WVMetroNews · Mar 14, 2017
Spring practice priority: Spavital part evaluator, part stress reliever
COMMENTARY
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Jake Spavital, then a graduate assistant, remembers watching Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy cede play-calling duties to a new offensive coordinator in 2010.
The cold-turkey phase wasn’t easy, especially for an ex-quarterback like Gundy who had been at the controls for nine seasons in Stillwater.
“I know Gundy still had that itch,” Spavital said. “But after that year, I think he realized it was the best thing.”
That year’s coordinator, of course, was Dana Holgorsen, who produced 11 wins, 520 yards per game, a Biletnikoff winner, two All-Americans and an All-Big 12 quarterback — parlaying them into his first head coaching job at West Virginia.