-West Virginia head coach Dana Holgorsen said that there will continue to be mixing and matching with the offensive line moving forward. The plan is to continue to move redshirt senior Adam Pankey between guard and tackle, while redshirt freshman Colton McKivitz will move to each tackle spot. Against Youngstown State, Holgorsen thought the Mountaineers played “okay,” but he did not see the progress he wanted to see out of redshirt junior right tackle Marcell Lazard, while McKivitz played like a true freshman at times He also thought the inside was just average.
-The plan this week is to introduce BYU to the team but not overkill it. In the past he would wait until Sunday to introduce film to the team and start working but he now plans to prepare them so they will be ready for some of the challenges the Cougars present. Those challenges include being an older team as well as the fact that they look a lot like West Virginia on defense with three-down lineman. The rest of the week will be dedicated to development before the coaches hit the road for recruiting.
-Holgorsen said that he will be in Mississippi hitting the junior college ranks this week and will be accompanied by offensive coordinator Joe Wickline. I asked for a schedule on the assistants but he didn’t have that at hand however they also will be on the road across the country. There isn’t a strong need for junior college players in this class but Holgorsen said they will address needs.
-Holgorsen said it’s too early in the season to really learn anything about his team yet and they remain a work in progress. He does like the fact that his group understands that and is working hard to improve.
-Redshirt sophomore Will Grier is obviously sitting out this season, but Holgorsen has seen a lot from him that has impressed him. He has the natural ability to be a starting quarterback and has been good on the sideline which is important even though he is sitting out. Holgorsen said he has been fighting defensive coordinator Tony Gibson because he wants him on scout team and Holgorsen wants him in the meeting rooms and in individual stuff to further his development. Still he isn’t getting live reps.
-Freshman quarterback Cody Saunders will redshirt this season.
-Holgorsen felt that redshirt senior running back Rushel Shell played his best game that he’s played since he’s been at West Virginia against Youngstown State.
-As for senior quarterback Skyler Howard, Holgorsen said he didn’t practice Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and received only some limited work Friday but went out there and had the best game he’s had since he’s been at West Virginia outside the bowl game.
-West Virginia played a total of 55 guys against Youngstown State but wanted to get more in there.
-When it comes to the missed tackles, Holgorsen said they have to be careful with scrimmaging to remedy the issue and the biggest problem he saw was with effort. It’s not like the unit suddenly forgot how to tackle after doing a very strong job against Missouri. He was concerned about the amount of loafs on that side of the ball as well as offense.
-Holgorsen said the backup quarterbacks practiced a lot better than they played in the opener, although he did admit it couldn’t get much worse. The attention on the sidelines also was a lot better and he felt that both redshirt sophomore William Crest and redshirt freshman Chris Chugunov learned from the experience. They were able to get quite a bit of practice reps but he wishes he could have played them more against Youngstown State this past weekend.
-Holgorsen doesn’t expect many changes to the depth chart when it comes out next week.
-Each week West Virginia practices hail mary situations including how and where to line up as well as what to do to help prepare for end of game situations.
-The plan this week is to introduce BYU to the team but not overkill it. In the past he would wait until Sunday to introduce film to the team and start working but he now plans to prepare them so they will be ready for some of the challenges the Cougars present. Those challenges include being an older team as well as the fact that they look a lot like West Virginia on defense with three-down lineman. The rest of the week will be dedicated to development before the coaches hit the road for recruiting.
-Holgorsen said that he will be in Mississippi hitting the junior college ranks this week and will be accompanied by offensive coordinator Joe Wickline. I asked for a schedule on the assistants but he didn’t have that at hand however they also will be on the road across the country. There isn’t a strong need for junior college players in this class but Holgorsen said they will address needs.
-Holgorsen said it’s too early in the season to really learn anything about his team yet and they remain a work in progress. He does like the fact that his group understands that and is working hard to improve.
-Redshirt sophomore Will Grier is obviously sitting out this season, but Holgorsen has seen a lot from him that has impressed him. He has the natural ability to be a starting quarterback and has been good on the sideline which is important even though he is sitting out. Holgorsen said he has been fighting defensive coordinator Tony Gibson because he wants him on scout team and Holgorsen wants him in the meeting rooms and in individual stuff to further his development. Still he isn’t getting live reps.
-Freshman quarterback Cody Saunders will redshirt this season.
-Holgorsen felt that redshirt senior running back Rushel Shell played his best game that he’s played since he’s been at West Virginia against Youngstown State.
-As for senior quarterback Skyler Howard, Holgorsen said he didn’t practice Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and received only some limited work Friday but went out there and had the best game he’s had since he’s been at West Virginia outside the bowl game.
-West Virginia played a total of 55 guys against Youngstown State but wanted to get more in there.
-When it comes to the missed tackles, Holgorsen said they have to be careful with scrimmaging to remedy the issue and the biggest problem he saw was with effort. It’s not like the unit suddenly forgot how to tackle after doing a very strong job against Missouri. He was concerned about the amount of loafs on that side of the ball as well as offense.
-Holgorsen said the backup quarterbacks practiced a lot better than they played in the opener, although he did admit it couldn’t get much worse. The attention on the sidelines also was a lot better and he felt that both redshirt sophomore William Crest and redshirt freshman Chris Chugunov learned from the experience. They were able to get quite a bit of practice reps but he wishes he could have played them more against Youngstown State this past weekend.
-Holgorsen doesn’t expect many changes to the depth chart when it comes out next week.
-Each week West Virginia practices hail mary situations including how and where to line up as well as what to do to help prepare for end of game situations.
