MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Coach Dana Holgorsen pledged that fans attending West Virginia’s public practice in Charleston on Saturday will see the longest spring scrimmage so far.
Starting with a series of Oklahoma drills meant “to get everybody’s juices flowing,” Holgorsen said the Mountaineers will stage a brief special-teams period before going 11-on-11 in live action.
“We’re going to put the ball down and play some football,” he said on Thursday night’s edition of the MetroNews “Statewide Sportsline.”
Saturday’s session is slated to begin around 1 p.m. at Laidley Field, continuing WVU’s attempt at a fan-friendly tour that previously included open practices in Wheeling and Morgantown.
“There’s room for about 19,000 fans in the stadium, and our kids get excited about this,” Holgorsen said. “It’s a two-way street: I now the fans are going to be excited about being able to see their Mountaineers, but our kids really do get a kick out of this.”
The athletic department has announced it will hold a post-practice autograph session.
HOWARD’S BEGINNING
While reiterating that juco transfer Skyler Howard is enduring rough days learning to run the offense, Holgorsen raved about the quarterback’s commitment.
“You want him to be further along, … but you’ve just got to go through the process,” Holgorsen said.
“I love his attitude. We’ve got to kick him out of the building because he spends so much time there. He wants to watch more film than we want to watch, so we have to get him out of there and say ‘Go be a college kid’ every now and then.”
DEFENSIVE IMPROVEMENT
Holgorsen sounded optimistic about the progress shown on defense, something that is sorely needed after West Virginia has ranked 108th in 2012 in 101st last season.
“I couldn’t be happier with how our defense is playing right now,’ he said. “We have depth, (and) we have better talent across the board.”
Watch Holgorsen’s complete interview at the top of the page.