WVU assistants have new roles, recruiting territories
West Virginia is set to open spring ball in under two weeks and the coaching staff now will have both some new responsibilities as well as recruiting territories.
The Mountaineers added a total of three new coaches to Dana Holgorsen’s staff and each will have defined responsibilities on the field and on the recruiting trail. Offensive coordinator Jake Spavital comes back to West Virginia from California and is set to handle the play-calling. It is the first time somebody other than Holgorsen has been tasked to do that since he arrived in 2011.
“We’ve been in a lot of meetings the last four or five weeks trying to figure out where we’re headed. We’ve got to figure out where our strengths are,” he said.
On the recruiting front, Spavital will handle the pursuit of quarterback prospects as well as a familiar territory in New Jersey where he handled during his first stint in Morgantown.
Another coach returning to West Virginia is running backs coach Tony Dews and he will handle a position that is new to him in the backfield. He is set to take over the fertile Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C. recruiting areas as well as spot recruiting Orlando.
“That familiarity is good. I’ve gotten to know a bunch of guys in those areas though out the years and it will be fun being back where you know some people,” Dews said.
The final addition to the staff is cornerbacks coach Doug Belk, who came to West Virginia after spending time at Alabama. He will fill the role that Blue Adams held last season and is set to inherit the recruiting in his native Georgia. Expect that area to become a focus moving forward for the Mountaineers.
“It’s a big priority for me. It’ll probably be my number one territory,” Belk said.
As for the rest of the staff, offensive line coach Joe Wickline will now handle that position by himself after the departure of Ron Crook and will spend his energy targeting familiar junior college locations throughout the nation due to his years of experience there. That means junior colleges in Mississippi, Kansas, Texas and various other spots across the country.
Tyron Carrier maintains his role as wide receivers coach but will expand his recruiting territories to various locations across the map including both Florida and Texas.
On the defensive side, coordinator Tony Gibson is now the longest tenure coach on the staff aside from Holgorsen and will continue to handle the state of West Virginia in recruiting. There are also no changes to both defensive line coach Bruce Tall, who will recruit Ohio and North Carolina, and safeties coach Matt Caponi, who will serve as the primary recruiter for West Virginia in Western Pennsylvania.
One coach that will see his responsibilities shift some is assistant Mark Scott, who will transition from the full-time special teams coach to working back more in his natural role with the linebackers. He also will oversee game day responsibilities on the defensive side much like he did as a graduate assistant.
However, his recruiting territories will remain relatively unchanged as he will continue to target the Eastern Pennsylvania area after handling that last season.
Scott will continue to work with the special teams units, but the bulk of it will be divided up amongst the rest of the coaching staff on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.