MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — While the flurry of deep-and-difficult throws Skyler Howard attempted in 2015 excluded him from setting completion-percentage records, West Virginia still needed its quarterback to do better than 54-percent passing.
That’s why mechanical slip-ups, particularly ones involving Howard’s footwork, have dominated his offseason focus.
And in truth, his feet became a top priority leading up to the Cactus Bowl.
“We worked on it during bowl prep and you saw what happened,” said Mountaineers graduate assistant Michael Burchett.
What happened—a 43-42 victory in which Howard riddled Arizona State for 532 yards passing and five touchdowns—stands as testament to his mission of taking steps to take better steps. That’s the same weakness he sought to fix the previous year after flinging erratic throws in the Liberty Bowl.
“Footwork, it’s always evolving,” said Burchett, who noticed Howard backsliding after West Virginia began suffering pass-protection breakdowns last season.
“Things change when you get hit hard a couple times. And in the Oklahoma game, Skyler got hit hard a couple times and he had a different demeanor after that.
“He was all over the place in the pocket.”
Howard sustained seven sacks against the Sooners, two which led to fumbles, and tossed three interceptions in a 44-24 loss. It began a string of wobbly performances in Big 12 play, where Howard’s 268 pass attempts were essentially a break-even proposition—135 completions, 133 not complete. (Against rather light nonconference competition he completed 58-of-84 for 69 percent.)
Poor footwork might be easy to spot when the pass is released, though Burchett and Dana Holgorsen have mentored Howard on the importance of the sequence preceding the throw.
“It starts with my first step in my drop,” Howard said. “Just slowing things down and calming down so I don’t get back so fast.”
Not hurrying seems counterintuitive to an offense predicated on tempo and a quarterback facing rushers like Eric Striker, Emmanuel Ogbah and Andrew Billings. Yet even as West Virginia allowed 32 sacks and Howard scrambled away from numerous others, his coaches preached patience and stressed a sound set-up.
The numbers revealed struggles, though WVU had no other quarterback capable of supplanting him: Howard’s overall 54.8 completion percentage ranked 11th among Big 12 quarterbacks who attempted 85 passes or more. His 14 interceptions were second-most in the league and he finished seventh in passing efficiency.
Yet that massive bowl game in Phoenix may have signaled a tipping point, and Burchett credited Howard for trying to master his dropbacks during winter periods when coaches have limited access.
“He has improved his footwork from stance and start and remaining calm in the pocket, trusting what’s going on up front,” Burchett said. “It’s been a total 180.”
“We’re making sure Skyler’s getting back in a straight line and not rushing. If you start rushing your feet, you start rushing everything. If he gets a calm start, it gives him a chance to be calm in the pocket.”
Unable to simulate the 11-on-11 rapid fire of game action, Burchett has been a harassing presence for Howard and the other quarterbacks this spring, intent on making them uncomfortable during each rep of every drill.
“I’m always getting up in their face and always being around them when they’re getting ready to throw the ball,” he said. “Maybe they’re just taking a drop and throwing it into the net, but I’m going to be standing right near them.
“I want them to feel pressure, feel guys around them, and ignore it—ignore what’s going on outside.”
