Here's my fiver on Spring Practice, and a way too early look at 2015 based upon reports and quotes from coaches----------
1. No buzz surrounding the new QBs. Disappointed that there is no real buzz surrounding our new QBs Crest, Sills, Chugs. The best I've seen or heard is that "Crest looks the part". Conclusion: It's looking more and more like this will be Skyler Howard's team. (Could this change in August? Sure. But, I'm basing it on Spring ball/where we stand) If this is Skyler Howard's team in 2015, then I'm fine with that...with an asterisk. That asterisk being his performance vs. Texas A&M. It is a bit worrisome that he continually missed wide open WRs that game...and some were thrown to wide open NFL receivers. Howard does bring some moxie and movement to the table. He'll scramble for many first downs on third down situations in 2015. But, the big question after his two and a half games is consistency hitting receives down the field. That said, you look at Skyler's numbers over those 2.5 games, and they're pretty solid. Especially --- 8 TDs and 0 INTs. If this is going to be Skyler's team, then I'd like to see the team rally around him in Fall camp and Skyler establish the fact that he is "The Man" like Clint did last August.
2. Get to the passer. We're going to have a salty defense in 2015. Our defensive backfield is going to be crazy good. That said, they can only be so good if we can't establish a pass rush. With Shaq Riddick and Brandon Golson departing...who's going to be our guy to get to the QB in 2015? That is my No. 1 question for the defense. And, we're going to need one in this league, badly. Who's it gonna be? Muldrow? Gross? Can Jefferson or Pegues come in and be ready to make a difference?
3. It's third and short. Maryland crowds the line of scrimmage, and as they did last year, puts their corners on an island vs. our WRs on the outside. Safeties up, cover zero. They are daring us to pass.. If we audible and go long, who is the deep threat? Shelton Gibson? I see Shorts as more of a possession guy. This is a big question in 2015. Who is going to be our go-to Kevin White/Sted Bailey type deep guy? I think that our incoming freshmen Durante, Jennings and Ka'Raun White will have some opportunities to show they can be "that guy".
4. With our WRs (and to a certain extent, QB) being a question mark...our OL's effectiveness becomes extremely important. We're going to be loaded at RB, and with a running QB in Howard, we have potential to be a very good running team in '15. But, we're going nowhere unless our OL meshes and becomes a force. Crook has a big, big spotlight on him this year. Pankey looked awfully shakey towards the end of last season. With a solid running game, he is going to need to be effective at guard. More than Cajuste, I worry about Pankey. He has the size...I hope he's ready to be a road grader (and stop jumping offsides!).
5. Nail-biters in 2015. I forsee 2015 as a season of nail-biters for WVU. With that said, an upgrade in Special Teams could make all of the difference in the world. Simply put, we need to be efficient, not great, on special teams. NO MORE TURNOVERS...and no more returns for touchdowns. In games that appear to me to be toss-ups (Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas Tech, Kansas State, Maryland, even our annual grudge fest with TCU), turnovers and touchdowns on special teams could either win games for us...or spell our doom (like they did last year vs. Oklahoma and Kansas State---- and made the Maryland game far more interesting than it needed to be).
1. No buzz surrounding the new QBs. Disappointed that there is no real buzz surrounding our new QBs Crest, Sills, Chugs. The best I've seen or heard is that "Crest looks the part". Conclusion: It's looking more and more like this will be Skyler Howard's team. (Could this change in August? Sure. But, I'm basing it on Spring ball/where we stand) If this is Skyler Howard's team in 2015, then I'm fine with that...with an asterisk. That asterisk being his performance vs. Texas A&M. It is a bit worrisome that he continually missed wide open WRs that game...and some were thrown to wide open NFL receivers. Howard does bring some moxie and movement to the table. He'll scramble for many first downs on third down situations in 2015. But, the big question after his two and a half games is consistency hitting receives down the field. That said, you look at Skyler's numbers over those 2.5 games, and they're pretty solid. Especially --- 8 TDs and 0 INTs. If this is going to be Skyler's team, then I'd like to see the team rally around him in Fall camp and Skyler establish the fact that he is "The Man" like Clint did last August.
2. Get to the passer. We're going to have a salty defense in 2015. Our defensive backfield is going to be crazy good. That said, they can only be so good if we can't establish a pass rush. With Shaq Riddick and Brandon Golson departing...who's going to be our guy to get to the QB in 2015? That is my No. 1 question for the defense. And, we're going to need one in this league, badly. Who's it gonna be? Muldrow? Gross? Can Jefferson or Pegues come in and be ready to make a difference?
3. It's third and short. Maryland crowds the line of scrimmage, and as they did last year, puts their corners on an island vs. our WRs on the outside. Safeties up, cover zero. They are daring us to pass.. If we audible and go long, who is the deep threat? Shelton Gibson? I see Shorts as more of a possession guy. This is a big question in 2015. Who is going to be our go-to Kevin White/Sted Bailey type deep guy? I think that our incoming freshmen Durante, Jennings and Ka'Raun White will have some opportunities to show they can be "that guy".
4. With our WRs (and to a certain extent, QB) being a question mark...our OL's effectiveness becomes extremely important. We're going to be loaded at RB, and with a running QB in Howard, we have potential to be a very good running team in '15. But, we're going nowhere unless our OL meshes and becomes a force. Crook has a big, big spotlight on him this year. Pankey looked awfully shakey towards the end of last season. With a solid running game, he is going to need to be effective at guard. More than Cajuste, I worry about Pankey. He has the size...I hope he's ready to be a road grader (and stop jumping offsides!).
5. Nail-biters in 2015. I forsee 2015 as a season of nail-biters for WVU. With that said, an upgrade in Special Teams could make all of the difference in the world. Simply put, we need to be efficient, not great, on special teams. NO MORE TURNOVERS...and no more returns for touchdowns. In games that appear to me to be toss-ups (Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas Tech, Kansas State, Maryland, even our annual grudge fest with TCU), turnovers and touchdowns on special teams could either win games for us...or spell our doom (like they did last year vs. Oklahoma and Kansas State---- and made the Maryland game far more interesting than it needed to be).
