MORGANTOWN, W. Va. — Dana Holgorsen is stumping for his best defensive player to get more national recognition.
While quarterback Will Grier is certainly the face of these Mountaineers, linebacker David Long represents the heart and soul of Holgorsen’s squad.
“It’s not just his stats,” Holgorsen said on his Monday night radio show. “He’s more important in the locker room. More important in practice. That’s as influential a football player as I’ve been around.”
The stats are quite good nonetheless. Despite West Virginia having a game canceled, Long is 17th nationally with 56 solo tackles, fifth with 17.5 tackles for loss and 26th with seven sacks.
“This is insane that he’s not getting the due nationally,” Holgorsen said. “The good news is we’re going against two of the top offenses nationally the next couple weeks. This Saturday is a big ABC game. He’ll have some eyes on him.”
Long is one of 10 semifinalists for the Butkus Award, which is given to the top linebacker in the country. He is likely fighting some institutional bias playing in a league primarily known for explosive offenses – no Big 12 player has won the award since Texas’ Derrick Johnson in 2004.
That doesn’t mean much to Holgorsen.
“I think he’s the best linebacker in the country,” Holgorsen said. “I said it before the season. I stand by it.”
Trust the kicker
Don’t count Holgorsen among the football coaches who lacks faith in his kicker. The Mountaineers seemed to be at the very edge of Staley’s field-goal range early in the second quarter as a fierce wind blew in with Staley facing a potential 47-yarder.
Some coaches might have elected a delay of game and a short punt, but Holgorsen deferred to his kicker.
“I was like ‘Geez, I don’t know what to do,’” Holgorsen said. ‘And Evan’s like, ‘I got it.’”
What reason might that be?
With West Virginia’s 47-10 win over TCU, Holgorsen surpassed Rich Rodriguez for second place all-time in career victories at the school. Holgorsen is now 61-38 all-time at WVU.
“Everybody wanted me to get that No. 2 spot,” Holgorsen noted dryly, “for some reason.”
Rodriguez jetted for Michigan after picking up his 60th win at West Virginia in 2007.
Heads, tails and cold fingers
Holgorsen said Saturday was Grier’s best-graded performance as West Virginia’s quarterback.
“He was in complete control,” Holgorsen said. “He had probably four minuses in 75 plays. Three of them were in the first drive.”
According to Holgorsen, it literally took Grier some time to warm up. Holgorsen said the quarterback claimed he was cold from taking his jacket off to go out for the coin toss.
“He’ll still be a captain,” Holgorsen said. “But maybe we don’t need to send him out for the coin toss.”
Qualls finally making comeback
Linebackers Brendan Ferns and Quondarius Qualls both returned to practice two weeks ago. Ferns finally made his season debut against TCU, and Qualls will follow suit this week against Oklahoma State.
Qualls was held out against the Horned Frogs because West Virginia is trying to preserve a redshirt season, and the possibility of playing in the Big 12 championship game could have put him over the limit of four games played this season.
“I would look for No. 33 running around this week,” Holgorsen said of Qualls.
One game at a time
Holgorsen is aware that his team is in contention for the Big 12 championship and even a berth in the College Football Playoff. But he’s having nothing to do with talk about either subject.
“I don’t want to talk about Big 12 championship scenarios or CFP scenarios. It doesn’t concern us,” Holgorsen said. “We’re on to Oklahoma State. That’s the way things work right now.”
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