A little bit on a few things this week …

 

SILLS LEAVING

 

WVU put out a release on Thursday, saying sophomore David Sills would be leaving the program. The release stated Sills would transfer to a junior college in order to pursue his dream of playing quarterback.

 

Sills, you will remember, committed to USC while still in the eighth grade. He was considered one of the best quarterback prospects in the nation during his high school years. 

 

After landing at West Virginia however, Sills was moved to receiver. His unusual throwing motion was always a question mark when it came to his future at quarterback. He didn't leave the quarterback position altogether though. Sills split time between that position and receiver. It seemed clear, however, that his future was at receiver.

 

Sills is a big (6’4”), athletic player that showed his skills in his first game action at receiver. Sills caught two passes for 64 yards and one touchdown against Baylor in Waco.

 

Since he had not played the position previously, he obviously had some learning to do in order to become a great receiver. However, his size and athleticism were clear indicators that he had a shot to be very good. Sills closed the season on a high note as he caught the game-winning touchdown in the Motel 6 Cactus Bowl.

 

Moving quarterbacks to another position is always tricky for coaches. Keep in mind, West Virginia navigated those waters with not one, but two guys. David Sills and William Crest.

 

You hate to see talented, athletic players leave the program. But, if this year’s West Virginia team could afford to lose a player from any position group, it would be at the receiver position. With Shelton Gibson, Daniel Shorts, Ka’Raun White and Gary Jennings all returning, depth shouldn’t be an issue.

 

I think it's pretty clear now why Dana Holgorsen wouldn’t say publicly that David Sills was a full-time receiver. In fact, back in the spring during a session with the media, Holgorsen specifically said Sills was still a quarterback. Five minutes after making that statement, Sills lined up at receiver to start the practice session.

 

Looking back and knowing what you know now, it's obvious Sills (and his family) wasn't totally on board with the position change. He viewed himself as a quarterback. Holgorsen thought he would be better served as a receiver.

 

Two different visions for what the player should be. No common ground. A change of scenery became necessary. 

 

Now David Sills will get his chance at quarterback. It just won’t happen while wearing a West Virginia uniform.

 

IT’S THAT TIME OF YEAR

 

We’ve officially entered the dog days of summer for college football fans. We still have six weeks or so before camp opens. That seems like a long time from now. 

 

Here's the good news. If you’ve visited any stores lately, you will notice the preseason football magazines are starting to hit the shelves.

I’m not sure any of them mean all that much, but it's a good sign for football fans when the magazines appear. 

 

One preseason preview I found interesting was Athlon Sports.

 

Athlon came out with its preseason all-Big 12 teams recently. While only two Mountaineers garnered first team honors (Tyler Orlosky and Noble Nwachukwu), something else stood out to me.

 

WVU placed four offensive lineman on Athlon's four all-Big 12 teams. First team: Orlosky, second team: Kyle Bosch, third team: Adam Pankey and fourth team: Yodny Cajuste. (Orlosky was also named a preseason third team All-American by Athlon on Wednesday) No other team had more than three players named to the four teams (Oklahoma, Texas, TCU each had three). 

 

If that prediction comes to fruition, wins should follow. It’s hard to go back in history and find very many great WVU teams that did not have an outstanding offensive line.

 

SPEAKING OF ATHLON LISTS

 

That was fun. Let's do another one. Athlon also put out its ranking of all 128 Division I head football coaches this week. The magazine had Dana Holgorsen listed sixth in the Big 12, number 45 overall. Holgorsen was ranked just ahead of Syracuse’s new coach, Dino Babers and just behind Cal’s Sonny Dykes.

 

If you think about it, the Big 12 was pretty easy to rank, in my opinion. 

 

It’s tough to argue the top 4: Bob Stoops (OU), Gary Patterson (TCU), Bill Snyder (K-State) and Mike Gundy (Oklahoma State).

 

The bottom three are no-brainers as well, heading into the 2016 season: Iowa State has a new coach in Matt Campell, Jim Grobe is simply keeping the seat warm after Art Briles' dismissal at Baylor and Kansas is, well, Kansas. You know they will finish last on any list that involves football. 

 

That leaves Holgorsen, Texas’ Charlie Strong and Texas Tech’s Kliff Kingsbury in the middle group. Athlon opted for Strong over Holgorsen at number five with Kingsbury at seven. Neither Strong nor Holgorsen has had much success in the Big 12. Only two winning seasons in league play, combined. 

 

Strong has been a head coach for one more season than Holgorsen and has 12 more total wins on his resume. Strong has two double digit win seasons compared to one for Holgorsen.

 

Given that Strong has been below .500 overall in both of his seasons at Texas, I would have flipped him and Holgorsen in the rankings. But, it’s probably a flip of a coin between those two for fifth and sixth place. 

 

Where do you think Dana Holgorsen should be ranked among coaches in the Big 12?

 

Leave a comment or send me a tweet: @BradHowe07 and let me know.

 

Editor's Note: Top photo, courtesy of WVU Sports Communications, shows David Sills, while Adam Pankey blocks for Skyler Howard in the second photo. Bottom picture is of Dana Holgorsen fist bumping Rushel Shell. Bottom pictures by Ben Queen of www.benqueenphotography.com.