Holgorsens Take: Liberty Bowl Presser

Tomorrow afternoon West Virginia will play its final game of the season at the AutoZone Liberty Bowl in Memphis against Texas A&M.

Today Mountaineer Head Coach Dana Holgorsen addressed the media for last time before the game. His team got to Memphis on Christmas Day and have been preparing for the Aggies for the past few weeks.

Since arriving in Memphis, Holgorsen has tried to replicate the same practice schedule he used in Morgantown prior to breaking for the holiday.

"We've had four good days of practice. All four days we were outside, dressed out, going full speed," said Holgorsen. "Our guys are in a good spot and they've had a great time. We shut things down last night and had a good day of preparation."

True sophomore quarterback Skyler Howard will make his first ever bowl game start tomorrow.

Howard replaces the injured Clint Trickett, after Holgorsen announced on Friday, Trickett would end his career due to concussions. Since taking over for Trickett in the second half of the Kansas State game on November 20, Holgorsen has been impressed with the way he prepares.

"I don't know if I've ever been around a kid (Howard) that it means more to him. He's a perfectionist. Everybody wants to be good. Everybody wants to win, but he really does live it," he said.

The battle between Howard and Texas A&M quarterback Kyle Allen is one of young, but talented signal callers, which will certainly play the biggest role in the outcome of the game.

Howard has thrown for 483 yards and five touchdowns in six quarters of action, while Allen has thrown for 1028 yards and 12 touchdowns after taking over for Kenny Hill.

"Two young kids (Howard & Allen) that have taken advantage of this entire month to be able to practice and prep, it's going to be fun to see what kind of improvement both those kids are going to make," Holgorsen added. "I think both of them have a bright future and will continue to improve down the road."

Holgorsen was also asked about his plan to hire a replacement for departing offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson. Right now, Holgorsen isn't in a rush to make a decision, so he said he will likely wait until the coaches convention to start identifying candidates.

Kickoff at the Liberty Bowl is set for 2 p.m. between West Virginia and Texas A&M.