— By Sean Manning, The Dominion Post
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Mark Scott dropped his head in disappointment after West Virginia’s first punt of the season against Tennessee.
After working on certain alignments and protections for months, coaches were eager to see how their players perform. For the Mountaineers special teams coach, it left a sour taste.
As soon as the ball was snapped toward punter Billy Kinney, the strong-side protection broke down and allowed Tennessee’s Alontae Taylor to barrel through untouched. He got his right hand up to block the kick.
Fortunately for WVU, the ball rolled to the Tennessee 22-yard line in what ended up being a 34-yard net.