MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia’s defense responded to the absence of Dravon Askew-Henry with a dominant scrimmage Saturday.
In a twist, it was the Mountaineers’ offense looking inept.
Skyler Howard tossed three tipped interceptions, camp standout Justin Crawford lost a fumble and the first-team offense went scoreless until a field goal on its 10th and final series.
“We didn’t get done what we wanted to get done,” said offensive coordinator Joe Wickline. “We’ve had a good camp, but today we kind of stepped backwards.”
“We didn’t get done what we wanted to get done. We’ve had a good camp, but today we kind of stepped backwards.” — WVU offensive coordinator Joe Wickline
Unofficially, Howard finished 12-of-27 passing for 134 yards. The biggest gainers were 26- and 29-yard catch-and-runs by Jovon Durante, but Howard was victimized twice by Jeremy Tyler, who could be in line to start after free safety Askew-Henry suffered a season-ending knee injury.
Tyler returned a deflected pass for a touchdown and scooped another interception inches off the turf. Bandit safety Jarrod Harper also recorded a pick-six on a ball batted by linebacker David Long from midfield.
“It was good to see our guys come out and play hard, because the offense has been getting after us the last couple days,” said defensive coordinator Tony Gibson. “I saw our guys giving a lot of great effort.”
Head coach Dana Holgorsen addressed the media before the scrimmage, hoping to run 100 plays on an afternoon when temperatures climbed into the 90s. After eight scoreless possessions, Holgorsen was generating his own heat, tearing into his offensive starters in the north end zone.
“He was trying to light a fire underneath us, because it was our lack of ability to bring our own edge today,” said senior center Tyler Orlosky.
“The defense was probably pretty happy, but today was something that we as an offense shouldn’t let happen. Dana thinks we should have this offense figured out, and we definitely don’t.”
“We did a decent job. Now the test is if we can come out and do that at the next practice and the one after that.” — Middle linebacker Al-Rasheed Benton
Operating without lead running back Rushel Shell (concussion), Howard overthrew Daikiel Shorts on a fourth-down slant at the 33-yard. His final pass of the day, a third-and-goal fade route, was caught by Ka’Raun White one step out of bounds. That led to Molina’s 21-yard kick and the starting unit’s only points.
William Crest and Chris Chugunov each took four series leading the second unit.
Crest was 3-of-11 passing for 30 yards and a deep interception by Nana Kyrehmeh, but the sophomore scored on a 6-yard keeper. Chugunov opened with four straight incompletions before finishing 6-of-15 for 66 yards. Included in that was a series that started at midfield and resulted in Mike Molina’s 42-yard field goal.
The only other touchdown Saturday—true freshman Cody Saunders’ 30-yard keeper—came with mostly third-teamers on the field.
“We did a decent job,” said middle linebacker Al-Rasheed Benton, a central figure on a defense that must replace eight starters from 2015. “Now the test is if we can come out and do that at the next practice and the one after that.”