MORGANTOWN — After the debacle against Iowa State a month ago where he was sacked seven times, West Virginia quarterback Will Grier has remained mostly upright during the last three games.
The defenses from Baylor, Texas and TCU combined to sack Grier only once, and he was hurried five times.
Offensive coordinator Jake Spavital credits his senior quarterback for improving his ability to get rid of the ball quicker and understanding his hot reads, but also with the play of center Matt Jones.
“I think we went back to the basics of things with our points with Matt — be confident, make one point and we’ll play off the rest,” Spavital said. “We do have a tough challenge with that moving forward, but I think with the success of protecting how they have over the past couple weeks has been simplifying it up front, and Will’s been doing a really good job with understanding his hot reads.”
Left guard Josh Sills, who plays next to Jones on almost every snap, notices that Jones isn’t over-analyzing as much as he was at the beginning of the season. He makes a point and goes, and that’s helped the entire line relax and settle in in pass protection,
“There’s games and plays here and there where Matt had to get us in the right blocking schemes or get us going the right way,” Sills said. “Now, it’s simplified so he doesn’t have to think. He just makes a call and we all go. I think it’s slowed down for him.”
Sills compared it to his debut against Virginia Tech last season where he was thrown in with the injury to Grant Lingafelter. When you think too much, you get into trouble, especially against experienced defensive fronts like the Hokies.
When you just go out and play, it comes more natural.
“When you have to think, it slows you down,” Sills said. “There’s that much more pressure to get to the right person or get to the right spot or block the right guy. From a mental standpoint and a load standpoint, it’s kind of a relief when that’s taken off of you.”
The offensive line may have its stiffest test Saturday against Oklahoma State. On the surface, the Cowboys struggled defensively, ranking in the bottom half in almost every category.
But what they have done with great success is get to the quarterback. Oklahoma State leads the Big 12 in sacks, averaging 3.6 per game, led by Jordan Brailford, with nine.
The Cowboys are second in the conference in tackles for loss, averaging 7.7 per game, trailing only West Virginia. They cause “a lot of chaos,” according to WVU coach Dana Holgorsen.
“There’s a lot to do with it in terms of the question on protections,” Spavital said. “You get into that guessing game where he’s bluffing over here, or he’s blitzing over here, and we’re getting into the wrong points from a protection standpoint. It’s about playing with a good tempo, keeping them off guard with keeping the same personnel groupings out there and keeping your different formations and making sure that they can’t get that in as clearly as they want to.”
Twitter @SeanManning_DP
