WVU preparing for Iowa State twin-bill at QB

Two heads are better than one.

It’s a phrase we’ve all heard throughout our lifetimes and in the case of Iowa State, it’s something being put into practice weekly at the quarterback position.

That’s because the Cyclones play not one, but two different players at that spot and do so without any real rhyme or reason to it seamlessly using both in any given situation.

“Don’t know when they’re going to pull one and put one in. It’s fair random which I don’t know if that makes it easier or harder to prepare for,” head coach Dana Holgorsen said.

Sophomore Jacob Park has become the “starter,” as of late and provides the best option throwing the football. While junior Joel Lanning provides more of an option in the run game but it isn’t a situation where the offense is limited to certain plays or packages when either are in the game.

That alone makes it a different situation entirely than what the Mountaineers have seen at some places such as Texas which uses Tyrone Swoopes are primarily a big-package rushing option.

“Both quarterbacks can run the offense … Everything is on the menu for them and you can’t just hone in,” defensive coordinator Tony Gibson said.

A week ago in the 66-10 win against Texas Tech, both quarterbacks combined to complete 17-22 passes for 336 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while rushing for 176 yards and six touchdowns.

Park handled the bulk of the passing in that performance attempting 18 of those throws for 285 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while Lanning did his damage on the ground rushing for 171 yards and five scores.

But the key for the Mountaineers will be to not get baited into believing that is the norm. Iowa State has already shown that both quarterbacks can run the entire offense and on the year Lanning has tossed for 1,290 yards and nine touchdowns while serving as the second leading rusher.

That makes nailing down tendencies a difficult proposition meaning that the West Virginia defense must be prepared for a lot when the Cyclones have the football.

“It’s hard to get a beat on downs and situations when they’ll try to use them. Just looking at it and trying to figure out what plays they like to run,” redshirt junior linebacker Al-Rasheed Benton said. “We have to be ready for anything and match up with all the plays they can run.”

Add in the fact that the Cyclones will use a variety of formations with constant motion and shifting and it makes it a tough task for the Mountaineers to defend.

“We’re going to develop some tendencies and try to have an idea of what to expect and they’ve done pretty good job of not allowing that to happen,” Holgorsen said.