop
• 24:17
  Speaker 2: behind A1 and Malik and the guys? Even Samaj Demps,
• 24:21
  Speaker 2: who's new to the program, but you knew what he
• 24:23
  Speaker 2: was going to get. What's it been like to see
• 24:25
  Speaker 2: that young group of guys come along?
• 24:27
  Speaker 15: It's just exciting. I was able to work with all
• 24:30
  Speaker 15: those guys last year. You know, so you're with them
• 24:32
  Speaker 15: a little bit more and you deal with them day
• 24:34
  Speaker 15: to day. They're just a great group of kids. They
• 24:36
  Speaker 15: work hard. They love to play together. I would say
• 24:40
  Speaker 15: they're the most excited for each other when one of
• 24:43
  Speaker 15: them makes a play. I think that's awesome to see.
• 24:46
  Speaker 15: And then, like you said, the growth of the younger
• 24:48
  Speaker 15: guys has been great. All those guys you said are
• 24:50
  Speaker 15: true sophomores, you know, that are making plays for us.
• 24:53
  Speaker 15: And typically, I think your rotational guys, you'd like them
• 24:56
  Speaker 15: to be redshirt juniors or something or redshirt sophomores. And
• 24:59
  Speaker 15: they're all really young. So To see them have an
• 25:01
  Speaker 15: impact this early has been awesome and see kind of
• 25:04
  Speaker 15: the connection with the quarterbacks. They're able to play on
• 25:07
  Speaker 15: time and be in the right spots where they're supposed
• 25:09
  Speaker 15: to be, so it's been great to see.
• 25:11
  Speaker 2: We were talking about it a couple of weeks ago
• 25:13
  Speaker 2: about the biggest pleasant surprises that you guys have gotten
• 25:16
  Speaker 2: this season, and Coach said the biggest pleasant surprise on
• 25:20
  Speaker 2: offense might be your tight ends. And I will tell
• 25:24
  Speaker 2: you what, you keep me on my toes identifying players
• 25:28
  Speaker 2: with those tight ends because... You'll throw four different guys
• 25:32
  Speaker 2: at me on one possession. They'll all be lined up
• 25:34
  Speaker 2: in different places, but Marshall Humphreys obviously been around. Benji
• 25:38
  Speaker 2: Adkins has carved out a role. Titan Parsons, Preston Fagans,
• 25:42
  Speaker 2: those guys just continue to find ways to get on
• 25:45
  Speaker 2: the field. So how fun is it to have guys
• 25:49
  Speaker 2: that are that different that you can put in the
• 25:50
  Speaker 2: same spots, move them around, and do what you've done
• 25:52
  Speaker 2: with them?
• 25:53
  Speaker 15: Yeah, I think you're spot on with the part of
• 25:56
  Speaker 15: they're the most surprising, you know, I don't think we
• 25:58
  Speaker 15: expected that coming into it. And then what you said
• 26:01
  Speaker 15: about them carving out a role. I think that's so
• 26:03
  Speaker 15: important as a young player is to be really good
• 26:06
  Speaker 15: at what you're good at and show that, you know,
• 26:08
  Speaker 15: you can earn the trust of your coaches. Um, they
• 26:11
  Speaker 15: all do something a little bit different. I think Marshall's
• 26:13
  Speaker 15: kind of your Swiss army knife. And then the other
• 26:15
  Speaker 15: three have a pretty key role to what they can do. Uh,
• 26:19
  Speaker 15: but they've all done a good job with other things
• 26:22
  Speaker 15: that we don't really typically ask them to do, you know,
• 26:24
  Speaker 15: and they, Benji had a jump ball one-handed catch over
• 26:28
  Speaker 15: DB today and kind of mossed the dude. Definitely a PI,
• 26:32
  Speaker 15: but you don't expect that exactly from what we're asking
• 26:36
  Speaker 15: him to do right now. I think Fagans has done
• 26:38
  Speaker 15: a great job making plays in space when we throw
• 26:41
  Speaker 15: him the football when you typically are asking him to
• 26:43
  Speaker 15: be a true fullback and go mash people. Obviously, Titan
• 26:47
  Speaker 15: is more of a pass-catching threat, but he's improved so
• 26:50
  Speaker 15: much in the two months he's been here. in the
• 26:52
  Speaker 15: run game and just blocking in general.
• 26:54
  Speaker 2: That's just the guy you want walking off the bus first.
• 26:57
  Speaker 2: I mean, he's just huge.
• 27:00
  Speaker 15: So, yeah, they're a great group, and I've been excited
• 27:02
  Speaker 15: to see what they've been able to do. I'm glad
• 27:04
  Speaker 15: we've been able to figure out different ways to get
• 27:06
  Speaker 15: them on the field and try to help them have success.
• 27:09
  Speaker 2: I've got to take a commercial break here in a minute,
• 27:11
  Speaker 2: but I don't want to leave out a position group,
• 27:13
  Speaker 2: so let's talk running backs a little bit. Devin Cox
• 27:16
  Speaker 2: has obviously come on pretty strong after a slower start
• 27:19
  Speaker 2: to the season. Justin Pessoa was really strong early. He's
• 27:23
  Speaker 2: dealt with some bumps and bruises. You've got JoJo Restall back.
• 27:26
  Speaker 2: Shaka Griffin finds ways to get on the field. So
• 27:29
  Speaker 2: what have you seen from the running backs? Because I
• 27:31
  Speaker 2: know that's another group you came in knowing that you
• 27:33
  Speaker 2: had some guys established.
• 27:35
  Speaker 15: Yeah, I would say it's similar to wideout. It's how
• 27:37
  Speaker 15: do you get all those guys on the field and
• 27:38
  Speaker 15: how do you give them the football, especially when all
• 27:41
  Speaker 15: three of our quarterbacks that have played so far run
• 27:43
  Speaker 15: the ball well. So it's hard to take carries away
• 27:46
  Speaker 15: from those guys, but they've all done a really, really
• 27:49
  Speaker 15: good job. I've been excited about how they've handled the
• 27:51
  Speaker 15: rotations and everything so far, and they all come out
• 27:54
  Speaker 15: each snap they get. I mean, they play so hard.
• 27:56
  Speaker 15: They run downhill. They run through people, run over people.
• 27:58
  Speaker 15: So it's been a good group to be able to
• 28:01
  Speaker 15: work with.
• 28:02
  Speaker 2: All right, we've got a break to take. Another reminder,
• 28:03
  Speaker 2: we're here at the pitch until 8 o'clock tonight. It's
• 28:06
  Speaker 2: Wing Wednesday all the way up until close at 9.
• 28:09
  Speaker 2: That means Dollar Wings, traditional and boneless, plus Dollar Off
• 28:12
  Speaker 2: All Draft beer. We are here every Wednesday night during
• 28:15
  Speaker 2: the season. We're getting ready for Monroe on Saturday as
• 28:18
  Speaker 2: the Yellow Jackets take on the Mustangs to wrap up
• 28:20
  Speaker 2: non-conference play. The conversation continues when we return on the
• 28:23
  Speaker 2: John Pennington Show.
• 28:24
  Speaker 5: It's 107.3 The Beat.
• 28:25
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• 28:26
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• 30:02
  Speaker 16: You stepped out for your morning jog except it's not
• 30:05
  Speaker 16: your usual morning jog you started listening to an epic
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  Speaker 16: sci-fi book on audible 30 chapters later you've accidentally run
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• 32:31
  Speaker 1: Let's talk football. The John Pennington Show is on 107.3
• 32:37
  Speaker 1: The Beat.
• 32:39
  Speaker 2: It's the John Pennington Show on 107.3 The Beat here
• 32:41
  Speaker 2: until 8 o'clock tonight, getting you ready for West Virginia
• 32:44
  Speaker 2: State and Monroe coming up on Saturday. That's a noon kickoff.
• 32:47
  Speaker 2: Pre-game coverage starts here on 107.3 The Beat at 11.30
• 32:52
  Speaker 2: with myself and Hollis Lewis. Always excited to get back
• 32:54
  Speaker 2: to Dickerson Stadium for a little bit of home football,
• 32:57
  Speaker 2: and that's what we've got Saturday. To wrap up the
• 32:59
  Speaker 2: non-conference schedule, we'll preview that with head coach John Pennington here.
• 33:03
  Speaker 2: in just a couple of minutes. But we're joined once
• 33:05
  Speaker 2: again by Offensive Coordinator Matt Cavallaro. And I want to
• 33:09
  Speaker 2: talk to both of you kind of about bringing not
• 33:12
  Speaker 2: just– we talked a little bit about bringing the personnel
• 33:15
  Speaker 2: together for this team. I want to talk about bringing
• 33:18
  Speaker 2: a scheme together because you guys have different backgrounds as coaches.
• 33:22
  Speaker 2: You obviously both have been offensive coordinators. You've both been
• 33:26
  Speaker 2: play callers. So I kind of want to talk about
• 33:28
  Speaker 2: how that has gelled today. over the last two years,
• 33:31
  Speaker 2: so I will start really with either of you. When
• 33:35
  Speaker 2: you come in day one, first day actually on the
• 33:39
  Speaker 2: job working together, system, scheme, concepts, how similar were things
• 33:46
  Speaker 2: on that first day when you both bring in the
• 33:48
  Speaker 2: respective playbook, so to speak?
• 33:50
  Speaker 3: I think there's a lot of similarities in what we
• 33:52
  Speaker 3: believe in in the game of football, just being physical,
• 33:56
  Speaker 3: being able to run the ball and being able to
• 33:58
  Speaker 3: throw the ball downfield.
• 33:59
  Speaker 4: I think that was, that was what I noticed early on.
• 34:02
  Speaker 3: Matt has some really creative ideas, you know, and he
• 34:05
  Speaker 3: brings a lot of great, you know, intuition to the game.
• 34:09
  Speaker 3: And so like, I know at least, you know, early on,
• 34:12
  Speaker 3: it was more of like, you know, let's, let's, you know,
• 34:15
  Speaker 3: I wanted to try to, you know, try to teach
• 34:17
  Speaker 3: him everything I could teach him.
• 34:18
  Speaker 5: Right.
• 34:18
  Speaker 3: But let him, you know, be Matt Cavallaro. I think
• 34:21
  Speaker 3: every single game day, I'm like, trust your gut. That's
• 34:23
  Speaker 3: one of the, I try to find on like, let's,
• 34:25
  Speaker 3: don't listen to me.
• 34:25
  Speaker 4: Don't listen to anyone.
• 34:26
  Speaker 5: Trust your gut.
• 34:28
  Speaker 4: One of the things.
• 34:29
  Speaker 3: That I try to do in my role is it's
• 34:33
  Speaker 3: like 80-20. I want to, on the front end, be like, hey,
• 34:36
  Speaker 3: these are the things that I really want.
• 34:38
  Speaker 4: And then let.
• 34:40
  Speaker 3: Matt and Walsh kind of build the 80% and so
• 34:44
  Speaker 3: they can have their fingerprints all over it.
• 34:47
  Speaker 4: And then I try to come in at the end.
• 34:48
  Speaker 3: And if I see things that I don't like, or,
• 34:51
  Speaker 3: you know, that I think might be, you know, maybe
• 34:53
  Speaker 3: we're missing something here, maybe cause they're in the weeds
• 34:55
  Speaker 3: of it. Uh, so I try to come in, you know,
• 34:58
  Speaker 3: 10% in the beginning, lay out what I'm looking for
• 35:00
  Speaker 3: and then let them build it and then come in
• 35:02
  Speaker 3: at the end and try to maybe fix anything that I,
• 35:04
  Speaker 3: that I see that maybe they can't see kind of
• 35:07
  Speaker 3: like a tutor does with a paper. You know, you're
• 35:09
  Speaker 3: the one writing the paper. You can't always see everything, uh,
• 35:12
  Speaker 3: you know, grammatically. So kind of come in at the end.
• 35:14
  Speaker 3: And if I see anything that, uh, you know, I
• 35:16
  Speaker 3: don't like, just try to, you know, tweak it or, or,
• 35:18
  Speaker 3: or put some ideas in it. I've told Matt, just
• 35:21
  Speaker 3: treat me like an assistant coach that just has a
• 35:23
  Speaker 3: lot of experience. Trust, if you like something and I don't,
• 35:28
  Speaker 3: just do it. Listen to what I say, but if
• 35:30
  Speaker 3: you really like it, you need to do it. I
• 35:33
  Speaker 3: think it's something that I've grown at, certainly. It's my
• 35:36
  Speaker 3: first go-round with that role. Matt's done a great job.
• 35:42
  Speaker 3: We have a lot of one-on-one conversations. Anytime I'm like,
• 35:45
  Speaker 3: pull him into my office when I have things I
• 35:47
  Speaker 3: want to go over with him. He does the same
• 35:50
  Speaker 3: with me. So we've communicated really well for a young coach.
• 35:53
  Speaker 3: He does an outstanding job of really communicating, listening, but
• 35:58
  Speaker 3: also trusting his instincts. I think that's not a, that's
• 36:01
  Speaker 3: not an easy skill. You know, he just kind of
• 36:03
  Speaker 3: naturally that way. He's got great character and he's a
• 36:06
  Speaker 3: great competitor. So, I mean, a lot of that comes naturally,
• 36:08
  Speaker 3: but you don't see that in a young coach and it's,
• 36:10
  Speaker 3: it's refreshing for me.
• 36:12
  Speaker 4: It makes me feel confident that, you know, I can.
• 36:14
  Speaker 3: Trust this guy not only to listen to any advice
• 36:16
  Speaker 3: that I have, but also just to be himself and
• 36:18
  Speaker 3: trust his gut and instincts out on the field.
• 36:20
  Speaker 15: I like it. Well, appreciate that, Coach. I would say
• 36:24
  Speaker 15: from the start, it's a little bit, it was a
• 36:26
  Speaker 15: little different, right? Because I'm coming in with really no experience, right?
• 36:30
  Speaker 15: I called a couple games, but hadn't been coaching for
• 36:33
  Speaker 15: long and just finished up playing. So to start, it
• 36:36
  Speaker 15: was more, I'm going to figure out what we do
• 36:39
  Speaker 15: here as an offense and what Coach has done before
• 36:41
  Speaker 15: and How do I help with that? And then I'll
• 36:44
  Speaker 15: start to bring some of my own thoughts and opinions
• 36:47
  Speaker 15: to it. But just from a schematic standpoint, I think
• 36:51
  Speaker 15: we both believe in being relatively basic in play concepts.
• 36:56
  Speaker 15: You're not trying to reinvent the wheel. You'll tweak things
• 36:59
  Speaker 15: and add things or make different reads for it, but
• 37:02
  Speaker 15: it's basic football, right? Because if we're doing things that
• 37:06
  Speaker 15: are so unconventional, our players are probably going to struggle
• 37:09
  Speaker 15: picking it up.
• 37:09
  Speaker 4: So I think.
• 37:11
  Speaker 15: Keeping it simple for your guys is the most important
• 37:13
  Speaker 15: thing because, you know, we'll say all the time, we
• 37:15
  Speaker 15: sit in the office for 12 hours a day and
• 37:18
  Speaker 15: talk about football and go over these things, but our
• 37:20
  Speaker 15: players are only there for.
• 37:21
  Speaker 5: Two, right?
• 37:22
  Speaker 15: So if they can't digest it and go out there
• 37:24
  Speaker 15: and execute at a high level, it's not worth a crap, right?
• 37:27
  Speaker 15: So we're trying to be good with that. But in
• 37:29
  Speaker 15: terms of overall how it's gone, you know, over time, yeah,
• 37:32
  Speaker 15: like I've definitely got more, he's given me more freedom
• 37:35
  Speaker 15: to try to do different things that I feel like
• 37:37
  Speaker 15: we can be good at, even if it might not
• 37:39
  Speaker 15: look the same as something we've always done And, yeah, like,
• 37:43
  Speaker 15: he's done a great job with helping me see different
• 37:47
  Speaker 15: sides of what we're doing, right? Because, you know, it's
• 37:50
  Speaker 15: easy to have one opinion and say, well, this is
• 37:51
  Speaker 15: why I'm doing it. But if you don't get a
• 37:53
  Speaker 15: second opinion or other eyes on it and say, well,
• 37:55
  Speaker 15: you could do it better this way or do it
• 37:57
  Speaker 15: better this way, you know, you're probably not going to
• 37:59
  Speaker 15: find the best outcome. So, you know, I appreciate it.
• 38:02
  Speaker 15: how he's handled it and kind of helped me. And
• 38:05
  Speaker 15: same thing with coach Walsh. Like I'll have things I'm like, Walsh, we.
• 38:08
  Speaker 4: Got to do this.
• 38:09
  Speaker 15: And he's like, you can't do that, man. And like,
• 38:12
  Speaker 15: he's an O-line guy. So he sees it in a
• 38:14
  Speaker 15: different light too. Like I see it from a quarterback's perspective.
• 38:18
  Speaker 15: He sees it from an O-line perspective. So, you know,
• 38:21
  Speaker 15: there's just different values to different opinions, you know, so
• 38:24
  Speaker 15: trying to take them all in and find the best
• 38:26
  Speaker 15: plan for our guys.
• 38:27
  Speaker 5: That we do.
• 38:28
  Speaker 2: We haven't had this conversation and I'm somewhat surprised that
• 38:31
  Speaker 2: we haven't. But, Obviously, we had you on the show
• 38:34
  Speaker 2: last year, kind of talked about your background, WVU, Lackawanna,
• 38:38
  Speaker 2: Idaho State, spent some time at Faulkner on the staff there.
• 38:42
  Speaker 2: When you look at what you're putting on the field
• 38:45
  Speaker 2: right now, outside of the guy sitting next to you, obviously,
• 38:49
  Speaker 2: who are the biggest coaching influences that you would say
• 38:54
  Speaker 2: you have drawn from for the offense that if somebody
• 38:57
  Speaker 2: shows up on Saturday, they're going to see?
• 39:00
  Speaker 15: That's a good question. I'd probably honestly say my coaching
• 39:04
  Speaker 15: staff from Idaho State. They run and shoot a lot
• 39:07
  Speaker 15: of read route concepts, and I would say that's probably
• 39:10
  Speaker 15: the most similar too. I think he played with a
• 39:13
  Speaker 15: ton of creativity and wasn't afraid to do anything. You
• 39:15
  Speaker 15: want to throw the ball a ton, get people in
• 39:18
  Speaker 15: space and stuff like that. I think that's kind of
• 39:21
  Speaker 15: how I try to see the game and then keep
• 39:23
  Speaker 15: it a little bit more basic than he did. I
• 39:27
  Speaker 15: would say that's probably the most consistent tree that I
• 39:33
  Speaker 15: kind of pull from.
• 39:34
  Speaker 5: Okay, that makes sense.
• 39:35
  Speaker 2: Now, for you, you talk a lot about mentorship, bringing
• 39:41
  Speaker 2: young coaches, bringing players along. What has that developed like,
• 39:46
  Speaker 2: I think, over the last two years when you can say,
• 39:49
  Speaker 2: all right, this is what Coach Cav looked like day one.
• 39:54
  Speaker 2: This is what Coach Cav is as a coach getting
• 39:56
  Speaker 2: ready for Monroe in week eight in year two.
• 40:01
  Speaker 4: I love it. I love it.
• 40:02
  Speaker 3: It's like watching a player, and I know he's a
• 40:04
  Speaker 3: grown man and he's in his career, but for me
• 40:07
  Speaker 3: it's like watching a player develop.
• 40:11
  Speaker 4: You see a Dalton Hall from his freshman year to
• 40:14
  Speaker 4: his senior year.
• 40:15
  Speaker 3: So watching Matt grow and develop, and there's some things–
• 40:19
  Speaker 3: that you can only learn through battle scars. And I
• 40:23
  Speaker 3: try to share some of those lessons with him that
• 40:26
  Speaker 3: I've learned through making a mistake in a game. I
• 40:31
  Speaker 3: told him, I think on a two-point conversion, always put
• 40:33
  Speaker 3: the ball in the left middle because I threw a
• 40:35
  Speaker 3: pick six on a two-point conversion that gave up a
• 40:38
  Speaker 3: lead against Glenville in 2017. So I try to give
• 40:44
  Speaker 3: him some of that, but I think a lot of
• 40:45
  Speaker 3: it is just you have to learn through going through it.
• 40:49
  Speaker 3: And I wished when I was his age that someone
• 40:51
  Speaker 3: would have given me that opportunity.
• 40:53
  Speaker 4: So I love being able to give him that opportunity.
• 40:55
  Speaker 3: I love watching him grow and develop and, you know,
• 40:59
  Speaker 3: and especially in the run game. Like, I think that's
• 41:01
  Speaker 3: something that, you know, it's not easy for young coaches
• 41:05
  Speaker 3: and he's really studied it. He really listens when Coach
• 41:08
  Speaker 3: Mucks or Coach Walsh or myself are talking about, you know,
• 41:11
  Speaker 3: run scheme and how we do it and why we
• 41:12
  Speaker 3: do it. And he's really, you know, really evolved in
• 41:16
  Speaker 3: that world as well. So, but he's, you know, it,
• 41:19
  Speaker 3: you have to have experience and, and, and you have
• 41:22
  Speaker 3: to be able to have that toughness about you that
• 41:25
  Speaker 3: you're going to learn from everything that happens.
• 41:27
  Speaker 4: And Matt has that. And that's why you've seen, you
• 41:29
  Speaker 4: can see the evolution.
• 41:30
  Speaker 3: You can see how much better he was, you know,
• 41:32
  Speaker 3: from the Carson Newman game to now, you know, he's,
• 41:36
  Speaker 3: you get some scars, you get some, some, some thicker,
• 41:39
  Speaker 3: not thicker skin, but you just, you go through some
• 41:41
  Speaker 3: of those things and you learn, and then you, you
• 41:43
  Speaker 3: can apply it to every game plan moving forward.
• 41:46
  Speaker 4: But, But he does a great job.
• 41:48
  Speaker 3: I always talk to him about coordinator stress is a
• 41:50
  Speaker 3: whole different animal, especially when you're the one game planning
• 41:53
  Speaker 3: it all and.
• 41:54
  Speaker 4: You get into week whatever we're in. You've seen every defense.
• 41:57
  Speaker 3: You know all the things that can go wrong. So
• 42:00
  Speaker 3: it gets harder and harder.
• 42:01
  Speaker 4: Throughout the season. And he's done a great job of
• 42:04
  Speaker 4: handling everything.
• 42:05
  Speaker 3: This hasn't been the easiest season, but it's been a
• 42:08
  Speaker 3: great learning experience, I think, for our staff, for our players.
• 42:11
  Speaker 3: And And that's how you have to treat it. And
• 42:13
  Speaker 3: I think a lot of young coaches would go in
• 42:15
  Speaker 3: a different direction, given that we haven't had the amount
• 42:19
  Speaker 3: of success that we wanted to have. But Matt's just
• 42:22
  Speaker 3: been steady and learning and growing and he's always focused
• 42:25
  Speaker 3: on players. And I think that was the biggest thing
• 42:27
  Speaker 3: I noticed when I hired him was that this is
• 42:30
  Speaker 3: a guy that wants to lead and develop young men.
• 42:32
  Speaker 3: And whatever happens along the way is you know, is
• 42:35
  Speaker 3: what it is. But he's got the right intentions. And
• 42:38
  Speaker 3: you see it week in and week out in how
• 42:39
  Speaker 3: he coaches the guys. And he's really got a grasp
• 42:42
  Speaker 3: on the players. And he's a great leader. You know,
• 42:46
  Speaker 3: when he speaks in front of the team, you know,
• 42:48
  Speaker 3: they're locked in. They're eyeball to eyeball, and they're taking
• 42:51
  Speaker 3: in what he's saying. So it's just fun to watch.
• 42:54
  Speaker 5: You've mentioned Coach Walsh a couple of times.
• 42:56
  Speaker 2: How collaborative is that situation when you're game planning for– Saturday.
• 43:03
  Speaker 2: How collaborative is that? Because you've got the two of you.
• 43:05
  Speaker 2: You've got Coach Walsh. You've got Nate Baker coaching tight ends.
• 43:09
  Speaker 2: I'm sure a lot of voices. How wide open are
• 43:12
  Speaker 2: those conversations for this is what we see. This is
• 43:16
  Speaker 2: what we can do. This is what we're putting on
• 43:17
  Speaker 2: the field on Saturday.
• 43:19
  Speaker 4: I've always been wide open. That's the only way you
• 43:23
  Speaker 4: can be. Walsh does a great job. Him and Matt
• 43:26
  Speaker 4: are really close. They do a lot of the game
• 43:29
  Speaker 4: planning together and Walsh is laid back.
• 43:32
  Speaker 3: O-line coaches, they're a different breed.
• 43:37
  Speaker 4: Their eyes are on the trenches. They have to be
• 43:40
  Speaker 4: the ones that will tell you no, like I alluded
• 43:43
  Speaker 4: to earlier.
• 43:45
  Speaker 3: You also want them to be flexible enough to be
• 43:48
  Speaker 3: able to fit what the coordinator wants to do. I
• 43:50
  Speaker 3: think Walsh does a great job of back and forth
• 43:53
  Speaker 3: with that when he has to be firm and say,
• 43:56
  Speaker 3: we can't do that.
• 43:57
  Speaker 4: But he's also like, yeah, yeah, I'll just do it
• 43:58
  Speaker 4: this way. You don't see that a lot out of
• 44:01
  Speaker 4: a young coach.
• 44:02
  Speaker 15: Yeah, no, spot on. The end of that, if I
• 44:05
  Speaker 15: want to do something and he's like, well, you really
• 44:07
  Speaker 15: can't do that, but I'll figure it out. He'll find
• 44:10
  Speaker 15: a different way to do what I'm trying to get
• 44:12
  Speaker 15: to do. He's great being flexible and making things work.
• 44:17
  Speaker 15: There's just so many different schemes that you can get
• 44:19
  Speaker 15: messed up by a certain defense and He just always
• 44:21
  Speaker 15: seems to try to not try. He does find an
• 44:24
  Speaker 15: answer for it, and he does a great job. On
• 44:27
  Speaker 15: the collaborative piece, like Coach said, it's wide open. Anybody
• 44:30
  Speaker 15: can say whatever. You're going to get questioned on it,
• 44:33
  Speaker 15: and you better have some good answers for why you're
• 44:36
  Speaker 15: doing it and reasons for it and how you're going
• 44:38
  Speaker 15: to see it, how you're going to handle certain things. But, yeah,
• 44:41
  Speaker 15: whatever we can do to get these guys in a
• 44:43
  Speaker 15: good position, we're going to do.
• 44:44
  Speaker 3: The funny thing is, and not just us, every offensive
• 44:49
  Speaker 3: staff I've been a part of, we all see how
• 44:52
  Speaker 3: the defense plays a little differently.
• 44:54
  Speaker 4: You know what I mean?
• 44:55
  Speaker 3: Like we all have these things in our mind that
• 44:57
  Speaker 3: maybe we think, and then we'll like pull up the film,
• 44:59
  Speaker 3: you know, so we can see, you know, do they
• 45:01
  Speaker 3: do that a hundred percent of the time? And so
• 45:04
  Speaker 3: I think that that's a big piece of it too.
• 45:05
  Speaker 3: When you're game planning of like all having an understanding
• 45:09
  Speaker 3: of what their defense is trying to do. Cause you know,
• 45:11
  Speaker 3: until you really watched it enough, you're not a hundred
• 45:14
  Speaker 3: percent sure that, you know, of why they're running this
• 45:17
  Speaker 3: front or this look. So that does take a little
• 45:19
  Speaker 3: time to figure out between, you know, the four of us.
• 45:22
  Speaker 5: That makes sense to me. That makes sense to me.
• 45:24
  Speaker 2: We've got another break to take here on the John
• 45:26
  Speaker 2: Pennington Show. When we come back, we'll preview the action
• 45:29
  Speaker 2: coming up this Saturday between West Virginia State and Monroe.
• 45:31
  Speaker 5: Again, that's a noon kickoff.
• 45:33
  Speaker 2: Pre-game coverage 1130 with myself and Hollis Lewis getting you
• 45:36
  Speaker 2: ready for the Yellow Jackets and the Mustangs. And, of course,
• 45:40
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  Speaker 2: just like it is every Wednesday when we're here for
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• 45:59
  Speaker 5: One more break to take. We'll preview Saturday's game when
• 46:01
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• 46:02
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  Speaker 2: Yellow jackets when the whistle sounds or the buzzer hits zero.
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• 50:09
  Speaker 1: Now back to the John Pennington Show, only on 107.3
• 50:13
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• 50:15
  Speaker 10: Let's talk football.
• 50:16
  Speaker 3: Yeah!
• 50:18
  Speaker 2: This is the John Pennington Show on 107.3 The Beat,
• 50:20
  Speaker 2: live from the Pitch Sports Bar and Grill at the
• 50:22
  Speaker 2: Shawnee Sports Complex. We're here every Wednesday night during football season,
• 50:25
  Speaker 2: talking West Virginia State football. The Yellow Jackets are back
• 50:28
  Speaker 2: in action this Saturday at home to take on Monroe,
• 50:32
  Speaker 2: the final non-conference game of the season. We've got Offensive
• 50:35
  Speaker 2: Coordinator Matt Cavallaro with us as well. And I will
• 50:38
  Speaker 2: start with this conversation. Monroe is in a little bit
• 50:41
  Speaker 2: of a unique situation coming in. They are, I believe,
• 50:45
  Speaker 2: one of two teams in the country... that are transitioning
• 50:48
  Speaker 2: from junior college, NJCAA, to NCAA Division II. The other
• 50:53
  Speaker 2: being Lackawanna, interestingly enough, which of course there's a connection
• 50:57
  Speaker 2: there as they're in the process of joining the PSAC.
• 51:00
  Speaker 2: But Monroe is switching over to four-year football. And you
• 51:05
  Speaker 2: look at the roster and you can see this was
• 51:07
  Speaker 2: junior college last year. This was a two-year program because
• 51:11
  Speaker 2: almost every starter, it feels like, on both sides of
• 51:13
  Speaker 2: the ball is a sophomore.
• 51:15
  Speaker 5: So first of all... How does this game come together?
• 51:18
  Speaker 2: And second, how do you prepare for a program that's
• 51:21
  Speaker 2: in a situation like that?
• 51:22
  Speaker 3: Well, I mean, they're a new D2 school, so they
• 51:25
  Speaker 3: were looking for a game. With our conference, we've got
• 51:29
  Speaker 3: a strange kind of opening here in week whatever this is, seven.
• 51:34
  Speaker 3: So it can be a little difficult to find a game.
• 51:36
  Speaker 3: So they're desperate for a game. Uh, they were willing
• 51:39
  Speaker 3: to come to us, which was, uh, you know, we,
• 51:41
  Speaker 3: this is the first time in three or four years
• 51:44
  Speaker 3: that we've had more home games than away games. So, uh,
• 51:46
  Speaker 3: so we were, we wanted to have another home game
• 51:48
  Speaker 3: and they were willing to come here. So that was, uh,
• 51:51
  Speaker 3: kind of, you know, that was a pretty, pretty easy
• 51:53
  Speaker 3: cut and dry.
• 51:53
  Speaker 11: All right.
• 51:53
  Speaker 5: Yeah.
• 51:54
  Speaker 3: You, you want to come down and we need a
• 51:55
  Speaker 3: home game. It's a one-year thing. We'll be good. The
• 51:59
  Speaker 3: game planning part is really strange in a way because
• 52:04
  Speaker 3: they started off the season. They did not play very well.
• 52:07
  Speaker 4: Now, their defense has.
• 52:08
  Speaker 5: Played well all year.
• 52:09
  Speaker 4: They're really athletic, but they did not play well early
• 52:12
  Speaker 4: in the year.
• 52:13
  Speaker 3: Then the last two games, especially last weekend, they've gotten
• 52:17
  Speaker 3: a lot better. They almost should have beat Southern Connecticut,
• 52:21
  Speaker 3: who's a really good program. They've definitely got players. They
• 52:25
  Speaker 3: played UNC Pembroke, who's also got incredibly good players. They
• 52:28
  Speaker 3: were in that game, the majority of it. From now
• 52:33
  Speaker 3: until the beginning of the season, they're two different teams.
• 52:38
  Speaker 4: A lot of it is they've got younger players.
• 52:40
  Speaker 3: So they're really developing and playing at a much higher level.
• 52:44
  Speaker 3: That is a little difficult to game plan for. You're
• 52:47
  Speaker 3: not sure, are they just that much better than they were?
• 52:51
  Speaker 3: which I think that's definitely partly true for sure. And then, or,
• 52:55
  Speaker 3: you know, have they just, you know, did they play well?
• 52:56
  Speaker 4: They have a good scheme. Was it a good matchup?
• 52:58
  Speaker 4: Cause you don't, I mean, we never really see Southern Connecticut,
• 53:00
  Speaker 4: so we don't know a whole lot about them.
• 53:02
  Speaker 3: So the one thing we do know is they play
• 53:04
  Speaker 3: hard and they're really athletic. Their defense has only given
• 53:06
  Speaker 3: up a hundred rushing yards a game. I think it's 101,
• 53:09
  Speaker 3: something like that. So they've got a really good rush defense,
• 53:12
  Speaker 3: you know, so we've got to be able to run
• 53:13
  Speaker 3: the ball and then we've got to be able to
• 53:16
  Speaker 3: throw it downfield. That's one area where they've struggled on defense.
• 53:18
  Speaker 4: And then offensively is where they've really struggled.
• 53:22
  Speaker 3: But then against Southern Connecticut, they came out firing on
• 53:25
  Speaker 3: all cylinders, scored 28 points against a really good defense.
• 53:29
  Speaker 3: So they've got a couple running backs that are healthy
• 53:31
  Speaker 3: now that are really good that they didn't have early
• 53:33
  Speaker 3: in the season. Athletic quarterback that can beat you, kind.
• 53:37
  Speaker 4: Of like Joe Daly can.
• 53:39
  Speaker 3: You might have a perfect pass rush, and he's going
• 53:41
  Speaker 3: to get out of there and scramble for for positive
• 53:43
  Speaker 3: yards or throw it downfield. So, uh, so it definitely
• 53:46
  Speaker 3: gives you nightmares, you know, not easy to sleep all week, but, uh,
• 53:49
  Speaker 3: but it's, you know, it's, it's so much fun just
• 53:52
  Speaker 3: putting a game plan together. Like I love trying to
• 53:54
  Speaker 3: figure it out with, with the staff, a great staff. Uh, we,
• 53:58
  Speaker 3: we really get along well and we, we've all, you know,
• 54:00
  Speaker 3: got the right, uh, mindset for it.
• 54:02
  Speaker 4: And it's just fun every week trying to put it
• 54:04
  Speaker 4: all together with them.
• 54:05
  Speaker 2: From an offensive coordinator's perspective, you look at this Monroe
• 54:08
  Speaker 2: team coach said they're athletic. They've got guys that can
• 54:11
  Speaker 2: make plays all over the field. As I've been preparing
• 54:14
  Speaker 2: for this, at least the way that I have seen it,
• 54:17
  Speaker 2: a bunch of guys that are new starters this year
• 54:19
  Speaker 2: as they move up to Division II. At this point,
• 54:22
  Speaker 2: you've got five games worth of tape on these guys,
• 54:25
  Speaker 2: but what do you look at this defense and see
• 54:26
  Speaker 2: from Monroe?
• 54:28
  Speaker 15: I think they do a really good job. They're relatively
• 54:30
  Speaker 15: simple in their structure and what they're doing schematically, but
• 54:33
  Speaker 15: they play hard up front. They're athletic, like Coach said.
• 54:36
  Speaker 15: They're a little bit of a lighter group, but They'll
• 54:38
  Speaker 15: get after it in the run game. They'll fly downhill.
• 54:42
  Speaker 15: Linebackers and second- and third-level players fly downhill to stop
• 54:45
  Speaker 15: the run.
• 54:46
  Speaker 5: They kind of.
• 54:46
  Speaker 15: Fly around in all aspects. They're pretty sound in what
• 54:49
  Speaker 15: they're doing. They'll make some mistakes here and there, but
• 54:53
  Speaker 15: they do a good job at what they do. So
• 54:56
  Speaker 15: the biggest thing to me would be we've got to
• 54:58
  Speaker 15: play hard up front. We've got to play well. We've
• 55:00
  Speaker 15: got to be able to run the football. And then
• 55:02
  Speaker 15: in the pass game, we've got to be consistent getting
• 55:04
  Speaker 15: the ball out. completing footballs and letting our guys make
• 55:07
  Speaker 15: plays in space, and then obviously hit the shots over
• 55:10
  Speaker 15: the top when we take them.
• 55:11
  Speaker 2: For the guy that's spending all of his time in
• 55:13
  Speaker 2: the defensive meeting room, what challenges do you see watching
• 55:16
  Speaker 2: this Monroe team's offense with what they put on the field?
• 55:19
  Speaker 2: I know you talked about the quarterback who is mobile,
• 55:23
  Speaker 2: big guy, but what else do you see?
• 55:25
  Speaker 3: They've got a really good tight end, probably the best
• 55:28
  Speaker 3: tight end that we've seen all year. He's a pass-catching threat.
• 55:34
  Speaker 3: They've split him out and thrown him some deep balls,
• 55:37
  Speaker 3: and he goes up and finishes. I mean, he blocks,
• 55:40
  Speaker 3: and he's 250 pounds. I mean, he is a violent blocker.
• 55:44
  Speaker 4: Um, so he does a really good job. They run
• 55:45
  Speaker 4: a lot of power, so.
• 55:46
  Speaker 3: He does a good job kicking out ends and opening
• 55:48
  Speaker 3: holes for their running backs. And they got, they got
• 55:50
  Speaker 3: two really good running backs, uh, that have, you know,
• 55:53
  Speaker 3: just started to play, you know, recently. Um, I think
• 55:55
  Speaker 3: the biggest thing is like, you know, we, we got
• 55:57
  Speaker 3: to stop the run, you know, I'll say that every week,
• 55:59
  Speaker 3: but we, we've got to really limit the run game. Um, and,
• 56:03
  Speaker 3: and then, you know, what is the, is their quarterback
• 56:05
  Speaker 3: hurting us, you know? And, uh, so we have to
• 56:07
  Speaker 3: have a game plan for that. Like we, we can
• 56:09
  Speaker 3: stop the run, but it's kind of hard to stop
• 56:11
  Speaker 3: the run and stop the quarterback, uh, whether it If
• 56:14
  Speaker 3: you're going to load the box a little bit, you're
• 56:16
  Speaker 3: going to give up some stuff in your pass rush lanes.
• 56:20
  Speaker 4: That's really making sure that we have a plan.
• 56:22
  Speaker 3: If that guy is getting out of the pocket or
• 56:24
  Speaker 3: if he's running the football, we have to have a
• 56:27
  Speaker 3: good backup plan to shut.
• 56:28
  Speaker 4: Him down as well. That's been difficult.
• 56:30
  Speaker 3: It's always difficult when a quarterback can run the ball because,
• 56:33
  Speaker 3: like you said, you're 11-on-11.
• 56:35
  Speaker 4: It's 11-on-11 football.
• 56:37
  Speaker 3: This is the first guy that we've seen in a
• 56:39
  Speaker 3: while that can really hurt us.
• 56:42
  Speaker 4: He's a big He's a big guy.
• 56:44
  Speaker 3: He's not like top-end speed, kind of like Joe. I mean,
• 56:47
  Speaker 3: he's not, you know, he's not super fast, but he's strong,
• 56:51
  Speaker 3: and he gets out of stuff, and he's quick, and
• 56:53
  Speaker 3: he can make plays.
• 56:54
  Speaker 4: So, you know, that's been giving.
• 56:56
  Speaker 3: Me a lot of sleepless nights is, you know, what
• 56:58
  Speaker 3: do we do if that guy's hurting us with his legs.
• 57:01
  Speaker 4: Or his mobility.
• 57:03
  Speaker 2: Now, to kind of focus on your group, you're back home.
• 57:07
  Speaker 2: You're coming off of a win. You're back with some momentum.
• 57:11
  Speaker 2: how big is it to have that next game be
• 57:13
  Speaker 2: at home? And these guys are sleeping in their own
• 57:15
  Speaker 2: beds and they're in their own locker room and they're
• 57:17
  Speaker 2: going to have the home crowd in front of them.
• 57:18
  Speaker 5: Yeah.
• 57:19
  Speaker 3: I mean, I honestly, I've just been thinking about, you know, that,
• 57:22
  Speaker 3: that six second mantra for myself all week. Like, you know, whatever's,
• 57:26
  Speaker 3: whatever I'm worried about, it's like, just win these six seconds,
• 57:29
  Speaker 3: you know, just, just go out there, coach your tail off,
• 57:31
  Speaker 3: you know, in pre in warmups, you know, and then
• 57:33
  Speaker 3: get to Indy. And, and so I've just been, you know,
• 57:36
  Speaker 3: that's been my message to the guys. It's been my,
• 57:38
  Speaker 3: you know, overall message to myself is like, Let's not
• 57:41
  Speaker 3: worry about the past. Let's not focus on what could
• 57:44
  Speaker 3: happen tomorrow or Saturday. Let's just win right now. And
• 57:48
  Speaker 3: I think if we do that, it'll give us the
• 57:50
  Speaker 3: best chance to win. So that's been my focus all week.
• 57:52
  Speaker 3: I think that's been pretty much everyone's focus is we
• 57:55
  Speaker 3: want to feel like that again on Saturday. And I
• 57:57
  Speaker 3: think in order to do that, we got to just,
• 57:59
  Speaker 3: you know, we got to have a great Thursday practice.
• 58:02
  Speaker 4: That's the next thing we got to worry about.
• 58:04
  Speaker 2: And as far as game day goes, How much easier
• 58:09
  Speaker 2: is it to translate that energy of, all right, let's
• 58:12
  Speaker 2: go out and hit somebody in the mouth on the
• 58:14
  Speaker 2: first play of the game when you are coming off
• 58:16
  Speaker 2: of a win like that?
• 58:17
  Speaker 3: I mean, you can tell the guys are a little more,
• 58:21
  Speaker 3: there's a little more joy out.
• 58:23
  Speaker 4: There, I think.
• 58:24
  Speaker 3: It definitely felt today like they were focused, but they
• 58:27
  Speaker 3: were having fun. which I think is really Tuesday and Wednesday.
• 58:32
  Speaker 3: Tuesday is always bloody Tuesday because you're installing things. And
• 58:35
  Speaker 3: then Wednesday, you know, we're trying to run 1,000 plays
• 58:40
  Speaker 3: and get in on and off the field. But today
• 58:42
  Speaker 3: was the first time it felt like they were locked
• 58:44
  Speaker 3: in and they were having fun. And I think a
• 58:46
  Speaker 3: lot of that is because you're coming off of a victory.
• 58:48
  Speaker 3: So it makes everything a little more enjoyable. But, you know,
• 58:52
  Speaker 3: I've heard the players saying it. I've heard the coaches
• 58:54
  Speaker 3: saying it. Like, it doesn't mean anything. Like, we've got
• 58:56
  Speaker 3: to win right now.
• 58:57
  Speaker 2: Absolutely.
• 58:57
  Speaker 5: Absolutely.
• 58:58
  Speaker 2: And we are looking forward to what is hopefully going
• 59:00
  Speaker 2: to be another West Virginia State win coming up this
• 59:03
  Speaker 2: Saturday as the Yellow Jackets take on Monroe. Again, that
• 59:06
  Speaker 2: is a noon kickoff at Dickerson Stadium. Pre-game coverage here
• 59:09
  Speaker 2: on 107. The Beat begins at 11.30. We'll hope you'll
• 59:13
  Speaker 2: join us here. If you can't, join us in the
• 59:15
  Speaker 2: stands on Saturday. The last non-conference game of the season.
• 59:19
  Speaker 2: Then it's all Mountain East Conference the rest of the
• 59:21
  Speaker 2: way to close it out. We'll be back again next
• 59:24
  Speaker 2: week here for the John Pennington Show. at the Pitt
• 59:26
  Speaker 2: Sports Bar and Grill, live at the Shawnee Sports Complex.
• 59:29
  Speaker 2: It is Wing Wednesday every time we're out here. Dollar Wings,
• 59:32
  Speaker 2: traditional and boneless all the way until close, plus dollar
• 59:35
  Speaker 2: off all draft beer. We'll hope you'll join us next week,
• 59:38
  Speaker 2: and hopefully we'll be celebrating another West Virginia State win.
• 59:40
  Speaker 5: But for West Virginia State Head.
• 59:42
  Speaker 2: Coach John Pennington, Offensive Coordinator Matt Cavallaro, I am Daniel Woods,
• 59:46
  Speaker 2: and for Woody Woods at the controls on Virginia Street
• 59:48
  Speaker 2: in downtown Charleston, so long from the Pitt Sports Bar
• 59:51
  Speaker 2: and Grill.
• 59:51
  Speaker 5: This has been another edition of the John Pennington Show
• 59:53
  Speaker 5: on 107.3 The Beat.
• 59:54
  Speaker 1: Thanks for listening to The John Pennington Show.