MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (August 22, 2017) – West Virginia University football coach Dana Holgorsen addressed members of the media on Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2017, at the Milan Puskar Center Team Room.
Opening statement
I really wish this was game week. It seems like we’ve been practicing for a month, and we almost have been. It just makes sense to me and there’s actually some talk out there and I think the schools and the NCAA and all the rest of them will revisit here in the offseason, I don’t know why the first game couldn’t be this weekend. By the time we play our first game, all the NFL preseason games are going to be over. Why do they practice for about 10 days and then have a preseason game? They’ll go practice with some people, then go play another preseason game. There are whole lot of FCS games this weekend and there’s even three or four FBS games this weekend. There’s only so much you can do practicing against each other. It’s going to be five full weeks before the first game and that, to me, is insane. We’ll have been in school for two-and-a-half weeks prior to the first game – that doesn’t make much sense. I just don’t understand what is so special about that same weekend. I don’t think they’re going to end vacation any time later. They’re going to have media days when they have media days. Then, approximately a week to 10 days after that, we’ll get them reported to camp. So, I think you really need about three-and-a-half, four weeks prior to the first game. I expressed some concerns on this prior to the season and, yeah, it’s kind of dragging a little bit. For three weeks, I was happy with our work; we gave them more off-time than we ever have. I do think it was beneficial for our student-athletes to get a little bit more time off, and how we practiced I thought was really good. I just think you can get that done probably in two weeks, two-and-a-half weeks, and then have a game week and go play ball. I like where our team is at; I’m incredibly sick of practicing against each other. I’m ready to switch gears, which we have. Today, when we get in here, we’ll start talking about Virginia Tech a little bit. If you just split up and start working scout teams then you’re going to lose the speed of the game and all kinds of crazy things can happen. So, we just have to keep practicing against each other for another whole week to keep things right, which is no different than what we’ve done the last couple of years. Then, a week from now, we can full-go practice against Virginia Tech, which when we meet next week I’ll have a little bit more information as far as what we think we need to do in order to be successful.
On if he’d like to play a scrimmage against another team before the season starts
That would be cool but it’s never going to happen. I went down to see the Texans and Patriots last week. It was the first day of school on Wednesday and that was our day off, so I shot down there for a day and watched them practice against each other. That’s the first time I’ve seen an NFL practice like that. I’ve been to plenty of camps and have seen plenty of practices, but I’ve never seen two teams practicing against each other. It’s unbelievable how much work you can get done. Right now, we can’t have a scrimmage where our punt team goes out and goes against our punt return team without calling timeout and putting beanies on and changing jerseys. It just doesn’t flow; you can’t get anything done. Those guys sat there for two days and scrimmaged against each other and did it the right way. It was fun to watch them practice against each other so professionally and organized and all that. Just working on all these different situations, you can do that if it’s two teams that are against each other that are in two different jerseys on two different sidelines. We can’t do it with a split team. So, either reduce the amount of time so we’re not going stir crazy or hold a scrimmage. (Bill) O’Brien told me that if he ever went back to college he’d campaign for that. I said, ‘You’re wasting your time’, and he goes, ‘I know that’, so he’s probably not coming back to college.
On if he has any concerns going into game preparation
I don’t know, you’re not going to know the answers to that. You would if you scrimmage somebody; you would if you played a preseason game. It gets to a point, and it does for everybody – Virginia Tech is probably at the very same spot that we are – when you’re going against each other for two, three weeks, you really don’t know until you go out there and play against somebody else. Like I said, five weeks, to me, is just way too long. It’s dragging on and we aren’t going to have answers for another two weeks. We’ll have answers 13 days from now when we’re sitting here on Monday and evaluate the video and see what it looks like. So, I’ll tell you two weeks from today, or you can tell me.
On health of redshirt senior cornerback Corey Winfield and the rest of the team
I don’t think he’ll practice today but he’s going to be fine. I’m expecting to get him back in a couple of days. The two long-term guys are still the two long-term guys. (Redshirt senior safety) Marvin (Gross Jr.) is progressing nicely and he should be fine, Corey is progressing nicely and he should be fine. (Redshirt sophomore linebacker) David Long (Jr.) and (redshirt freshman offensive lineman Jacob) Buccigrossi are the only two long-term guys right now that are out.
On the progression of starting wide receivers
Our starters have been starters from day one. When it comes to (junior wide receiver) David Sills (V), (junior wide receiver) Gary Jennings and (redshirt senior wide receiver) Ka’Raun White, those guys have been starting and those guys do everything right and I’m excited about what years that they’re going to have.
On if he wants to use sophomore running back Kennedy McKoy more in the passing game
He’s been our best H since last spring. He has shown versatility to be able to do things in the backfield, much like we did with Wendell (Smallwood) a couple of years ago before he was the main guy at running back. Right now, Kennedy is capable of being the main guy but (senior running back Justin) Crawford is pretty good. So, we’ll use McKoy in a lot of different ways, which he did in the spring. In my opinion, he’s one of our top four guys right now.
On the leadership redshirt senior linebacker Al-Rasheed Benton provides
He comes in and runs our staff meetings every now and then, too. He’s been around here for quite a while and is a really smart kid. We’ve talked a lot about transfers and why transfers are important for this program, but having fifth-year seniors like him and (redshirt senior fullback/tight end) Eli (Wellman) who understand how things have worked and have logged a whole lot of days since they first got here is something that’s always going to be important in this program. He likes to talk but he can back it up with his play and he can back it up with what comes out of his mouth as well. He’s just a really bright kid.
On if he’s added any scholarships for players on the roster
Yeah, we put (redshirt senior safety) Shane Commodore on the other day. He’s a fifth-year senior that has obviously played some. But his GPA is really good as well. (Redshirt senior wide receiver) Alex (Marenco III) as well. He’s a junior college guy who hasn’t really played a whole lot, but his GPA is out of sight and his work ethic is out of sight. So, those two guys have been put on and deservedly so.
On if he’s noticed any of the backup receivers step up at all
No.
On if he’s starting to think about who he plans to redshirt
Yeah, we’ll break up scout teams today. I’m not prepared to give you a list as far as who is and who isn’t. We’ll release the depth chart next week and the guys that aren’t on that depth chart, we’ll try to redshirt them. Obviously, you may get into Game 1, Game 2, Game 11 and have to have to play a guy. But we’ll break up scout teams today and if we think guys are redshirting, then obviously they are.
On the makeup of the top of the Big 12
Well, based on what Oklahoma and Oklahoma State have done in the last couple of years, that’s who I’d put up there. They both looked really good in their bowl games last year and finished the season strong. Oklahoma State beat Colorado, which was a 12-1 team and I think Oklahoma beat Auburn, which people said Auburn was a top 10 team and Oklahoma beat them pretty good. So, I don’t know how you couldn’t consider them two of the top teams in the country based on how they finished the year last year and what they have coming back. If you want people to talk about you like that, then we needed to win our bowl game and have more of our returning starters coming back. I think both of those teams are in a good spot right now. Of the next guys in the conversation, who ends up developing and all that is why you play the games. We’ll see what happens.
On his confidence in junior receiver David Sills V and junior receiver Gary Jennings playing outside
They both have. David started against Arizona State at outside receiver and Gary played outside receiver all of last year. We didn’t move him inside until the spring, I guess. So, those guys are tough, they’re smart, they’re competitive, and it means a lot to them. They practice hard, they play hard, and they’ve developed. They’ve earned the right to be our starters and I’m expecting big years of those guys.
On his thoughts along the offensive line
I’ve been happy with their progression. It’s still the same concern – depth is a problem right now. We just have a lot of young guys that are the backups. But the continuity I see is improving. I think (redshirt sophomore offensive lineman) Matt Jones has done a good job at center and he has some older guys around him, so I think they’ve been improving.
On redshirt senior wide receiver Alejandro Marenco III
He’s never suited up, so I’m not going to talk about guys that haven’t suited up. He has a really high GPA and he’s a really good kid and he works hard. That’s about where he’s at.
On the importance of backup receivers contributing
Typically, you play more than three. We have bodies. I’m not going over to (defensive coordinator Tony Gibson) and saying I need to borrow three corners and a safety to move them. We have bodies; we’re a little low on scholarships there, I realize that, but we still have guys on scholarship that need to earn it and get out there and play hard and practice hard and improve.
Opening statement
I really wish this was game week. It seems like we’ve been practicing for a month, and we almost have been. It just makes sense to me and there’s actually some talk out there and I think the schools and the NCAA and all the rest of them will revisit here in the offseason, I don’t know why the first game couldn’t be this weekend. By the time we play our first game, all the NFL preseason games are going to be over. Why do they practice for about 10 days and then have a preseason game? They’ll go practice with some people, then go play another preseason game. There are whole lot of FCS games this weekend and there’s even three or four FBS games this weekend. There’s only so much you can do practicing against each other. It’s going to be five full weeks before the first game and that, to me, is insane. We’ll have been in school for two-and-a-half weeks prior to the first game – that doesn’t make much sense. I just don’t understand what is so special about that same weekend. I don’t think they’re going to end vacation any time later. They’re going to have media days when they have media days. Then, approximately a week to 10 days after that, we’ll get them reported to camp. So, I think you really need about three-and-a-half, four weeks prior to the first game. I expressed some concerns on this prior to the season and, yeah, it’s kind of dragging a little bit. For three weeks, I was happy with our work; we gave them more off-time than we ever have. I do think it was beneficial for our student-athletes to get a little bit more time off, and how we practiced I thought was really good. I just think you can get that done probably in two weeks, two-and-a-half weeks, and then have a game week and go play ball. I like where our team is at; I’m incredibly sick of practicing against each other. I’m ready to switch gears, which we have. Today, when we get in here, we’ll start talking about Virginia Tech a little bit. If you just split up and start working scout teams then you’re going to lose the speed of the game and all kinds of crazy things can happen. So, we just have to keep practicing against each other for another whole week to keep things right, which is no different than what we’ve done the last couple of years. Then, a week from now, we can full-go practice against Virginia Tech, which when we meet next week I’ll have a little bit more information as far as what we think we need to do in order to be successful.
On if he’d like to play a scrimmage against another team before the season starts
That would be cool but it’s never going to happen. I went down to see the Texans and Patriots last week. It was the first day of school on Wednesday and that was our day off, so I shot down there for a day and watched them practice against each other. That’s the first time I’ve seen an NFL practice like that. I’ve been to plenty of camps and have seen plenty of practices, but I’ve never seen two teams practicing against each other. It’s unbelievable how much work you can get done. Right now, we can’t have a scrimmage where our punt team goes out and goes against our punt return team without calling timeout and putting beanies on and changing jerseys. It just doesn’t flow; you can’t get anything done. Those guys sat there for two days and scrimmaged against each other and did it the right way. It was fun to watch them practice against each other so professionally and organized and all that. Just working on all these different situations, you can do that if it’s two teams that are against each other that are in two different jerseys on two different sidelines. We can’t do it with a split team. So, either reduce the amount of time so we’re not going stir crazy or hold a scrimmage. (Bill) O’Brien told me that if he ever went back to college he’d campaign for that. I said, ‘You’re wasting your time’, and he goes, ‘I know that’, so he’s probably not coming back to college.
On if he has any concerns going into game preparation
I don’t know, you’re not going to know the answers to that. You would if you scrimmage somebody; you would if you played a preseason game. It gets to a point, and it does for everybody – Virginia Tech is probably at the very same spot that we are – when you’re going against each other for two, three weeks, you really don’t know until you go out there and play against somebody else. Like I said, five weeks, to me, is just way too long. It’s dragging on and we aren’t going to have answers for another two weeks. We’ll have answers 13 days from now when we’re sitting here on Monday and evaluate the video and see what it looks like. So, I’ll tell you two weeks from today, or you can tell me.
On health of redshirt senior cornerback Corey Winfield and the rest of the team
I don’t think he’ll practice today but he’s going to be fine. I’m expecting to get him back in a couple of days. The two long-term guys are still the two long-term guys. (Redshirt senior safety) Marvin (Gross Jr.) is progressing nicely and he should be fine, Corey is progressing nicely and he should be fine. (Redshirt sophomore linebacker) David Long (Jr.) and (redshirt freshman offensive lineman Jacob) Buccigrossi are the only two long-term guys right now that are out.
On the progression of starting wide receivers
Our starters have been starters from day one. When it comes to (junior wide receiver) David Sills (V), (junior wide receiver) Gary Jennings and (redshirt senior wide receiver) Ka’Raun White, those guys have been starting and those guys do everything right and I’m excited about what years that they’re going to have.
On if he wants to use sophomore running back Kennedy McKoy more in the passing game
He’s been our best H since last spring. He has shown versatility to be able to do things in the backfield, much like we did with Wendell (Smallwood) a couple of years ago before he was the main guy at running back. Right now, Kennedy is capable of being the main guy but (senior running back Justin) Crawford is pretty good. So, we’ll use McKoy in a lot of different ways, which he did in the spring. In my opinion, he’s one of our top four guys right now.
On the leadership redshirt senior linebacker Al-Rasheed Benton provides
He comes in and runs our staff meetings every now and then, too. He’s been around here for quite a while and is a really smart kid. We’ve talked a lot about transfers and why transfers are important for this program, but having fifth-year seniors like him and (redshirt senior fullback/tight end) Eli (Wellman) who understand how things have worked and have logged a whole lot of days since they first got here is something that’s always going to be important in this program. He likes to talk but he can back it up with his play and he can back it up with what comes out of his mouth as well. He’s just a really bright kid.
On if he’s added any scholarships for players on the roster
Yeah, we put (redshirt senior safety) Shane Commodore on the other day. He’s a fifth-year senior that has obviously played some. But his GPA is really good as well. (Redshirt senior wide receiver) Alex (Marenco III) as well. He’s a junior college guy who hasn’t really played a whole lot, but his GPA is out of sight and his work ethic is out of sight. So, those two guys have been put on and deservedly so.
On if he’s noticed any of the backup receivers step up at all
No.
On if he’s starting to think about who he plans to redshirt
Yeah, we’ll break up scout teams today. I’m not prepared to give you a list as far as who is and who isn’t. We’ll release the depth chart next week and the guys that aren’t on that depth chart, we’ll try to redshirt them. Obviously, you may get into Game 1, Game 2, Game 11 and have to have to play a guy. But we’ll break up scout teams today and if we think guys are redshirting, then obviously they are.
On the makeup of the top of the Big 12
Well, based on what Oklahoma and Oklahoma State have done in the last couple of years, that’s who I’d put up there. They both looked really good in their bowl games last year and finished the season strong. Oklahoma State beat Colorado, which was a 12-1 team and I think Oklahoma beat Auburn, which people said Auburn was a top 10 team and Oklahoma beat them pretty good. So, I don’t know how you couldn’t consider them two of the top teams in the country based on how they finished the year last year and what they have coming back. If you want people to talk about you like that, then we needed to win our bowl game and have more of our returning starters coming back. I think both of those teams are in a good spot right now. Of the next guys in the conversation, who ends up developing and all that is why you play the games. We’ll see what happens.
On his confidence in junior receiver David Sills V and junior receiver Gary Jennings playing outside
They both have. David started against Arizona State at outside receiver and Gary played outside receiver all of last year. We didn’t move him inside until the spring, I guess. So, those guys are tough, they’re smart, they’re competitive, and it means a lot to them. They practice hard, they play hard, and they’ve developed. They’ve earned the right to be our starters and I’m expecting big years of those guys.
On his thoughts along the offensive line
I’ve been happy with their progression. It’s still the same concern – depth is a problem right now. We just have a lot of young guys that are the backups. But the continuity I see is improving. I think (redshirt sophomore offensive lineman) Matt Jones has done a good job at center and he has some older guys around him, so I think they’ve been improving.
On redshirt senior wide receiver Alejandro Marenco III
He’s never suited up, so I’m not going to talk about guys that haven’t suited up. He has a really high GPA and he’s a really good kid and he works hard. That’s about where he’s at.
On the importance of backup receivers contributing
Typically, you play more than three. We have bodies. I’m not going over to (defensive coordinator Tony Gibson) and saying I need to borrow three corners and a safety to move them. We have bodies; we’re a little low on scholarships there, I realize that, but we still have guys on scholarship that need to earn it and get out there and play hard and practice hard and improve.