2011 West Virginia Mountaineers Football Preview

In the offseason, West Virginia did what it did back in 2001. It went out and tabbed the nation’s hottest and most sought after offensive mind to be its next head coach. Only this time, it awkwardly left the current head coach in charge for one more season. At least, that was the plan.

Now, the environment in Morgantown is even more unsettled than it expected to be, even though one man will enjoy complete control of this program.

This season was supposed to be a transition year in which head coach Bill Stewart stayed at the helm of the team while Dana Holgorsen served as the team’s offensive coordinator and head coach in waiting. Stewart was going to be a steward and caretaker of the program while Holgorsen, a veteran of the Big 12 and Conference USA, got acclimated to his new surroundings. Given the talent that is returning, the pieces are all in place for West Virginia to once again have one of the nation’s premier offenses and regain its place among the elite teams in the Big East and even in the nation. However, the backstage dramas enveloping Stewart and Holgorsen revealed a soap opera in which Stewart actively sought to undercut Holgorsen’s role. It’s true that Holgorsen has embarrassed himself in separate incidents relating to excessive alcohol consumption, but Stewart’s meddling behind the scenes marked an even greater threat to the program. Stewart was let go last week, leaving Holgorsen as the head coach for this year, one year earlier than West Virginia Athletic Director OIiver Luck ever planned.

Holgorsen studied under some of the game’s top spread offense minds when he was an assistant under Hal Mumme and Mike Leach. When he struck out on his own to become a coordinator, he was a smashing success leading record-setting offenses at Houston and last season at Oklahoma State. At West Virginia, Holgorsen has a chance to have his best offense yet. Quarterback Geno Smith is a tall, mobile kid with a strong and accurate arm who will undoubtedly thrive in Holgorsen’s offense. In fact, it would not be a stretch to say that as long as West Virginia is in contention in the Big East, Smith’s numbers will keep him in the Heisman discussion. It will help Smith that he’ll line up with a talented group of wide receivers in Tavon Austin, Bradley Starks, Stedman Bailey, and Ivan McCartney. None of them is the physical specimen that Justin Blackmon was at Oklahoma State last year, but the group as a whole is better than any other group Holgorsen has worked with in his previous coaching stops.

The Mountaineers return four of five offensive linemen and shouldn’t struggle to protect Smith. The offensive philosophy won’t ask Smith to hold the ball for long, so sacks against West Virginia will come at a premium; however, even in obvious passing downs, blindside tackle Don Barclay is a solid left tackle who was second team All-Big East in 2010. The real challenge for Holgorsen will be finding a tailback that can run between the tackles and still be a receiving threat. Shawne Alston left spring with the job, but don’t be surprised to see blue-chip freshman Andrew Buie push for early playing time.

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The most frustrating aspect of the previous two seasons has been the way the Mountaineers’ offense has seemingly wasted the performance of a dominating defense. Coordinator Jeff Casteel fields a unique version of the 3-3-5 defense that has suffocated opponents over the years. While there was a significant set of losses to the NFL last season, the Mountaineers still return a tremendous amount of talent on defense. Casteel is looking forward to fielding a defense that can count on offensive support again.

The biggest returning piece on the defense is pass rushing terror Bruce Irvin, who led the Big East in sacks last season (14) despite not starting a single game and only playing on passing downs. He’ll play full time after being completely unblockable in the spring. The defense doesn’t call for big defensive linemen and that’s good, because 250-pound defensive tackle Julian Miller is about as small a tackle as you will find. Miller, however, is adept at doing exactly what Casteel asks of him – using quickness to occupy blockers and make space for blitzing linebackers.

The back eight defenders are still somewhat in flux after the spring, but the reliable corner Keith Tandy returns to anchor the secondary. Najee Goode is the only returning linebacker and will likely move from the strong to the weak side. Still, Casteel likes the new players stepping in and is optimistic that former JUCO All-American Josh Francis will be a contributor at safety.

The schedule is as tough as there is in the Big East, and that could be a factor should West Virginia overachieve in non-conference play. The Mountaineers open with rival Marshall and travel to Maryland in week three, when they will be favored. The following week they host possible preseason No. 1 LSU in a game that could launch West Virginia into the national discussion and Geno Smith into the Heisman race. In the conference, the ‘Eers host Connecticut, Louisville and rival Pitt but travel to South Florida to end the season in what could be a de facto conference title game.