Coach Dana Holgorsen Press Conference
March 24, 2018 02:19 PM | Football
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University football coach Dana Holgorsen addressed members of the media on Saturday, March 24, at the Caperton Indoor Practice Facility.
On how spring practice has progressed so far
Well, this is practice No. 9, so we have eight under our belt. It's the first time today that we'll have full pads. We've had a lot of installation days, a lot of teaching. We've had really good work, and I'm very happy with that, but today is the first day that we'll tackle. So, we'll find out a lot about our guys here today.
On how he watched the West Virginia-Villanova basketball game on Friday
I'm kind of a basketball guy. Shoot, I've probably been to 10 games this year. Regardless of what Mike Carey says, I am kind of a basketball guy. That was phenomenal game last night, it really was. It was sad to see our season come to an end. Villanova is pretty good, I think we can all agree with that. When you shoot that well behind the 3-point line, you're probably going to win a lot of games. It was a great season for Huggs (Bob Huggins). With (Jevon) Carter and (Daxter) Miles (Jr.), it's obviously sad to see their careers come to an end, but it was a great game.
On if he's satisfied with the learning process this spring
All of our installation stuff is over, so for the remainder of spring and the remaining six practices, it will be more situational-type stuff. There will be three scrimmages, and a couple of the other days will be just teaching days off the scrimmages. Then, we'll have a couple of other practices that will be purely situational stuff. We'll focus on critical downs today, we'll do some two-minute stuff. It's been good; I've liked the process of where we're at. I think we have an idea of what we have, but we have to put them in live situations, one, to see how they respond and react, but we have to teach these situations as well. So, we'll teach off it as well.
On how redshirt senior quarterback Will Grier is progressing
He's our starting quarterback, so his status is pretty set in stone. He looks like a fifth-year quarterback to me. It's his second year in this system, and he's much more comfortable. His timing with the guys is as good as I've seen, so from a quarterback perspective, it's as good as anyone in the country.
On if the second year is when players really start to get comfortable
Quarterback-wise, yeah. Obviously, I've been here for more than two years, but with (offensive coordinator) Jake (Spavital) calling the plays, a new offensive line coach, there were some different things that we were doing. Being able to have experienced guys in the second year of the system is going to be critical moving forward to next year.
On the team's newest analyst
Yeah, it's a familiar face, familiar last name. He's a guy by the name of Ryan Nehlen. I thought he was going to be a doctor. He, obviously, comes from a coaching background, but when I coached him for two years, he was this quiet, 4.0 student that played hard when he played. But I always thought he was going to be a doctor and perform surgery on people and stuff like that. He couldn't get the coaching thing out of his blood, he's been a graduate assistant for a couple of years, and he's a really smart kid. In those analyst positions, it's critical to have a lot of sense. He has plenty of that, so I'm anxious to see what he brings to the table.
On Nehlen's responsibilities
He'll be performing surgery on our opponents, that's a great way of putting it. That was the first thing I said. He goes, "Well, what's the job?" And I said you have to study the opponent and give us as much information as you can. So, he's going to do that, but then there's an analytic side to it as well, as far as self-scouting and doing specific studies. He's going to be great at that.
On the energy redshirt sophomore receiver T.J. Simmons brings
Can you hear him? He's the one running around on that other side. But, yeah, he does bring a lot of energy. He's made some plays, too.
On how Simmons studies the game
He's a sophomore; the kid has three years of eligibility. He looks like a pro, and he acts like one, too. I hope he plays like that. That would be nice as well.
On redshirt sophomore tight end/fullback Jovani Haskins
He's up and down, he's still learning. That's an interesting spot that we haven't had since probably Tyler Urban, who is one of the ex-players we have here. That position, the receiving aspect of it, comes natural to him. He's working hard at the blocking aspect of things – being in the box, being a fullback, being a tight end. He has a good frame and the receiving stuff is easy to him. But to be a complete player, he has to get better at the blocking aspect of it. We do have a bunch of former players in for Alumni Weekend/Former Player Weekend. We have their families are here as well, so there's about 150 total, probably about 50 ex-players at this point. It's the first time we've done it that it's not a part of the Spring Game, so it's been a big hit so far.
On if he's looking forward to the first day of tackling
Yeah, because we haven't done it yet. We've really attacked the basics of tackling, there's a lot of things that can be taught from tracking the ball carriers, to fitting the ball carriers. Now, we're going to see if we can get them on the ground. I'm really anxious; the next time I talk to you all I'll have a little bit better of an idea of how these guys respond with the first real football that we've played this spring.
On how spring practice has progressed so far
Well, this is practice No. 9, so we have eight under our belt. It's the first time today that we'll have full pads. We've had a lot of installation days, a lot of teaching. We've had really good work, and I'm very happy with that, but today is the first day that we'll tackle. So, we'll find out a lot about our guys here today.
On how he watched the West Virginia-Villanova basketball game on Friday
I'm kind of a basketball guy. Shoot, I've probably been to 10 games this year. Regardless of what Mike Carey says, I am kind of a basketball guy. That was phenomenal game last night, it really was. It was sad to see our season come to an end. Villanova is pretty good, I think we can all agree with that. When you shoot that well behind the 3-point line, you're probably going to win a lot of games. It was a great season for Huggs (Bob Huggins). With (Jevon) Carter and (Daxter) Miles (Jr.), it's obviously sad to see their careers come to an end, but it was a great game.
On if he's satisfied with the learning process this spring
All of our installation stuff is over, so for the remainder of spring and the remaining six practices, it will be more situational-type stuff. There will be three scrimmages, and a couple of the other days will be just teaching days off the scrimmages. Then, we'll have a couple of other practices that will be purely situational stuff. We'll focus on critical downs today, we'll do some two-minute stuff. It's been good; I've liked the process of where we're at. I think we have an idea of what we have, but we have to put them in live situations, one, to see how they respond and react, but we have to teach these situations as well. So, we'll teach off it as well.
On how redshirt senior quarterback Will Grier is progressing
He's our starting quarterback, so his status is pretty set in stone. He looks like a fifth-year quarterback to me. It's his second year in this system, and he's much more comfortable. His timing with the guys is as good as I've seen, so from a quarterback perspective, it's as good as anyone in the country.
On if the second year is when players really start to get comfortable
Quarterback-wise, yeah. Obviously, I've been here for more than two years, but with (offensive coordinator) Jake (Spavital) calling the plays, a new offensive line coach, there were some different things that we were doing. Being able to have experienced guys in the second year of the system is going to be critical moving forward to next year.
On the team's newest analyst
Yeah, it's a familiar face, familiar last name. He's a guy by the name of Ryan Nehlen. I thought he was going to be a doctor. He, obviously, comes from a coaching background, but when I coached him for two years, he was this quiet, 4.0 student that played hard when he played. But I always thought he was going to be a doctor and perform surgery on people and stuff like that. He couldn't get the coaching thing out of his blood, he's been a graduate assistant for a couple of years, and he's a really smart kid. In those analyst positions, it's critical to have a lot of sense. He has plenty of that, so I'm anxious to see what he brings to the table.
On Nehlen's responsibilities
He'll be performing surgery on our opponents, that's a great way of putting it. That was the first thing I said. He goes, "Well, what's the job?" And I said you have to study the opponent and give us as much information as you can. So, he's going to do that, but then there's an analytic side to it as well, as far as self-scouting and doing specific studies. He's going to be great at that.
On the energy redshirt sophomore receiver T.J. Simmons brings
Can you hear him? He's the one running around on that other side. But, yeah, he does bring a lot of energy. He's made some plays, too.
On how Simmons studies the game
He's a sophomore; the kid has three years of eligibility. He looks like a pro, and he acts like one, too. I hope he plays like that. That would be nice as well.
On redshirt sophomore tight end/fullback Jovani Haskins
He's up and down, he's still learning. That's an interesting spot that we haven't had since probably Tyler Urban, who is one of the ex-players we have here. That position, the receiving aspect of it, comes natural to him. He's working hard at the blocking aspect of things – being in the box, being a fullback, being a tight end. He has a good frame and the receiving stuff is easy to him. But to be a complete player, he has to get better at the blocking aspect of it. We do have a bunch of former players in for Alumni Weekend/Former Player Weekend. We have their families are here as well, so there's about 150 total, probably about 50 ex-players at this point. It's the first time we've done it that it's not a part of the Spring Game, so it's been a big hit so far.
On if he's looking forward to the first day of tackling
Yeah, because we haven't done it yet. We've really attacked the basics of tackling, there's a lot of things that can be taught from tracking the ball carriers, to fitting the ball carriers. Now, we're going to see if we can get them on the ground. I'm really anxious; the next time I talk to you all I'll have a little bit better of an idea of how these guys respond with the first real football that we've played this spring.
Players Mentioned
Coach Pat Kirkland | April 15
Thursday, April 16
Andrew Powdrell | April 15
Wednesday, April 15
Coach Rich Rodriguez | April 15
Wednesday, April 15
Mic'd Up with Coach Rich Rodriguez
Wednesday, April 15
