MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — In a moment of pseudo-levity, Dana Holgorsen suggested West Virginia’s starting quarterback revelation eventually might leak out on Twitter.
Unless, of course, the race remains neck-and-neck-and-neck, in which case …
“We are going to keep it as close to the vest as we can,” Holgorsen told reporters Thursday.
Yup, can’t risk giving William & Mary that extra heads-up.
The paranoia isn’t on par with the CIA’s squeeze on Bengazi, but WVU’s football coach clearly isn’t one for haphazardly declassifying info.
“We try to get our guys to keep as much what happens inside the building to the people that need to know,” Holgorsen said, adding that even when he chooses a starter from the coterie of Clint Trickett, Paul Millard and Ford Childress, “I don’t know if I’ll tell you or not. We probably want everyone to be in the dark.”
Yet, light may have been shed during Thursday evening’s full-padded practice. It was Day 7 of fall camp, which began the third round of Holgorsen’s three-day install—and the first one with live-game situations.
Millard and Childress have been through this sequence at West Virginia, but until a week ago, Trickett had only the summertime 7-on-7 drills to pick up the system.
“What we’re asking him to do in our offense is different (from FSU)—he’s got to adjust to that,” the coach said. “He’s a smart kid, he’s a bright kid and he’s very intuitive. He’s got a good feel for the game, which is going to put him in position to be able to beat out guys that have been taking snaps in our offense for the past two to three years. It’s a credit to him that he’s in the race.”
Because Holgorsen has perfect precedent for wisely choosing his previous quarterbacks, and because he knows what’s needed to calibrate the offense, he probably has a leader in mind. Now he’s just wanting that guy to prove him right and seize the job.
“Those decisions are not easy when you are talking about who is going to play and not going to play,” he said. “It affects kids’ lives. These are guys that are working hard, and someone is going to be the guy and somebody is not. It is hard to deal with if you are not the guy.”
Asked whether this three-man race might evolve into a two-quarterback rotation, Holgorsen replied flatly: “I have never done it and don’t plan on doing it.”
He’s looking for a clear-cut No. 1, and for fans wondering who that winning quarterback might be, there is one bit of advice: Keep an eye on Twitter.