Changes appear to be on the way for the West Virginia offense
Coach Dana Holgorsen said Monday that reps in practice would be different at quarterback, and that he would be making starting lineup changes at receiver, as well.
“We will definitely shake things up on the offensive side of the ball as it pertains to our pass game,” Holgorsen said. “I’m not happy with where we’re at. We need to be way more efficient than we have been.”
After scoring just 24 points against William & Mary in their opener, the Mountaineers squandered an inspired effort from their defense at Oklahoma over the weekend. West Virginia allowed just 119 passing yards, forced four turnovers and surrendered just one touchdown. But save for a 75-yard Dreamius Smith scamper, the Mountaineers scored just once, and Oklahoma’s three field goals proved to be the difference in a 16-7 final.
Quarterback Paul Millard completed just 21 of 41 passes for 218 yards and an interception, giving him the lowest QBR of any starting Big 12 quarterback for the week.
Holgorsen said he thought about making a change at quarterback, and inserting Clint Trickett into the Oklahoma game. But Holgorsen opted against it because Millard took almost all of the reps in practice leading up to the game. That will change this week.
“We settled on Paul because we felt like he gave us the best chance to win the opener and to travel and win at OU,” Holgorsen said Monday. “We told the other two guys at that point as well that they need to stay ready.”
Holgorsen said he’d like to settle on one quarterback before the Georgia State game this weekend. But he also conceded that a renewed quarterback competition between Millard, Trickett and Ford Childress could linger, too.
“I don’t know when it’s going to happen to the point that I feel good about somebody, they take the bull by the horns, they lead the team to victories and they look good doing it,” he said. “So until that happens, I would assume that we’re going to continue to play all three [quarterbacks].”
