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Coach Dana Holgorsen Media Conference
April 23, 2016 04:48 PM | Football
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Coach Dana Holgorsen addressed members of the media on Saturday, April 23, following the spring game at the Greenbrier.
Jim Justice’s Opening Statement
I’ll do this short and sweet. First of all, we have coach. We have the Mountaineers, and we have the Greenbrier. We have all of you, and we appreciate you. We love that you are here. The good Lord has blessed us. It is a wonderful day. It is not too hot. It is not raining. The Mountaineers performed terrifically, and we are very blessed to have them. Thank you coach for that. Thanks again.
Dana Holgorsen’s Opening Statement
Thanks Jim. On behalf of Mr. Lyons, our football program and the entire athletic department, I want to send out a sincere thank you to the Greenbrier. The hospitality down here is unbelievable. Our guys really enjoyed it. I tried to get Jim (Justice) to lower the rates at the Greenbrier, so we could have the team over there the next time. It is too expensive and too nice. The guys came last night, and they walked through the facility. They had a wonderful dinner. I woke up, and it was awesome this morning. You can’t ask for anything better. We had over 6,000 fans out there today. When the team pulled up two hours before the game, there were people everywhere. That gets our guys pretty juiced and cranked up. It was a wonderful day for everyone involved. A huge thank you to Mr. Justice and the Greenbrier for the hospitality. It really is second to none when it comes to hospitality and facilities. It is a wonderful place, and I hope that we can continue to come down here for a long time.
As far as the game goes, it was good to end the spring on a positive note. There were some really good things out there on both sides of the ball. We wanted to give Mountaineer Nation a little glimpse as far as what to expect from these guys moving forward. Our team is going to continue to change. It is going to continue to evolve with the addition of new guys, position battles and getting guys healthy. It is going to be fun watching this team develop, and I am certainly proud of where our team is at this point in time. With that said, I’ll take some questions.
On the overall performance of the passing game
There was one interception that concerned me. I have to credit (redshirt senior cornerback) Antonio Crawford for that. He saw the back leak late. (Senior quarterback) Skyler’s (Howard) eyes were supposed to go to that back, and he threw it. (Redshirt senior cornerback) Antonio (Crawford) made a great play on the ball. It depends on which side I’m sitting on. I am happy that we made that play on defense. Offensively, we have to prevent that. There were a lot of different things that went wrong with the second and third teams. It is a huge confidence boost for our defense, but it makes the offense feel inept. Last year, we had 31 turnovers, and we averaged two yards every turnover. We are really focusing on our defense and the mentality that needs to exist once you get a turnover. Everyone says ‘win the turnover margin,’ but it’s what you do with those turnovers that count. Unless you win the turnover margin by three or four, that’s not what counts. It’s what happens after the turnovers. We weren’t very good at that last year, offensively and defensively. We have to make sure we do something with those turnovers. Every turnover that we had in the spring, we told our defense that they have to score. Everyone has to lead that way. That’s what it has to look like next year.
On freshman quarterback Cody Saunders’ performance
He looked good. We haven’t put him in that type of situation much this spring. We have been easing him into it. We have a lot of quarterbacks that we can run. Over the last week and a half, we noticed that things are starting to make sense to him, so we gave him more reps. The more reps we gave him, the better he looked. He is a long way away, but he is showing potential. That is why we recruited him. (Redshirt freshman quarterback Chris Chugunov) Chugs has a bad shoulder. It’s not threatening. It’s a nonsurgical injury. He will be fine. He just needs to rest on that. We took reps away from him which allowed some of these guys to rep more.
On freshman wide receiver Marcus Simms’ performance
He has no clue what he is doing. It is actually fun to watch. He does everything wrong, and all he does is score touchdowns. That’s what he looks like. He has a long way to go, but he can start. He can stop. He has great hand-eye coordination. He can stretch the field. He is going to be a contributor for us next year.
On redshirt junior wide receiver Ka’Raun White’s injury update
It’s the same thing that happened during the season. I think its two fold. It’s sore, and he needs to push through some of that. It was legitimately hurt on Thursday in practice. If we were playing this Thursday, after a week’s time, he needs to push through and play. After only a couple of days, we decided to sit him. It is nonsurgical. He just has to get stronger. I am not calling him soft, but guys need to push through things. However, this is not the time to do that.
On redshirt junior linebacker Al-Rasheed Benton’s leadership
He has emerged as one of our defensive leaders. He is very vocal. He has been here for four years, and he has played behind some pretty good people. Don’t forget, he started game two last year when (Jared) Barber was out. He was our MVP of the defense that game. He has ability. He is very vocal. He is one of those guys that we are going to lean on when it comes to that side of the ball.
On the first team offense being where he expected it to be at this point
I am happy with where they are at. We are playing pretty good up front. We have six guys that we can count on right now. We need a third tackle, whether that is going to be someone who is on campus or a JUCO kid coming in. We need a third tackle. If we get a third tackle, that puts us at seven bodies that we can really count on. (Assistant coach/offensive line) Ron (Crook) has done a good job with those guys. (Assistant coach/offensive coordinator/tight ends/full back) Coach (Joe) Wickline came in and really solidified the past protection stuff. We have some time to throw the ball. There was a lot of time last year that we didn’t have any. That is very comforting from a quarterback’s perspective. Then it goes back to the timing with him (senior quarterback Skyler Howard) and the receivers. We have to be balanced. We have to show that we can hand it off and run with the best of them, but we need to be able to throw the ball more. We are gaining on that, but we still have a long way to go.
On how to evaluate a spring game
It carries a little bit more weight. It is one of three scrimmages that we are allowed to put the ball down and play the whole time. The rest of the practices, we have periods. You have seen a couple of those practices. I put a little bit more into it because our guys are put in situations. This was a game-type atmosphere with a lot of eyes on them. If guys can go out there and elevate there game, then I put a little bit more stock into that. At the end of the day, it’s about getting another 100 reps and being able to add to the collection of spring plays that we will break up. That is what June is all about. We get in there, watch some cut ups and make adjustments moving forward. We will be able to see what we do well and what we don’t do well.
On sophomore wide receiver Gary Jennings coming off an injury
He did. It wasn’t his fault. He had a broken wrist at the end of the season. I think he is a tough kid because he played three games with a broken wrist, including the bowl game. He had surgery. He pinned it. He had to heal. He didn’t use it for three weeks, and then he was cleared. The first day he was cleared, he threw his shoulder out. That set him back for another couple days. The last five practices, he started to emerge as a guy that we are going to be able to count on.
On redshirt senior running back Rushel Shell’s performance
He ran hard. I thought he finished his runs good. I believe in him. He believes in himself. He has he’s teammates respect. He didn’t practice this past Thursday either. Until he does that consistently, he has to become a better practice player. I know what he can do out there when it comes down to it, but he has to become a better practice player. He has to be more consistent. He is working hard to get to that point.
On the defensive line’s play today
They are very good. I am happy. (Assistant coach/defensive line) Bruce Tall has done a great job with those guys. That’s where our older, more experienced guys are. (Senior defensive lineman) Darrien Howard wasn’t here today. He had a death in the family, so he has been gone all week. (Redshirt junior defensive lineman) Xavier Pegues is out with a shoulder. We are going to get a couple more bodies. You need two deep. You need some depth. Those guys just need to keep getting better. The starters are good. We need the backups to continue to develop.
On the offense being ahead of last year
Yeah. We have talked about this already. It is ahead of where it was the last couple years. As a whole, I am happy with where we are at. We need to keep going. There are still some missing pieces to the puzzle. If we can get a couple of those guys back, we all know who they are, then we will have a chance to develop some competition within the skill spots. That will increase the production overall.
On the hard-hit that redshirt senior linebacker Sean Walters put on redshirt sophomore quarterback William Crest Jr.
It’s stupid. (Redshirt senior linebacker) Sean (Walters) knows better than that. (Redshirt sophomore quarterback William Crest Jr.) Wills has to get the ball out. We could have prevented that with an assignment, but we have practiced this way all spring. Those guys know that when they get there, they have to veer off. I don’t have the quarterbacks in jersey because we run the quarterbacks so much. When we break the pocket as a quarterback, they are prepared to get blasted. They need to be aware of that. That’s real football. You have to protect him in the pocket. Our guys have done a great job all spring of sliding by that guy. That’s why (director, strength and conditioning) Mike Joseph is back there to blow that whistle. On top of all that, it was a targeting call. He can’t go in there and lead with his helmet, so it is a targeting call. He would have been ejected. It would have been a personal foul. (Redshirt senior linebacker) Sean (Walters) knows better than that, and that’s why I was upset.
On the versatility of the backup quarterbacks
It is the same stuff that we have been doing with them. We did it all last year with both (sophomore quarterback David) Sills and (redshirt sophomore quarterback William) Crest. (Freshman quarterback) Cody (Saunders) has some versatility to him. (Senior quarterback) Skyler (Howard) does as well. That’s part of our offense, and those guys need to be able to do that. Whatever we have to do to get first downs, I’m going to do it. The best way for the quarterbacks to learn how to handle that and stay out of harm’s way is to put them in that position. (Senior quarterback) Skyler (Howard) has been in that position all spring, so has (redshirt sophomore quarterback William) Wills and (redshirt freshman quarterback Chris Chugunov) Chugs. They need to be able to protect themselves because we are going to do it in a game.
On who the backup quarterback is right now
I don’t know. (Redshirt sophomore quarterback William) Wills (Crest) has shown some really good things, and (redshirt freshman quarterback Chris Chugunov) Chugs has shown some really good things. (Redshirt freshman quarterback Chris Chugunov) Chugs can sit in the pocket and throw the ball more accurate than anyone. It’s still a working progress right now. I think (senior quarterback) Skyler (Howard) has solidified himself as a confident senior quarterback that runs the offense very well. You have to get No. 2 and No. 3 ready. We will continue to rep them. (Redshirt sophomore quarterback William) Wills (Crest) has made progress this spring and (redshirt freshman quarterback Chris Chugunov) Chugs has as well.
On if it is tougher to keep the pace of play up with the amount of snaps given
No, not at all. I could have went as fast as I wanted to out there or as slow as I wanted to out there. That is one thing that this offense is known for. If the quarterback is not capable of doing that, then he needs to go see (director strength and conditioning) Mike Joseph more. I make them run just as much as anyone else because they are going to run. They need to be in shape, and they need to lineup and call the next play. They need to be ready to go. I don’t think that slows us down at all. I actually think that speeds (senior quarterback) Skyler (Howard) up. It speeds him up when he’s doing that. When he is running around, making plays and getting hit, I think that speeds his thought process up. That’s what I get on (redshirt sophomore quarterback William) Wills (Crest) about. I was getting on him pretty good because when he plays with good tempo and bounces around, he functions better. When he is lethargic, he doesn’t function as well.
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