Mountaineer fans got their first peek at Will Grier this afternoon in West Virginia’s annual Gold-Blue Spring Game at Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown. Jake Spavital’s offense fell to Tony Gibson’s defense 44-21, using the classic convoluted points system.
Grier looked to be as good as advertised, as he completed 12 of his 18 passing attempts for a total of 202 yards. In a glorified scrimmage, those are good numbers for a quarterback that only plays every other possession for three quarters, and is running a very basic offense. Grier did show off a little with a beautiful 60-yard bomb to redshirt Junior wide receiver Ricky Rogers, who got tripped up just outside the goal line.
While Will Grier was the star of the show, and probably did his fair share of selling some season tickets today, there wasn’t much else that happened in the game, action-wise. We saw a couple flashes from a few players, but what we mostly got was Dana Holgorsen trying to get his team through the game without any injuries. And with the exception of a scare with Kyle Bosch, he was able to do just that.
It’s clear that this offense belongs to Will Grier this season, barring the NCAA swooping in at the last minute and making him set out the first six games, which I really doubt is going to happen. Grier definitely looked the part today, and was miles ahead of his apparent backup Chris Chugunov. Chugunov finished the day 10-of-22 passing for 98 yards while working with the second team. We’ve seen that Chugunov is able to throw a decent ball, but Grier showed that he’s on a completely different level with his throws and awareness.
We didn’t get to see a whole lot from our receivers apart from David Sills, who looks to be Grier’s favorite target at this point. Sills finished the day with 6 receptions for 98 yards, and caught nearly everything his quarterback threw his way. Gary Jennings and Jovon Durante each finished with 50+ yards. Durante saw most of his action with the second string, and was Chugunov’s go-to guy. Ka’Raun White was notably absent from the scrimmage as he continues to rehab from his leg injury, but should be ready to go in the Fall.
In the backfield, Justin Crawford has a deathgrip on the starting running back spot, and it’s not even close. Crawford busted through the defensive line on the first drive of the game for a 51-yard touchdown, and showed why he was selected as the Big 12 Offensive Newcomer last year. Crawford sat out after the first quarter, and finished with 66 yards on six carries.
Should Jake Spavital decide to go with the running back by committee approach that we’ve seen the Mountaineers use over the past couple years, he has a couple good backs to choose from. Martell Pettaway and newcomer Tevin Bush both got a good amount of reps, with Pettaway pushing his way into the endzone for a touchdown following Grier’s 60-yard bomb to Ricky Rogers. Sophomore running back Kennedy McKoy was held out from the game due to an “upper body procedure.” McKoy had issues with his shoulder in the latter part of the 2016 season, and it was probably best that he take it easy this Spring to get healthy.
In what was a bit of a fun moment for the Mountaineer fans in attendance, Jake Spavital sent former Mountaineers Geno Smith, Kevin White, Shelton Gibson and Daikiel Shorts, who were in taking in the action from the sidelines, onto the field late in the fourth quarter. What happened next was, well...
The Mountaineers will open Fall camp in August. By that time, we will have our final ruling from the NCAA regarding Will Grier’s eligibility.