6:00: Morning News

Holgorsen: Complaints over pass interference flag ‘waste of time’

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Because Big 12 coordinator of officials Walt Anderson can’t comment on judgement calls, he offered no public follow-up on the questionable offensive pass interference flag that negated West Virginia’s chance at a game-tying score against TCU.

Mountaineers coach Dana Holgorsen sounded emphatic about letting the controversial ending die.

“It’s a waste of time,” he said Tuesday, when asked if the program had requested that Anderson review the penalty that proved pivotal in the 31-24 loss.

“Will it make me feel better? No. Is it going to change the outcome of the game? No. So why spend that time doing it when we can sit there and coach our guys and prepare them for the next opponent? I think it’s counterproductive. I’ve done it in the past, and it’s counterproductive.”

Those counterproductive moments trace back to Holgorsen’s eight seasons at Texas Tech under Mike Leach.

“I used to spend four hours a week with Leach coming up with these plays, writing a thesis and complaining about it,” Holgorsen said. “You send them in and then the next week you have five more to send in. You complain about it again and spend five more hours. You create a list the next week, and then there are six plays on it. Then the next week there are seven. Then the next week there’s eight, and then the next week there’s nine. Where does it end? You aren’t changing anything, so I don’t spend time doing it.”

More recently at West Virginia, Holgorsen has asked director of football operations Alex Hammond to inquire only about rule interpretations.

“If it helps teach your players what the rule is and how you can improve on it, then we are going to get some confirmation from Walt,” he said.

No redshirt for Stills

True freshman defensive lineman Darius Stills played his first snap — and thus far his only snap — of the season at TCU, meaning plans to redshirt him are gone.

“I thought he was ready at the beginning of the year and then we got into some games and didn’t use him, so we were going to hold off and see if we could make it,” defensive coordinator Tony Gibson said. “But right now we need to use him because he’s active and think he could gives some good depth to rest these other guys.”

The 6-foot-4, 278-pound recruit from Fairmont Senior High took the field briefly in the second-half against the Frogs.

“He’s just real powerful and strong with his hands,” said defensive line coach Bruce Tall. “He’s got some nice pop and he plays fast. He does some things that young guys aren’t typically ready to do this early in their career.

“We just felt like it’s time to play him. And he will play more now.”

Stills’ younger brother Dante is a four-star recruit who has committed to West Virginia for 2018.

Feathers for Jennings

Some fans guessed decals, others thought they might be sprigs of dreadlocks, but those are feathers jutting from the top of Gary Jennings’ helmets.

Teammates said he found the feathers on the practice field during preseason camp, and ever since Jennings has been attaching them to the air vents in his head gear.

“It’s like good luck for him so he puts them in his helmet every game and every practice,” said receiver Ka’Raun White. “He’s looking good with it, so why not keep them in?”

Jennings ranks eighth nationally in catches per game (7.8) and 13th in receiving yards per game (103.6). receiver David Sill

Receiver David Sills is a fan of the accessories — “I love it,” he said. When refs tried to have the feathers removed during pregame drills at Kansas, the quick-thinking Sills intervened and told officials that Jennings “was in a tribe.”

West Virginia Mountaineers receiver Gary Jennings (12) has been sporting feathers in his helmets since the preseason.




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