Orlando, Fla. - West Virginia University football coach Dana Holgorsen addressed members of the media on Friday, December 23, 2016, at Kroy Crofoot Field at the First Academy in Orlando, Florida.

 

Only if you win, that is the only way that you do that. Florida is important to us, there is no question about that. Central Florida has been really good to us in the past, getting guys like KJ Dillion and Karl Joseph. That’s been good, the whole state has been good to us. I think it is probably a little over stated that you can get some things done in recruiting by playing in a bowl game. Bowl games are for our team, the reward of having a good football season. It is for our fan base, for coaches, players, families, administrators, all of that good stuff. All of that is very positive and to be able to come to a city like Orlando, which I consider to be one of the premier bowl destinations in the United States. All of that is very, very, very positive.

 

Going through the process and staying in shape is probably the biggest thing. We have a good week in. For the majority of the games that we have played this year, we get one week to prep, so we can prep for anybody in one week. We have already prepped for Miami for one week back home, gave them some time off and now we have to rework some things and get out there and get three or four days of good practice in to stay in shape, maintain timing and do what we need to from an X’s and O’s point of view to make sure our guys know what to do.

 

No, not in three or four days. We took two weeks once the season was over and healed up. We were pretty banged up there for games 11 and 12. We have almost everybody back. They got their legs underneath them. We got a few developmental practices in, which that is never enough. Another thing that gets overstated with bowl games is the importance of being able to practice developmental players. You don’t have a whole lot of time to do that when it comes to recruiting, finals, holidays, that sort of thing. We got a few of them in, we are able to work them out a good bit to make sure they stay in shape.

 

They are good. They are arguably the most talented team that we have faced all year. It’s a different type of offense than what we see in the Big 12. We have played some pro-style offenses this year. They can score, they have unbelievable talent, they do a great job at protecting the football and managing the game. Defensively, they are as big, strong and fast as we have seen all year so that will be a huge challenge.

 

Nope, we are all good to go. Quick shout out to Brittney O’Dell. She is an Orlando girl and she is our academic advisor so she is back home enjoying this bowl game as well. She did an outstanding job for our guys academically. We ended with a 2.53 team GPA, which is the highest it’s been since I have been here, tracking it back since 2011. Zero academic casualties and a big shout out to her for doing a fantastic job for our football program.

 

They are a national brand. I usually have to educate our players on our opponent, I didn’t have to educate our players on this opponent. Everybody knows about Miami and what type of players they have. Having guys from south Florida, there is some crossover with some of our players and some of their players, which helps. We are the visitor. We are the visiting team, in Florida, against a Florida school that has a national brand. If we can go win this one, it would mean something. We aren’t supposed to, we aren’t supposed to win it, we are the underdog but if we can somehow find a way to win, it would be good for the program.

 

Huge. It will be big. Mountaineer fans will travel; this is an area that they want to go to, just being an east coast, West Virginia is east coast, Orlando is east coast, an old Big East rival. It means something, this is the 20^th time that Miami and West Virginia have played. A lot of familiarity between the programs, and each other and the fan bases, I would anticipate this being a pretty good one.

 

Good, (sophomore wide receiver) Jovon (Durante) is playing some outside. We started him on the outside against Baylor and four plays into it he tweaked his knee so he couldn’t play the rest of the game. He is good, he will play a good bit at that outside spot. (Freshman wide receiver) Marcus Simms has come on as of late, played well against Iowa State and played well against Baylor. Those two guys will hold it down. (Sophomore wide receiver) Gary Jennings is doing some good things as well. He has had a really good month, probably the best month that he has had since he has been on campus. We have guys; we just need to protect up front. They have a great pass rush, they have a phenomenal secondary. We have to give (senior quarterback) Skyler (Howard) some time, and he has to be accurate with the ball.   

 

It is the first time that I have competed against him, and really I have never met him, but he has always been a guy that I have followed. Back to when he was an offensive coordinator at Florida State. I was always watching what he was doing; he had so much success at Florida State. Obviously, going to Georgia, he has won a lot of bowl games, he has won a lot of football games. One of the premier coaches in college football just because of his success and how long he has been around. He has done a good job at winning bowl games. He is going to have those guys ready to play. Obviously, just the history between West Virginia and Miami from a Big East point of view, that brings a lot to the table as well.

 

There’s always adjustments on both sides. We are a lot more like what they do, than they are some of the teams in the Big 12. If you look at the Big 12, there is not a whole lot of pro-style offenses; there is a lot of tempo spread stuff. Their base, something that they do on defense is something that we have seen a lot this year. What they do on offense is more BYU type stuff, where they are going to slow it down and huddle, run the football and try to big play you over the top. It is going to be interesting to watch

 

He is good. He has practiced. He still needs a little more time to heal; It doesn’t matter how much he plays. We are not going to have to rely on him as much based on (redshirt junior safety) Marvin Gross (Jr.) coming up in the one game he played in the majority of the time he is the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week. We have depth there, that’s why this team has been good, they are able to overcome things like that. He is suited up; he will be out there. He will have a little bit of wrap on his hand, but other than that he is good to go.

 

It can be. It can be, there is a lot to do here that is why this is one of the best bowl destinations that exists. You just have to be able to balance it. We have some older guys who have been to a lot of these games and understand when it is time to work, it is time to work and when it is time to have fun, it is time to go out and have fun. There are things to do, we will let them get out and go do some fun things for a few days and the closer that we get to the game, we will pull them back in and give them a lot of rest and feed them and hydrate them really well and get them mentally prepared for the game.

 

No, I’m not.

 

It gives you a lot of confidence, no question. Last year when we won that game in Arizona it gave us a lot of confidence going into the 2016 season. You want to send the seniors out on top - that is important. You want to use it for some momentum going into the next season as well. We have had success doing that in the past. The key to a bowl game is making sure that you are excited to be there and making sure that you are getting your work done. I will make sure that happens as long as it stays like this, which I’m assuming it will.