Holgorsen: Team improving, focus turns to Delaware State
As Delaware State comes to town West Virginia's Dana Holgorsen is trying to prepare his team but due to NCAA rules he had to let the team take two days off and they will return to practice today.
The players and staff will spend time going over the East Carolina film before moving on. "I'm not going to answer a lot of questions about how we're going to prepare this week. It's the same as any other week," Holgorsen said.
"We have a lot of things we have to improve on and this is a great week to do it," Holgorsen said.
"I love noon kicks. Saturday at noon we're going to lineup and try to improve," he added.
Looking back on the East Carolina the head coach felt they played well but were sloppy at times. He specifically took issue with how much time his players spent on the ground. "You can't block or make tackles if you're laying on the ground, try it," Holgorsen said.
He felt the special teams were improved but still needed work.
Redshirt freshman Josh Sills made his first start and impressed Holgorsen. "He's going to be a great player for us but he has a long way to go," he said.
Holgorsen said quarterback Chris Chugunov looked as good as he has since he's been at West Virginia.
Holgorsen said that Kenny Robinson playing cornerback against East Carolina was defensive coordinator Tony Gibson's idea. The staff felt he might he a corner when they recruited him. Robinson has been lining up there for about a week and while he had struggles he did compete.
Marcus Simms made his first start against ECU. "What he brings to the table is speed, which we need," Holgorsen said. "We need guys out there that can stretch things," he added.
"Marcus needs to be a lot more consistent," Holgorsen said.
There has been a great deal of talk about West Virginia's punt returns and the head coach was pleased to see some improvement. Holgorsen said that the blocking on punt returns improved and they did a better job fielding punts than that have previously.
Punt returns are another area that Marcus Simms can contribute according to Holgorsen but he said Simms needs to get up field immediately after making the catch.
Wide receiver David Sills continues to impress the coaching staff. Holgorsen said that he recruited David Sills because he was tall, athletic and had a great football mind. "Sills is the hardest working guy in the room. He listens to everything and works hard to get better," Holgorsen said.
The last few seasons Holgorsen said his offense was more of a pro-style but this season they have returned the air raid attack.
