These Mountaineers Are Long, Lean and Athletic
July 30, 2017 08:50 PM | Football
SUNDAY FOOTBALL CAMP PHOTO GALLERY | DANA HOLGORSEN REMARKS
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - I am starting to repeat myself.
I know it’s a function of becoming old (this is my 30th fall football camp working at West Virginia University in some capacity), but I will say it once again: the length and athleticism of the players Dana Holgorsen is recruiting to WVU these days is unlike anything I’ve seen during all my time spent here.
Sure, there were always a handful of freakish athletes each year - typically the guys who were hyped by the recruiting types - but collectively, there were not nearly as many lean and athletic players as what we are seeing running around out there with Holgorsen’s teams these days.
I can remember just seven years ago when Holgorsen took over the West Virginia University program and about half the players he had you could look them right in the eye.
And that included every single defensive back.
That’s probably not a good thing when you are facing those big and athletic Big 12 wide receivers and tight ends.
As for the 6-foot-5-inch guys or taller, you could usually count them on one hand, and they were almost always standing in the offensive tackles group.
Now, you look around out there and you see tall, lean, athletic guys across the board - offensive tackles, defensive ends, safeties, wide receivers, quarterbacks, corners … you name it.
I was astonished when I walked down to where the safeties were working and, honest to God, I thought I was watching the linebackers until I saw assistant coach Matt Caponi running the drill.
These were tall, lean, athletic guys you typically see at places like LSU, Alabama, Miami, Clemson, Oklahoma, Michigan, Ohio State, and, yes, even Virginia Tech.
Now I can see why Holgorsen was heaping such hefty praise on his veteran strength and conditioning coach Mike Joseph and his hard-working staff before the start of Sunday’s practice.
“We have better bodies in better numbers,” Holgorsen said. “The strength and conditioning numbers are better than they have ever been, and it’s not even close.”
Joseph has a ready explanation for this - genetics.
The Mountaineer coaches are doing a great job recruiting players who are farther along on the developmental chart, Joseph says.
“Instead of having to develop them for three or four years, now in year two we are getting a lot of them there. That helps,” he said.
Redshirt freshman outside linebacker Dylan Tonkery was one of the young guys who graded out elite during offseason strength and conditioning work. All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks photo.
One of those fast-track guys is redshirt freshman weakside linebacker Dylan Tonkery, who graded out elite during offseason conditioning work.
What that basically means is Tonkery earned a grade of at least 94 percent in a series of tests that includes bench, squat, cling, broad jump and a number of different running and agility drills that are averaged out.
Elite is the best grade a player can achieve, according to Joseph, followed by excellent, good and then average.
In the past, there were very few elite-level workout guys in the program, and rarely was that status ever achieved by players as young as Tonkery and redshirt freshman linebacker Brendan Ferns.
“All of our NFL guys have been elite guys,” Joseph noted.
What makes this so relevant as far as Tonkery is concerned is because he’s now the guy on the spot at weakside linebacker with starter David Long Jr. sidelined for the early portion of the season after suffering an offseason knee injury.
There is a strong possibility Tonkery will be making his first college start on Sunday, Sept. 3, in Landover, Maryland, when the Mountaineers open the season against rival Virginia Tech.
“One, we’ll be excited to get our best player back,” Holgorsen said of Long’s eventual return to the lineup, “but that gives guys like Dylan Tonkery an opportunity to step in there.
“He doesn’t look anywhere near what he looked a year ago,” Holgorsen continued. “He looks like a completely different guy; he’s smart like (older brother) Wes was, but physically, he’s already better than what Wes could have ever imagined to be.”
Dylan came to WVU from nearby Bridgeport High as a sub-200-pound safety and has since built himself into a rock-solid, 221-pound outside linebacker without compromising any speed or athleticism.
He appears to be the type of player defensive coordinator Tony Gibson seeks: strong, fast, aggressive, tough and intelligent.
“He works his butt off,” Joseph said. “Within a year of being here he’s gained 25 pounds. He came in at 195, or somewhere around there.
“He’s fast, he’s one of the stronger guys we’ve got; he’s compact and he’s a guy who does everything you ask.”
Tonkery is not the only one running around out there who fits that description.
“Ferns is another guy,” Joseph said. “Coming out of high school he was a strong kid, but now he’s developed better. It shows you with our younger guys the coaching staff is doing a great job of recruiting genetics.
“Then you’ve got a Ka’Raun and Kyzir (White) and those types of kids, even Marcus Simms,” Joseph mentioned.
He could go on and on. There are lots of those long, lean, athletic guys running around out there.
And there I go again, repeating myself.
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