Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
Holgorsen: QBs Allison and Lowe in Camping World Bowl Plans
December 21, 2018 09:47 AM | Football
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Sometimes the simplest questions don't always produce the simplest answers.
Dana Holgorsen was asked Wednesday afternoon if he was going into next Friday's Camping World Bowl game against 17th-ranked Syracuse with an offensive game plan for the Orange defense, or a plan that his two available quarterbacks, Jack Allison and Trey Lowe III, are capable of handling.
That's essentially what the Mountaineers did last year in the Heart of Dallas Bowl game against Utah when backup Chris Chugunov was forced into action.
Holgorsen indicated that his playbook will be wide open for both quarterbacks in the Camping World Bowl.
"We just didn't add them to our team yesterday," he said. "I know what those guys can do. Guys get into a backup mode and they just plateau for a while and then once they're no longer a backup quarterback, those guys elevate pretty quickly."
Allison's college experience consists of six games with his most extensive playing time coming in the Mountaineers' 58-14 victory over Baylor on Oct. 25. He played most of the fourth quarter and completed all four of his pass attempts for 43 yards, including a pretty 36-yard touchdown toss to Gary Jennings Jr.
For the season, he completed 6-of-10 for 75 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
The Miami transfer was once considered the nation's eighth-best dropback passer coming out of Palmetto High and turned down offers from Florida, Alabama, Missouri and Tennessee to play for the Hurricanes.
At 6-6, Allison is the tallest West Virginia quarterback since John Talley, which means he should have no trouble seeing over oncoming pass rushers.
Holgorsen said Allison can spin it, too.
"I couldn't be happier with what Jack is doing out there," he said.
Holgorsen said the plan is to use Lowe as well. Lowe enrolled last January and went through spring football practice, so his knowledge of the Mountaineer offense is pretty extensive for a freshman.
The beauty of the new redshirt rule passed last year is Lowe can play against Syracuse and remain a freshman for the 2019 season as well.
He's not quite as tall as Allison, but he's much thicker and more athletic. The Orange have some information on what Allison can do based on the six games he played this year, but they have nothing on Lowe, which is an exciting proposition when you take into account Holgorsen is calling the plays once again.
Holgorsen has always been one of the most creative game planners and play callers in college football.
"This new redshirt rule is awesome," Holgorsen explained. "We'd be in some deep crap if we didn't have that rule right now. Trey gets to play – and he's going to play – and I can't wait to see what he does."
And we can't wait to see what Holgorsen has got cooked up for the both of them. Just don't expect him to reveal how he plans on using them against the Orange.
"Yeah, I've got it all figured out, and I'm going to tell you, right?" Holgorsen said. "They're going to play, and I'm happy with both of them. I'm going to keep practicing them and come up with a good plan and go execute it."
Similarities? Differences? The coach won't say.
"I can't tell you that either," he said. "Let your imagination wander. More importantly, let's let Syracuse's imagination wander."
Briefly:
* Holgorsen said several promising freshman players are going to see action in the Camping World Bowl. He specifically mentioned wide receivers Sam James and Bryce Wheaton, tight end T.J. Banks, center Briason Mays, safety Kwantel Raines and defensive tackle James Gmiter.
He also indicated Michael Brown is working at right guard and may get the starting nod against the Orange due to the line shuffling caused by Yodny Cajuste's decision to skip the game to get healthy for the Senior Bowl.
* The veteran coach said Jennings Jr. played the last six weeks of the season with a high ankle sprain, and he is also going to skip the Camping World Bowl.
"I don't know how he did what he did against Oklahoma (seven catches for 225 yards and two touchdowns) because he hasn't practiced in six weeks," Holgorsen noted. "He has a lot ahead of him – he's trying to play in the East-West Game, trying to get to the (NFL Scouting) Combine, so he made a decision that he needs to get healthy and I respect that."
* Holgorsen was noncommittal on if he will continue calling plays next year. "I want to win, so whatever we have to do to win. I've got a fairly decent history of calling plays that work. I've got a history of calling plays that don't work so we'll see how it goes," he said. "I'm enjoying it and I like doing it. Deep down inside, I can do as much of the CEO crap as I want to, but I like football, and I like calling plays, and I like coaching offense.
"It's what our team needs me to do right now, and that's what I'll do."
* Running backs coach Marquel Blackwell was once a record-setting quarterback at USF, and he's been involved with the quarterbacks on the field some when Holgorsen is tending to other team matters.
* Veteran defensive coordinator Tony Gibson said his group is much healthier than it was at the end of the season against Oklahoma State and Oklahoma, but he's still dealing with depth issues at linebacker.
"We have seven guys that will make the trip (for the three positions)," he said. "I think (injured players) Brendan Ferns and Quondarius Qualls have taken that next step (in the recovery process), and they're ready. We should be able to get something out of them."
* One of the issues the defense encountered at the end of the season was the total number of plays it faced against Oklahoma State and Oklahoma. WVU was forced to defend 154 plays that resulted in 1,272 total yards.
"Our offense was scoring quick, and we had to defend a lot of possessions," Gibson pointed out.
Syracuse is among the best in the country in getting off plays, averaging more than 82 plays per game this season. That's nothing new to West Virginia, though.
"It's what we've seen all year long in the Big 12," Gibson said. "They're Oklahoma State. They're Oklahoma. They're Texas Tech. That's the style they like to play."
* Concerning Syracuse quarterback Eric Dungey, the comparison you hear the most is Texas' Sam Ehlinger. Dungey and Ehlinger have linebacker size for quarterbacks.
"They run quarterback power, quarterback draw and counter," Gibson said. "If the play breaks down, you cover them and drop eight and then he's going to get out on you."
* Gibson had some interesting comments regarding the current narrative that bowl games outside the College Football Playoff and the New Year's Six don't mean as much to the players today.
"It's important to (the West Virginia defensive players). They're all playing," he said. "They want to win. Dravon (Askew-Henry), Toyous (Avery Jr.), Kenny (Bigelow Jr.) and Jabril (Robinson), those guys have been doing the right things and have been preparing to go play in a game. They want to go out and try to get a win. I'd say they wouldn't like it if somebody told them that it's not important."
Gibson said a good bowl performance does have carryover to the next season. He mentioned the Cactus Bowl when WVU came back to beat Arizona State leading into a 10-win season in 2016.
"I thought that bowl win jump started us for that," he said. "Then, we've lost a couple (of bowl games) in a row and these seasons haven't turned out as well. I think it gives you good momentum and good juice in the spring to get guys excited.
"When you turn the roster over, I don't know how much it really affects it, but we think it does."
Dana Holgorsen was asked Wednesday afternoon if he was going into next Friday's Camping World Bowl game against 17th-ranked Syracuse with an offensive game plan for the Orange defense, or a plan that his two available quarterbacks, Jack Allison and Trey Lowe III, are capable of handling.
That's essentially what the Mountaineers did last year in the Heart of Dallas Bowl game against Utah when backup Chris Chugunov was forced into action.
Holgorsen indicated that his playbook will be wide open for both quarterbacks in the Camping World Bowl.
"We just didn't add them to our team yesterday," he said. "I know what those guys can do. Guys get into a backup mode and they just plateau for a while and then once they're no longer a backup quarterback, those guys elevate pretty quickly."
Allison's college experience consists of six games with his most extensive playing time coming in the Mountaineers' 58-14 victory over Baylor on Oct. 25. He played most of the fourth quarter and completed all four of his pass attempts for 43 yards, including a pretty 36-yard touchdown toss to Gary Jennings Jr.
For the season, he completed 6-of-10 for 75 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
The Miami transfer was once considered the nation's eighth-best dropback passer coming out of Palmetto High and turned down offers from Florida, Alabama, Missouri and Tennessee to play for the Hurricanes.
At 6-6, Allison is the tallest West Virginia quarterback since John Talley, which means he should have no trouble seeing over oncoming pass rushers.
Holgorsen said Allison can spin it, too.
"I couldn't be happier with what Jack is doing out there," he said.
Holgorsen said the plan is to use Lowe as well. Lowe enrolled last January and went through spring football practice, so his knowledge of the Mountaineer offense is pretty extensive for a freshman.
The beauty of the new redshirt rule passed last year is Lowe can play against Syracuse and remain a freshman for the 2019 season as well.He's not quite as tall as Allison, but he's much thicker and more athletic. The Orange have some information on what Allison can do based on the six games he played this year, but they have nothing on Lowe, which is an exciting proposition when you take into account Holgorsen is calling the plays once again.
Holgorsen has always been one of the most creative game planners and play callers in college football.
"This new redshirt rule is awesome," Holgorsen explained. "We'd be in some deep crap if we didn't have that rule right now. Trey gets to play – and he's going to play – and I can't wait to see what he does."
And we can't wait to see what Holgorsen has got cooked up for the both of them. Just don't expect him to reveal how he plans on using them against the Orange.
"Yeah, I've got it all figured out, and I'm going to tell you, right?" Holgorsen said. "They're going to play, and I'm happy with both of them. I'm going to keep practicing them and come up with a good plan and go execute it."
Similarities? Differences? The coach won't say.
"I can't tell you that either," he said. "Let your imagination wander. More importantly, let's let Syracuse's imagination wander."
Briefly:
* Holgorsen said several promising freshman players are going to see action in the Camping World Bowl. He specifically mentioned wide receivers Sam James and Bryce Wheaton, tight end T.J. Banks, center Briason Mays, safety Kwantel Raines and defensive tackle James Gmiter.
He also indicated Michael Brown is working at right guard and may get the starting nod against the Orange due to the line shuffling caused by Yodny Cajuste's decision to skip the game to get healthy for the Senior Bowl.
* The veteran coach said Jennings Jr. played the last six weeks of the season with a high ankle sprain, and he is also going to skip the Camping World Bowl.
"I don't know how he did what he did against Oklahoma (seven catches for 225 yards and two touchdowns) because he hasn't practiced in six weeks," Holgorsen noted. "He has a lot ahead of him – he's trying to play in the East-West Game, trying to get to the (NFL Scouting) Combine, so he made a decision that he needs to get healthy and I respect that."
* Holgorsen was noncommittal on if he will continue calling plays next year. "I want to win, so whatever we have to do to win. I've got a fairly decent history of calling plays that work. I've got a history of calling plays that don't work so we'll see how it goes," he said. "I'm enjoying it and I like doing it. Deep down inside, I can do as much of the CEO crap as I want to, but I like football, and I like calling plays, and I like coaching offense.
"It's what our team needs me to do right now, and that's what I'll do."
* Running backs coach Marquel Blackwell was once a record-setting quarterback at USF, and he's been involved with the quarterbacks on the field some when Holgorsen is tending to other team matters.
* Veteran defensive coordinator Tony Gibson said his group is much healthier than it was at the end of the season against Oklahoma State and Oklahoma, but he's still dealing with depth issues at linebacker.
"We have seven guys that will make the trip (for the three positions)," he said. "I think (injured players) Brendan Ferns and Quondarius Qualls have taken that next step (in the recovery process), and they're ready. We should be able to get something out of them."
* One of the issues the defense encountered at the end of the season was the total number of plays it faced against Oklahoma State and Oklahoma. WVU was forced to defend 154 plays that resulted in 1,272 total yards.
"Our offense was scoring quick, and we had to defend a lot of possessions," Gibson pointed out.
Syracuse is among the best in the country in getting off plays, averaging more than 82 plays per game this season. That's nothing new to West Virginia, though.
"It's what we've seen all year long in the Big 12," Gibson said. "They're Oklahoma State. They're Oklahoma. They're Texas Tech. That's the style they like to play."
* Concerning Syracuse quarterback Eric Dungey, the comparison you hear the most is Texas' Sam Ehlinger. Dungey and Ehlinger have linebacker size for quarterbacks.
"They run quarterback power, quarterback draw and counter," Gibson said. "If the play breaks down, you cover them and drop eight and then he's going to get out on you."
* Gibson had some interesting comments regarding the current narrative that bowl games outside the College Football Playoff and the New Year's Six don't mean as much to the players today.
"It's important to (the West Virginia defensive players). They're all playing," he said. "They want to win. Dravon (Askew-Henry), Toyous (Avery Jr.), Kenny (Bigelow Jr.) and Jabril (Robinson), those guys have been doing the right things and have been preparing to go play in a game. They want to go out and try to get a win. I'd say they wouldn't like it if somebody told them that it's not important."
Gibson said a good bowl performance does have carryover to the next season. He mentioned the Cactus Bowl when WVU came back to beat Arizona State leading into a 10-win season in 2016.
"I thought that bowl win jump started us for that," he said. "Then, we've lost a couple (of bowl games) in a row and these seasons haven't turned out as well. I think it gives you good momentum and good juice in the spring to get guys excited.
"When you turn the roster over, I don't know how much it really affects it, but we think it does."
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