Fans Entertained at The Greenbrier on Saturday
April 18, 2015 08:50 PM | General
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| Quarterback Skyler Howard fakes a handoff to running back Rushel Shell during Saturday's practice at The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. | |
| All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks photo | |
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. - Jordan Thompson caught a pair of touchdown passes from quarterback Skyler Howard and the No. 1 offense scored three times against the No. 1 defense during today’s scrimmage at The Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.
An estimated 2,000 fans attended today’s workout at the AdvoCare Performance Center, which also serves as the preseason training camp facility for the New Orleans Saints.
Howard, taking all of his reps with the No. 1 offense, passed for 153 yards and two touchdowns while backup quarterback William Crest completed eight of 16 passes for 155 yards and two touchdowns with the twos.
Crest fired a pretty 41-yard touchdown pass to Ricky Rogers and then later in the scrimmage located Devonte Mathis down the near sideline for a 30-yard scoring strike.
Howard’s two touchdown passes to Thompson covered 57 and six yards. Thompson finished the afternoon with three catches for 79 yards.
“I made a couple of big plays to spark the offense and get the momentum going,” said Thompson. “If I had a grade today I probably would give it a B. I felt like I could have done a lot more. I can improve my blocking and I need to make more plays than just two or three.”
“The thing about (Thompson) is he has made himself into a good receiver,” said wide receivers coach Lonnie Galloway. “He understands how to work over the middle and being here with Tavon (Austin) has helped him. He got to play a year with Tavon and it was one of those things where he has developed and made himself into a good player. He understands where we want him to be and I wish I had two or three more of him.”
Freshman running back Donte Thomas-Williams, subbing for injured Wendell Smallwood, ripped off a 56-yard touchdown run and finished the afternoon with a scrimmage-best 89 yards on only eight carries working with both the first and second groups.
Thomas-Williams was helped off the field later in the scrimmage and he spent the rest of the afternoon standing on the sidelines with his helmet off.
Elijah Wellman added a two-yard touchdown run late in the scrimmage for the offense, while safety Dravon Henry began the afternoon by stepping in front of a Howard pass and returning it 24 yards for the defense’s only score of the day.
“That was just our base coverage – cover three – and he read it,” said defensive coordinator Tony Gibson. “Last week they got us on that exact same play and we worked it watched film, corrected some things and he made a really good a break on it and scored so that was good.”
“We hit them on that play when we were in Morgantown so they’ve seen it multiple times – this is not their first rodeo – but no doubt it was a bad read by me,” said Howard. “The good thing was that next drive I bounced back from that.”
Backup safety Jeremy Tyler recorded an interception and the defense also managed four sacks, one each from Larry Jefferson, Jon Lewis, Hunter Brown and Eric Kinsey.
There were only six penalties called today – five on the offense and one on the defense.
“The two most disappointing things were the third-and-one that popped on us for the touchdown. We missed a tackle and the kid misfit,” said Gibson. “We were bringing everybody up close knowing they were going to run the ball and they made a play and we didn’t.
“Then, we were in a two-minute situation with 50 seconds left to go in the half and our guys blew a coverage and I don’t know how that happens. They need to be aware and understand what situation we are in.”
Prior to practice, West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen indicated Howard is beginning to separate himself from the rest of the quarterbacks.
“He is the clear-cut No. 1 right now and it’s not even close,” said Holgorsen. “He’s a different kid. I sure hope I am not jinxing him right now but he’s operating very well and looks great. His teammates believe in him and the coaches believe in him.”
Holgorsen said he was pleased to be able to bring his team down to The Greenbrier for a couple of practices at a world-class resort on a professional team’s preseason training site.
“The thing that is so awesome is all that space out there – two full fields to practice on,” said Holgorsen. “I didn’t know how to set up our practice schedule because I didn’t know where to put everybody because we’re not used to this kind of space. The grass is great, the weather is great and the facility is great.
“Our guys were fired up about coming down here and seeing this part of the country. They’ve heard so much about (the AdvocCare training facility) and for them to come down here and see what it’s like has been really cool for them,” added Holgorsen.
The Mountaineers will conclude the spring with the Gold-Blue Game on Saturday, April 25 at Milan Puskar Stadium. The annual spring game will kick off at 1 p.m. and a portion of the proceeds for the game will benefit the WVU Children’s Hospital.
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