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BLOG: Future of WVU backfield on display in Heart of Dallas Bowl

December 16, 2017 by Ryan Decker

On Thursday, the West Virginia football announced a pair of statements:

Quarterback Will Grier is returning to the Mountaineers for his senior season in 2018, and running back Justin Crawford will not play in the Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl against Utah later this month.

The first assures that an experienced quarterback will be leading the WVU offense next season, while the second means we’ll have a good idea of the talent that will be around him.

Although the bowl game would’ve served as one final game for senior running back Justin Crawford to put his talents on display, it now gives a glimpse at what the backfield will operate like next year without him.

Crawford battled a nagging injury during the middle part of the season, part of what contributed to him being held under 50 rushing yards for three straight games, but still managed to be one of just three Big 12 rushers to eclipse 1,000 yards on the ground this year.

He surpassed that mark in each of his two seasons in Morgantown.

Behind – or, now, replacing – Crawford is a pair of Mountaineer backs with experience and another that hasn’t gotten much action, though it can be anticipated that will change against Utah and next year.

Leading the way is sophomore Kennedy McKoy, who ran for a career-high 137 yards the last time West Virginia was on the field against Oklahoma. McKoy did a lot of his damage out of the wildcat formation, which is expected to be used again against the Utes.

Both Crawford and McKoy averaged over five yards per carry this season.

Behind McKoy is fellow sophomore Martell Pettaway, who had his coming out party two seasons ago against Iowa State when he rushed for 181 yards against the Cyclones on the same day his redshirt was burned.

Getting a very limited number of carries, Pettaway didn’t reach that total in all 10 games combined this season, but without Crawford will surely see more action and garner a bigger role.

Freshman Tevin Bush is the other back that will likely touch the football a few times in the Mountaineers’ final game of 2017.

Bush, who tallied just a total of 81 yards on 20 carries, was said before the season to be a back that can be a threat both running and catching the football. Although that wasn’t fully put on display this year, it’s something to watch out for against the Utes.

The potential mixture of three backs, all of whom are different in style, will be key against a Utah defense that was third-best in the PAC-12 at defending against the run.

The Utes had four defensive performances in which they held the opposition to under 100 yards as a team. Six times this season Utah’s defense held opposing offenses under four yards per run.

West Virginia takes on Utah on Tuesday, Dec. 26 at 2 p.m. in the Cotton Bowl. It’s just the second meeting between the two programs.

 

Holgorsen Press Conference News and Notes

October 24, 2017 by Ryan Decker

No. 22 West Virginia (5-2) is riding a two-game winning streak, with both wins involving fourth-quarter comebacks – one by the Mountaineers, and one against the Mountaineers that the Baylor Bears almost pulled off.

When asked about the recent comebacks, head coach Dana Holgorsen said they’re learning experiences that “give us confidence,” based on the fact that WVU has come out on the right side of the comeback both times.

“You go into that point up 25, to be in the situation we were in it’ll teach you a lot,” said Holgorsen.

Here are some other notes.

Oklahoma State worth the hype

Holgorsen and the rest of the Mountaineers that were available to the media Tuesday referred to No. 11 Oklahoma State as a top-10 team. Obviously, their ranking puts them just outside the top 10, but WVU believes the Cowboys are one of the ten best teams in the nation.

“They’re a good team. They’re an outstanding program,” Holgorsen said. “Offensively (they’re) as good as you’re going to see.”

He highlighted quarterback Mason Rudolph’s ability to throw the deep ball, and the Cowboys’ deep wide receiving corps that’s highlighted by James Washington.

Holgorsen admitted that the Mountaineers “got our work cut out for us on offense” based on what he said may be the best safety tandem they’ve seen this year in the Cowboys’ Tre Flowers and Ramon Richards.

Offensive coordinator Jake Spavital said, when asked about Oklahoma State’s defense, said the Cowboys like to keep everything in front of them, acknowledging that’s one of the biggest reasons they’ve only surrendered four passing TDs this season

Defense getting better

Despite giving up the points in the fourth quarter, Holgorsen felt good about the way the WVU defense played Saturday in Waco for the first three quarters.

He said his team simply “got gassed” in the final period.

“I thought we took a step in the right direction at stopping the run, they had minus six yards through three quarters,” Holgorsen said. “But then we got tired.”

Running Pains

The head coach said he wished they would’ve given the ball to Kennedy McKoy more with Justin Crawford not carrying the load against Baylor.

Crawford appears to be banged up and/or slightly worn down, but Holgorsen said he’s getting treatment and that those bruises come with the position.

According to the head coach, McKoy looked better than he had all year on Saturday.

Benton’s Improved and Productive

Asked about Al-Rasheed Benton’s improvement, Holgorsen praised the production that the team’s getting out of Benton.

“Probably the smartest player I’ve coached on that said of the ball,” he said. “Defensively, he’s off the charts intelligent.”

Holgorsen referenced it, and Tony Gibson confirmed, that Benton’s “production points” (a measurement of a player’s productivity on the field) are as high as any defensive player in Holgorsen’s tenure.

Mountaineer Offense Confident Following Scrimmage

August 11, 2017 by Ryan Decker

Most teams introducing a new starting quarterback, a new offensive coordinator and a talented but somewhat inexperienced receiver unit may be left wondering what lies ahead of them entering the season.

West Virginia doesn’t fit that stereotype.

The Mountaineer offense seemed very confident in itself following Friday’s 100-play scrimmage at Milan Puskar Stadium.

“We were kicking (the defense) this week,” said Ka’Raun White. “But it’s all competitive, all love at the end of the day.”

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WVU redshirt-senior wide receiver Ka’Raun White talks to reporters on the field Friday following the Mountaineers scrimmage. Photo by Ryan Decker

Not only do the players sound confident in themselves, but are excited to be in an offense operated by new OC Jake Spavital.

“Coach (Spavital) is putting the players in great positions to make plays,” David Sills V said. “He’s calling great pass concepts. He’s getting the running backs in great positions to make plays. We’re also playing at a great tempo right now.”

As for the scrimmage itself, junior wideout Gary Jennings thought units from both sides of the ball made strides.

“We were able to go over many of our progressions, many of our plays, and I think it went very well overall, both offensively and defensively,” said Jennings.

Asked about how much farther the offense needs to go to be ready for the season opener next month, Jennings said they’re close.

“We’re meshing very well. We’re jelling very well,” he said. “We’re not far away from being very good.”

Jennings acknowledged that timing is coming together between quarterback Will Grier and the rest of the offense, and Sills agreed.

“Will’s put constant work in throughout the summer,” said Sills. “He’s very smart. He knows how to get us in good positions to get the ball and he’s very accurate whenever he throws the ball.”

Kennedy McKoy, who is expected to see a number of snaps both from the running back and inside receiver positions, detailed how the adjustment can help him have a better understanding no matter where he’s at on the field.

“Now when I’m at running back and (Grier) gives a signal, I know what the inside slot is going to do,” McKoy said. “So if I have a check down I know not to go in that area because I know what route he’s running. Yeah, it helps a lot.”

The sophomore tailback said it’s the little things that he’s focusing on now that he better knows the offense from both positions.

Last year the Mountaineer offense racked up an average of 485.5 yards per game, including over 220 yards on the ground for the second year in a row. But from a scoring standpoint, are looking to return to the numbers they were producing in 2011 and ’12 when Spavital was the quarterback coach.