STILL JUGGLING
August 26, 2011 11:29 AM | General
Ask any football coach across America this time of the year what their biggest concern is and all of them will answer depth, or a lack thereof.
West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen is no different. He said he was forced to curtail last Saturday’s scrimmage because he had only one healthy center available to handle snaps. That has since been rectified with the return of backup John Bassler (neck stinger).
Still, Holgorsen admits West Virginia has depth issues just like every other school throughout the country.
“You take elite schools, they are going to complain about depth, too,” Holgorsen said. “The NFL complains. We are not complaining. We are just working hard to get as much depth as possible.”
Holgorsen hopes some of his second teamers can improve enough to push the first teamers a little more and gain the coaching staff’s confidence to put them into the game in any capacity, including special teams.
“You need to be able to trust a second teamer, if needed,” he said. “If you can’t trust him, then it’s hard to put him out there on special teams.”
After about a month of practice, there are some areas on his team Holgorsen is feeling better about and some areas that still need some work.
One area that still needs some ironing out is offensive line, particularly the backups.
“The first team (has made improvement),” Holgorsen said. “Don Barclay has been really consistent. He is a senior, and we are glad we have him. (Jeff) Braun is the starting guard, and he has done well. (Joe) Madsen is one of the best centers I have been around. (Tyler) Rader is an overachiever and a tough guy. The right tackle is something we have talked about a bunch and (Pat) Eger is still ahead of (Quinton) Spain.
“We would like the rest of them to push the first teamers a little more, but they are what they are.”
Holgorsen is much more pleased with the competition he’s getting at wide receiver and running back. He mentioned the battle going on between Ryan Nehlen and Ivan McCartney at Z receiver as being fun for the coaches to watch. Both are really coming on.
“Right about the time you think Ivan has the edge then Ryan comes back and has his best day since he’s been here (on Wednesday),” Holgorsen said. “That is an ongoing deal. Tyler Urban and Devon Brown will play pretty evenly (at Y).”
At the other two spots, Holgorsen said he has been satisfied with what he’s seen from Stedman Bailey at X and Tavon Austin at H. Those two guys have solidified their spots with their consistent play.
Both running back spots are still too close to call. Holgorsen said as many as seven guys could get on the field at those two positions against Marshall on Sept. 4.
“I have never been anywhere that seven running backs are going to play,” he admitted. “It’s our job to continue to narrow it down when we are going to play certain guys and how much we keep them in there.”
Ryan Clarke has made dramatic improvement at fullback and is now in a three-way battle with Matt Lindamood and Shawne Alston for that spot, and Holgorsen has four tailbacks to choose from in Trey Johnson, Vernard Roberts, Andrew Buie and Dustin Garrison – all four extremely young and inexperienced but also very talented.
Holgorsen said which tailback goes out on the field first will probably mean more to him than the coaching staff.
“Throughout the course of the game we will decide who to put in there the most,” Holgorsen said. “We don’t know how that is going to happen. A specific person can get jacked up about it, but that has no meaning on how much someone is going to play.”
The tailback who sees the most action may actually be the one who can do the other things without the football the best. Protecting quarterback Geno Smith’s backside will be just as important as ripping off a long run.
“With young kids you always worry about (pass protection),” Holgorsen said. “When they aren’t very big, you really worry about that, but they have had lots of reps and opportunities. All four are picking up their assignments, and they know where to go. They are battling and playing hard. We are going to know more about them when we see the live stuff.”
The same goes for his football team.
West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen is no different. He said he was forced to curtail last Saturday’s scrimmage because he had only one healthy center available to handle snaps. That has since been rectified with the return of backup John Bassler (neck stinger).
Still, Holgorsen admits West Virginia has depth issues just like every other school throughout the country.
“You take elite schools, they are going to complain about depth, too,” Holgorsen said. “The NFL complains. We are not complaining. We are just working hard to get as much depth as possible.”
Holgorsen hopes some of his second teamers can improve enough to push the first teamers a little more and gain the coaching staff’s confidence to put them into the game in any capacity, including special teams.
“You need to be able to trust a second teamer, if needed,” he said. “If you can’t trust him, then it’s hard to put him out there on special teams.”
After about a month of practice, there are some areas on his team Holgorsen is feeling better about and some areas that still need some work.
One area that still needs some ironing out is offensive line, particularly the backups.
“The first team (has made improvement),” Holgorsen said. “Don Barclay has been really consistent. He is a senior, and we are glad we have him. (Jeff) Braun is the starting guard, and he has done well. (Joe) Madsen is one of the best centers I have been around. (Tyler) Rader is an overachiever and a tough guy. The right tackle is something we have talked about a bunch and (Pat) Eger is still ahead of (Quinton) Spain.
“We would like the rest of them to push the first teamers a little more, but they are what they are.”
Holgorsen is much more pleased with the competition he’s getting at wide receiver and running back. He mentioned the battle going on between Ryan Nehlen and Ivan McCartney at Z receiver as being fun for the coaches to watch. Both are really coming on.
“Right about the time you think Ivan has the edge then Ryan comes back and has his best day since he’s been here (on Wednesday),” Holgorsen said. “That is an ongoing deal. Tyler Urban and Devon Brown will play pretty evenly (at Y).”
At the other two spots, Holgorsen said he has been satisfied with what he’s seen from Stedman Bailey at X and Tavon Austin at H. Those two guys have solidified their spots with their consistent play.
Both running back spots are still too close to call. Holgorsen said as many as seven guys could get on the field at those two positions against Marshall on Sept. 4.
“I have never been anywhere that seven running backs are going to play,” he admitted. “It’s our job to continue to narrow it down when we are going to play certain guys and how much we keep them in there.”
Ryan Clarke has made dramatic improvement at fullback and is now in a three-way battle with Matt Lindamood and Shawne Alston for that spot, and Holgorsen has four tailbacks to choose from in Trey Johnson, Vernard Roberts, Andrew Buie and Dustin Garrison – all four extremely young and inexperienced but also very talented.
Holgorsen said which tailback goes out on the field first will probably mean more to him than the coaching staff.
“Throughout the course of the game we will decide who to put in there the most,” Holgorsen said. “We don’t know how that is going to happen. A specific person can get jacked up about it, but that has no meaning on how much someone is going to play.”
The tailback who sees the most action may actually be the one who can do the other things without the football the best. Protecting quarterback Geno Smith’s backside will be just as important as ripping off a long run.
“With young kids you always worry about (pass protection),” Holgorsen said. “When they aren’t very big, you really worry about that, but they have had lots of reps and opportunities. All four are picking up their assignments, and they know where to go. They are battling and playing hard. We are going to know more about them when we see the live stuff.”
The same goes for his football team.
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