It has been five months since fans last saw the Mountaineers play and boy do they hope to forget that game. West Virginia ended losing in the Pinstripe Bowl to former Big East foe Syracuse. This Saturday the Mountaineers will go head to head in the annual Gold and Blue Game.
This Mountaineer team is very different than last year's since it does not include three key players: quarterback Geno Smith, wide receiver Tavon Austin and wide receiver Stedman Bailey. While this game is usually for fun, quarterbacks Ford Childress and Paul Millard will
be taking it very seriously. The reason being if one can outperform the other then there is a very good chance they could end up starting this season.
What to look forward to:
One aspect of the game that fans will be sure to watch is the battle of the quarterbacks. As mentioned above, the quarterback that has the more successful day will make a huge push in getting the starting job in the fall. A few months ago, head coach Dana Holgorsen said that the quarterback competition has been tight and that it could be either one of them. Paul Millard does have some experience although the only time he comes into the game is when the Mountaineers are up by an obscene amount of points. Millard is a junior who has thrown for only 200 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions. Granted he hasn’t played much, but when he does come in he seems to struggle.
Childress was a highly-sought recruit coming out of high school and he seems more likely to win the starting job over Millard. He has yet to play a down in a game and with no news on him from practice during the season or off-season this game could be huge for him to make a case as to why he should be the starter this season.
Aside from the quarterbacks, another area that took a major blow is the receiving corps. Tavon Austin, Stedman Bailey and J.D. Woods have entered the draft and without their leadership the receivers are a big question mark heading into this season. The spring game is a perfect time for those who may be on the cusp of grabbing a starting job to impress Holgorsen and fans with their abilities. The only two receivers who saw some playing time last year were Jordan Thompson and Connor Arlia. Every other receiver on the roster has not played a single down and this inexperience could hurt them when the season starts.
When it comes to the running back position, one player to pay attention to is Dustin Garrison. Garrison tore his ACL during practice for the Orange Bowl, causing him to sit out much of last season. While Garrison did make a few appearances on the field, they were very limited. Nnow fans will get to see if he has fully recovered from his injury and if he can be as effective as he was before he was injured.
While the offense was diminished through graduating seniors and those entering the draft, the defense remained pretty much intact. One major change the defense went through over the off-season was the hiring of secondary coach Tony Gibson. Gibson was at West Virginia during the Rich Rodriguez era and went with him to Michigan. Now Gibson is back and he is looking to get the Mountaineer secondary back on track. Last year, under secondary coach Daron Roberts the Mountaineers struggled against their Big 12 opponents. The Mountaineer defense gave up about 38 points per game last year and with the new talent and lack of experience on offense it will be up to the defense to help keep the Mountaineers in games.
One of the last changes that came for West Virginia in the off-season was the loss of kicker Tyler Bitancurt and punter Corey Smith. While both of these guys struggled during the season, the new special teamers will try to get things back on track. Michael Molinari will take over the kicking duties while Josh Lambert will be punting this season. However, with Austin leaving for the NFL draft there is still the question of who will be returning kicks and punts this season for the Mountaineers.
With all these things in mind, this will probably be one of the most intriguing spring games in the last four years or so. Many positions are wide open and competition between team members could start heating up as the game goes on. Kickoff will be at 2 PM Eastern Time.
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