Crest back where it started

William Crest has a different perspective than his running mates in the backup quarterback derby.

The redshirt sophomore spent the majority of last season in a slash type role seeing time under center, at running back and even wide receiver as West Virginia found ways to get him on the field. But now the focus has turned to back to developing at the quarterback spot.

“I think I am a different quarterback because I see the game different,” Crest said.

While playing different spots comes with its advantages such as seeing how things develop in the run game due to his experience at wide receiver and understanding certain looks and coverages due to his time at wide receiver, it has its drawbacks too.

Specialization is almost a necessity to take the next step and the plan from the top down is for Crest to battle redshirt freshman Chris Chugunov to see who emerges as the backup behind Skyler Howard.

Crest entered the program as a highly regarded prospect out of Baltimore but when he first arrived to campus he realized it was a much different world than the one he was accustomed to. As opposed to running back and forth to buy time, Crest was forced to react quickly and take signals from the coaching staff and apply them to on the field situations.

Reading defenses was much more challenging as well and it’s an area he continues to improve on this fall. But pinpointing one thing is hard to do when it comes to his development and it is often a situation where you either understand the concepts or you don’t.

“There are different levels to playing quarterback,” he said.

Holgorsen has narrowed down the things that Crest is expected to be in order to simplify his role at quarterback. Instead of multiple spots, it’s now what he needs to do to be a better quarterback.

But that doesn’t mean that the slash experiment is completely over as Crest is still more than willing to move in order to help his team.

“He wants to play so bad. He’s so eager. Says ‘whatever you want me to do.’ He’s a wonderful teammate. He’s a kid that you want to coach,” Holgorsen said.

It's the ultimate goal for Crest to see the field at the quarterback spot but he is more than willing to move where he is needed. He points to players such as Ohio State’s Braxton Miller that moved to wide receiver and was selected in the most recent NFL Draft.

“Look where he’s at,” he said.

That’s exactly where Crest wants to be regardless how and what position he does it.