MORGANTOWN -
The action-starved media had its appetite satisfied Monday
when WVU took the field for fall camp.
In the fourth 30-minute session open to the cameras and eyes
of local reporters, there was – for the first time this calendar year –
11-on-11 football to be observed in practice.
The first-team offense went up against the ones on defense
and got the better of the blue shirts in marching 99 yards down the field for a
touchdown. Geno Smith threw a strike over the middle to Tavon Austin to cap off
the drive with the score, which led to cornerbacks coach Daron Roberts shouting
that his men cannot get beat inside.
In fact, Roberts did plenty of shouting, all of which was
recorded to my video camera for use in this season of The Dana Holgorsen Show.
Because of the mic'd up segment that handcuffed my time at practice, few
observations outside of the cornerbacks could be made, but it is worth pointing
out the starters on the field during that 11-on-11 work.
Smith took snaps from behind an offensive line that
consisted of Quinton Spain, Josh Jenkins, Joe Madsen, Jeff Braun and Pat Eger
in that order from left to right. Shawne Alston lined up as the lone rusher in
the backfield and the four receivers were Stedman Bailey and J.D. Woods on the
outside with Austin and Jordan Thompson playing the slot.
Jorge Wright, Will Clarke and Shaq Rowell manned the front
three across the line of scrimmage with Terence Garvin, Jared Barber, Doug Rigg
and Tyler Anderson backing them.
Freshmen K.J. Dillon and Karl Joseph held down the safety
positions, though Darwin Cook normally would have been out there had he not
been on the stationary bike in a red no contact jersey.
At cornerback, the veterans Pat Miller and Brodrick Jenkins
took the lead roles, though Miller also got work with freshman Nana Kyeremeh on
the second team.
After the players ended their team drill and returned to
individual work with their position coaches, Holgorsen walked to the far side
where the stunned media was scribbling notes and marking video clips. He asked
us if we were happy with the out-of-nowhere nature of 11-on-11 football.
Yes, sir. More please, sir. We like it.
We will see exactly what Holgorsen himself thought of the
day's practice when he meets the media at 7:30 p.m. for a press conference,
which you can see right here.
Also, keep an eye out for Coach Roberts and offensive
coordinator Shannon Dawson as we throw a microphone on them in the coming weeks
when The Dana Holgorsen Show kicks off its second season.
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