MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — On the brand new turf on top the hill at University High, coach John Kelley eyed four quarterbacks getting early reps Monday to begin the three-week summer workouts.
Gone is Logan Holgorsen, who amassed 2,100 yards and 27 touchdowns in eight games last season and is now listed as the third-string quarterback under his dad, Dana Holgorsen, at the University of Houston.
In the two games Holgorsen missed for the Hawks due to a high-ankle sprain, JT Brown got snaps behind center, but he’s no longer with the team after a move to Virginia.
That leaves a major void in the heart of the UHS offense, but Kelley likes what he sees from the inexperience group that will take over a 5-5 team that narrowly missed the playoffs last year.
“It’s gonna be a real good battle,” said Kelley, who’s entering his 33rd year at the helm for the Hawks. “We’re loaded there, just have to see what we’ve got.”
Leading the charge is, like Holgorsen, another transfer from Morgantown High. Chris Burke was the backup to Cam Rice for the Mohigans a year ago and will be a senior. While the lefty Burke is new to UHS, he has experience at the high school level, which his counterparts do not.
Joseph McBee played last year at wide receiver as a sophomore, but was moved to quarterback because, unlike Burke, he knows the offense already.
“The Burke kid is the most experienced and throws the ball better,” Kelley said. “McBee converted to quarterback and understands what we want to do.”
Two freshmen are also in the mix in Jaeden Hammack and Chase Edwards.
“The two freshmen are phenomenal,” Kelley said. “Jaeden Hammack is a true athlete that came down here from Laurel Highlands and Chase Edwards is a phenomenal 9th-grade quarterback.”
Perhaps a more important question is who will whoever wins the QB job be throwing to when the Hawks open their season Aug. 30 hosting John Marshall?
Evan Parow is now at WVU as a preferred walk-on after winning the Randy Moss Award, given to the state’s top receiver. He hauled in 68 catches for 1,152 yards and 19 touchdowns in 10 games a year ago.
Amir Richardson enrolled at Marshall last weekend and will play receiver on scholarship for the Thundering Herd after finishing his high school career with 124 catches, 1,966 yards and 32 receiving touchdowns.
Again, despite the losses, Kelley likes what he sees from his receiving corps.
“We lost Amir and Parow, but we’re not hurting there,” Kelley said. “We’ve got good receivers in Andrew Myers, a kid who’s played a lot in his third year, and Drew Burton played a lot last year, too, and we’ve got some speed with the two Williams kids (Anthony and Joey).
“We’re not hurting there, we’re not hurting there at all. We’ve got kids that can play.”
Running back should be a strength with leading-rusher Logan Raber back, as well as Clay Maholic to lead the power backfield. Anthony Williams will provide speed as the scatback.
“I definitely like this group a lot,” said Maholic, who will get more carries this year after primarily being a lead-blocker in the past. “I’ve excited to finally get my chance.”
For the second-straight year, though, size and experience along the offensive line will pose issues. UHS struggled to keep Holgorsen upright last season, and only two returners are back — Corbin Turney and Max Robertson.
“They just are strong enough to play at this level right now,” Kelley said. “They aren’t ready for AAA football.”
