Heading into their game against the James Madison Dukes, the West Virginia Mountaineers coaches are focused on improving tackling. Head coach Dana Holgorsen feels as if his defense still has work to do, specifically with tackling better. Holgorsen praised the Dukes while pointing out his team's biggest flaw from its first game.
"They’re sound in what they do, and they tackle well," Holgorsen said of the 2-0 Dukes. "They’ve only missed 10 tackles in two games. I wish we could say that about our defense, but we can’t at this point."
Holgorsen isn't the only one worried about the Mountaineers' tackling. Defensive coordinator Joe DeForest noted a need for improvement in tackling and third-down defense after WVU's 69-34 win over Marshall on Sept. 1.
"Defensively, we need to tackle better and get better on third down," DeForest said. "If you tackle better on third down, you’re probably getting off the field, which reduces the snaps, which reduces the yards. It always comes back to that. We lined up well, we played physical, we played fast and our first downs were great. We just didn’t tackle very good on third down."
After its opening gam, WVU ranks No. 2 nationally in offense, but is No. 117 in defense. The Mountaineers take on James Madison at 4:30 p.m. at FedEx Field in Landover, Md.
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