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New Coach Carrier an Asset to WRs
April 19, 2016 10:06 AM | Football
Whenever a new coach is hired, it’s quite common for the existing players on the team to do a little research on their new mentor. They will sometimes Google his name or go to the place where he last worked to read his biography on the Internet.
In the case of new West Virginia University wide receivers coach Tyron Carrier, there’s quite a bit for them to investigate regarding his record-setting playing career at Houston.
Carrier tied an NCAA record with seven kickoff returns for touchdowns, and established an NCAA record by catching at least two passes in all 53 games of his collegiate playing career at U of H, which ended in 2011.
Carrier also excelled in track where he competed in the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials in the 200-meter dash. That led to a brief professional career in Canada, where he finished fifth in the Canadian Football League with a combined 1,117 return yards in 2013, including two returns for touchdowns.
“It’s tough for any player to hang it up, especially as young as I was, but I feel like (my age) is an advantage because I can still jump in there and show them how to do things,” Carrier, 28, explained. “Every guy that’s learning has got to see it, they’ve got to hear it and they’ve got to do it. If I can show it to them, it makes it a lot easier for them.”
Last year, Carrier was demonstrating wide receiver routes for Baylor as one of Art Briles’ graduate assistant coaches. Now, he’s ready to take what he’s learned from those places to help a young but very talented WVU wide receiver corps in 2016.
“I have a history with him and he was a great player at Houston,” West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen said. “He has been in this offense for four years, two years with myself, two years with (Kliff) Kingsbury, so he has a lot of familiarity. It didn’t make any sense to me bringing in a guy that didn’t have familiarity with what we are doing. We have some experienced receivers and we have some guys that are continuing to develop, and he can teach them a lot of nuances.”
“Whoever you work for or look up to, you always use that,” Carrier added. “You’ve got to take from everybody and if you’re not learning, you’re lost.”
What Carrier has got to work with at WVU right now is not too bad, and it should get even better when he gets the rest of his guys.
Right now, there is speedster Shelton Gibson, who caught 37 passes for 887 yards and nine touchdowns last year as a sophomore and reliable Daikiel Shorts Jr. who caught a team-best 45 passes for 528 yards and five touchdowns in 2015.
There is Ka’Raun White, the younger brother of NFL first-rounder Kevin White, who is coming along quite nicely this spring. There is sophomore Gary Jennings, a physical, intelligent receiver who played well in the 2016 Cactus Bowl.
Athletic quarterback David Sills played some wide receiver last year as a freshman and could be an another option, as well as athletic quarterback William Crest Jr., senior Devonte Mathis and sophomore Ricky Rogers.
Then there is the possibility of getting Jovon Durante back this summer, plus, the addition of talented newcomers Steven Smothers and Marcus Simms, an Olney, Maryland, resident who is already here participating this spring.
“A lot of them have that twitch, and most importantly, they’ve got the drive to be great,” was Carrier’s initial impressive of the group of wide receivers he’s working with right now.
Carrier’s immediate goal with the guys he’s working with is seeing more consistency from them on a daily basis.
“Right now we’re throwing a lot at them,” Carrier said. “I’m kind of switching up what they’ve learned for the last couple of years. They have to think a lot right now, but they’re catching on really fast so I’m excited about that.”
Carrier’s knowledge of Dana Holgorsen’s offense has already been helpful, as is the way he goes about teaching it. When one of his guys messes up, he will usually take them off to the side and explain exactly what they did wrong instead of chewing them out in front of everybody.
The players seem to appreciate Carrier’s laid-back approach with them so far.
“He knows just about everything about this offense because he’s played in it,” White said. “If we’re not sticking our routes, he will tell us this is the reason why we need to do this.”
Carrier admits he’s still trying to get his guys to understand the importance of performing each play and how one missed opportunity - no matter when it happens - can completely change the complexion of a game.
He explains.
“I’m building them to where they understand certain situations and the importance of those situations,” Carrier said. “Some guys may not even know what certain situations they are in because they’re moving so fast. I’ve seen instances when a guy has dropped a ball on third down and looked like he was going back to line up (and run another play). They didn’t even know it was third down, so you’ve got to get guys in tune with that.”
Carrier also wants his receivers to be in tune with quarterback Skyler Howard.
“You’ve got to get confidence in your quarterback and your head coach to throw it your way,” Carrier said. “We’re still working on that one.
“We’re still scratching the surface,” he added. “It’s going to take everybody just digging in and being accountable for making those plays.”
In addition to working with the wide receivers, Carrier is also going to help out with the return game this year. Holgorsen is hopeful Carrier can get West Virginia punt returners in a much better place this fall.
“He has a wealth of knowledge with that,” Holgorsen said. “I’m going to turn them over to him and let him coach the kick returners and punt returners. We’ll see how it goes.”
“That’s one of my loves,” Carrier said. “I was pretty good at it in college so I’m excited about that. We’ve got a handful of guys that can do it so my toughest job with that is, who should we put back there?”
As for this week, West Virginia has a light practice scheduled today and a team scrimmage slated for Thursday leading into Saturday’s Gold-Blue Spring Game taking place at noon at The Greenbrier Resort.
“The remainder of the spring will be a whole lot of scrimmaging,” said Holgorsen last Saturday. “It is all about putting the ball down and playing some ball.”
Tickets for Saturday’s Gold-Blue Game are priced at $10 and net proceeds will benefit WVU Medicine Children’s. WVU students will be admitted free with a valid student ID.
Parking will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis. For your convenience, it is strongly encouraged to park at Lot U (Downtown White Sulphur Springs).
Limited shuttle service will be available from Lot V (Hart’s Run). The parking lots will be located at Lot W (Greenbrier Warehouse), Lot V (Hart’s Run) and Lot U (downtown White Sulphur Springs).
Shuttle service from Lot V to the Sports Performance Center will begin at 10 a.m. and run until 5 p.m.
The Mountaineer Sports Network from IMG will provide radio coverage (Tony Caridi, Dwight Wallace and Jed Drenning) on select stations throughout the state beginning at 11:30 a.m.
Mountaineer fans can also follow the action online through leanStream and the mobile app TuneIn.
The one-hour Dana Holgorsen Show airing next week will recap this year’s spring game on NexStar affiliates throughout the state.
Check your local listings for air times.
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