West Virginia still hasn’t received a definitive answer on the eligibility status of redshirt junior quarterback Will Grier for this fall. But for the spring head coach Dana Holgorsen isn’t worried about it.
When Holgorsen was asked about the matter, he admitted he was confident that Grier would be eligible for the opener against Virginia Tech but in the meantime this spring is about reps.
Grier was suspended by the NCAA six games into his freshman year at Florida due to use of a banned substance. During those games Grier, a redshirt freshman at the time, had thrown for 1,204 yards and 10 touchdowns while completing 66-percent of his passes in leading the Gators to a 6-0 start.
But after spending last season split between the scout team and the quarterbacks meeting room, this is the first real on the field action for Grier in over a year. That means reps, reps and more of it.
The son of a coach, Grier has set up shop in the film room evaluating what he does as well as picking the brains of the coaches in areas he can get better. Being talented is one thing, but putting work in on the mental side is often the difference between being good and being great.
In fact, so much so that Grier has been frustrated at times because he wants everything to look great at all times, which isn’t a realistic expectation.
“He asks a lot of questions. Having Jake (Spavital) here has been really good, because Jake spends three hours on Saturday’s with him if he needs to. He is a bright kid,” Holgorsen said. “He is a coach’s kid. He works hard, he wants things to look good.”
Grier has been taking the first team reps when the practice sessions have been open to the media but his overall skillset is evident with a strong arm and accuracy. That has translated during the other portions of the practice that aren’t open to the media.
“The ball looks really good coming out of his hands and he is an athletic guy as well,” Holgorsen said.
However, don’t expect Holgorsen to pull a reprise of last spring when he pulled the yellow jersey off of then starter Skyler Howard to allow him to get into the offense. The message to the rest of the team has been clear stay away from Grier throughout the spring when he takes off running.
But while Grier will get obvious attention, the fact the Mountaineers have only three quarterbacks this spring means that there will be more to go around.
That also means reps for redshirt sophomore Chris Chugunov and redshirt freshman Cody Saunders.
Chugunov served as the primary backup last season and Holgorsen stopped short of saying that the job is automatically being awarded to Grier due to his experience in the scheme. It doesn’t hurt that Chugunov has thrown the ball well throughout the early portions of spring.
“Chris has taken a lot of snaps here over the last couple of years. There is a comfort level that exists with him that doesn’t exist with Will based on the number of snaps that he has taken,” Holgorsen said. “Those guys are splitting reps.”
The third part of the equation comes in the form of Saunders who has been somewhat limited of late due to overworking his shoulder. He is expected to be fine, however, and Holgorsen is excited to see what he can bring to the table in the position battle.
Health will be of the utmost importance for the remainder of the spring because with three quarterbacks it’s a scary situation.
“You better get all three of them ready. We are repping them all,” Holgorsen said.
