WVU Linebacker Coach Blake Sieler A Big Fan Of St. Clairsville Native Brendan Ferns
New WVU LB coach likes what he sees
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MORGANTOWN -- It didn't take newly hired inside linebacker coach Blake Seiler long to learn the name of Brendan Ferns.
"Yes, I've only been here for about 10 days and the thing that is most impressive to me about Brenden is that coach gives a Warrior of the Week award and he was the first guy to get it," Seiler, who came to Morgantown from Big 12 Conference rival Kansas State, said.
"And to just listen to him about the way he works, the way he leads and the way he adds energy, just doing everything he is supposed to do both on and off the field. To me all the guys that I have had that are playing on Sundays had those qualities.
"In addition to be a good athlete. And, I think Brendan has those qualities in place. Now we've just got to keep him healthy."
And, that has been the sore spot for the former St. Clairsville High School standout.
A stellar high school career which ended with an invitation to play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl (2016) and being named as the A.P. All-Ohio Division IV Defensive Player of the Year (2015).
A knee injury suffered during preseason resulted in him being redshirted during his freshman season in Morgantown. But, a promising spring (2017) had Ferns in line to see some action as the primary backup to David Long Jr. at Mike linebacker.
Four games into a redshirt freshman campaign which saw the 232-pounder play in the Mountaineers' first four games -- 10 tackles, including nine solo stops -- ended when he suffered a shoulder injury.
Another successful recovery, however, had the four-star linebacker ready to compete for a starting job when spring practice got underway for the 2018 season.
That would not happen as, yet another knee injury caused Ferns to miss the first eight games of the 2018 campaign. This time he wouldn't miss the entire season, returning in time to see the field against Oklahoma State, Oklahoma and WVU's bowl game against Syracuse.
"We have given it some thought," Seiler said. "We just don't have a whole lot of film to evaluate. Just looking at him moving around in drills and everything I think he is a versatile guy. He can both, inside and outside. He's going to start with me as an inside backer and then we will see how it goes."
Ferns heads into his fourth spring looking to unseat Dylan Tonkery, Charlie Benton, and Shea Campbell -- all who made starts in 2018 -- from atop the depth chart.
"We will try and limit snap counts. (Ferns) has done a great job of working with our training staff. When you get to the spot like Brendan's been, having so many episodes, it affects you more mentally. We've talked about it.
"You can't play this game being scared to get hurt. You can't do that. So, he really has to work at blocking that out. Learn to play with a free mind. It is football and we hope he understands that. Anything can happen at any time. He's been doing a great job working his tail off in the weight room. I like where he is going."