The Official Big 12 Media Day Thread

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Anderson discussing rules changes...

New Kickoff Rule - kickoff will be from the 35 yard line.

Touchbacks - ball will be brought out to the 25 yard line instead of the 20 yard line.

Onside kicks - concern regarding trajectory of pooch-style onside kicks. Rules committee has done some things to help minimize injuries to players.

Blocking below the waist - penalty changes for different situations.

New Helmet Rule - If helmet is lost during play it will be treated just like an injury (requiring a timeout and the player to site for one play). Players losing helmets will be considered defenseless players and personal fouls will apply if hitting the player losing helmet.

 

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Dr. Walt is running through the rule changes and taking time to answers all questions. He has his powerpoint presentation up and it looks like this will be going on for another 20 minutes or so.

 

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Lot of discussion on the Halo rule now. good 15 minutes worth.

 

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Anderson mentioned that in his time with the Big 12, the conference has fired 27 referees while the NFL has only released 1. Good officiating is paramount to the conference.

 

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Dana Holgorsen about to take the stage...

 

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Holgorsen - 9 of my last 12 years have been in the Big 12, I am familar with the venues and coaches. We are excited about the opportunity that's for sure.

When we got the announcement back in October that we would be moving to the Big 12 we were headed up to Rutgers for a game. We were focused on the season at hand. We still haven't sat the team down to explain what the move to the Big 12 means.

The support and fan base is there at WVU. The best way I can describe our transition to the Big 12 is that What exists in the Big 12 exists in Morgantown also.

 

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I paid attention to who I worked for. I spent a lot of time with Mike Leach and learned a lot about a high powered offense. I worked a year with coach Gundy at Oklahoma State. I worked with Kevin Sumlin at UH. I paid attention and learned a lto and I am taking it all and doing it my own way.

 

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Holgorsen - The road games are going to be nothing more than an airplane ride. We have to hop on planes to play every game. It shouldn't affect us.

 

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On preparing to play against the great qb's in the Big 12:

The big 12 has been strong with great players for as long as I can remember it. There are no Gimmees on your schedule. From a coaching staff persepective we went out and hired some great guys to help our team. Guys will score points against us and we will give up some big plays but it doesn't mean it's over.

 

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What was Geno Smith's biggest progression from last year to this year:

Holgorsen: We got better in the month of December. When we found out we were going to the Orange Bowl we worked really hard and we went in with a bit of a chip on our shoulder. Geno will ultimately be remembered for the number of games he wins but he has the ability to make everyone around him better.

 

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DO you think your time spent in the Big 12 will help you recruit the state of Texas better:

Holgorsen: When I got the job 18 months ago I already started recruiting some in Texas. Texas is obviously a huge college hotbed. We are going to recruit Houston and Dallas but we need to be careful how much manpower we spend in Texas. We will continue to get the meat of our players from West Virginia and the immediate surrounding areas. In an ideal world we could spend a lot of time in Texas but that's not feasible.

 

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When asked about Penn State and players that have the opportunity to transfer to other schools:

Holgorsen: You take transfers if you need immediate help. We don't take a lot of transfers at West Virginia. You want to fill your team with a bunch of high school kids that stay around for 4 or 5 years and that's what we primarily do at West Virginia.

 

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Texas Coach Mack Brown up next!

 

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Horns went 8-5 last year and finished with a win against Cal in the Holiday Bowl.

Concerns are qb and kicking game.

 

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How comfortable you are with David Ash going into the season this year?

Last year there were 4. We have two older guys now that have been through the Harsinwhite offense. We are coming in at a much better place this year. They left Spring practice dead even. 2 is more difficult if the chemistry isn’t working well. David and Case are working well together and more concerned about winning. Connor Brewer played in the Spring and we will get to see Jalen Overstreet this summer.

Mack, what do you need from Jordan Hicks this year and his progression?

We lost Mack, what do you need from Jordan Hicks this year and his progression?

We lost Robinson and Gideon and Kheeston and the question is who will step up. Hicks needs to be the leader in that defense.

 

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"Carrington (Byndum) is a tough player and will end up being one of the best defensive backs in the country."

 

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"Toughness on offense is the ability to throw or run the ball. On defense you have to be able to stop the other team’s rushing game and make them one dimensional. The biggest difference in football games is turnover ratio. Big hits and strips are key."

 

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On Mike Davis and the receivers:

Mike Davis had an outstanding freshman year until he hurt his knee. Last year he had some personal issues pop up and he wasn’t as effective. Mike had a good Spring and he has a great relationship with Coach Wyatt. His confidence is back and we will know more in the next 10 days. We need our receivers all to step up and we need our young receivers to step up and play well.

Hopefully Marquise comes back from London with a gold medal and ready to play some football.

 

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"To win the Big 12 we have to be balanced. We don’t want to be only a running team. We need to be balanced because we will not be able to run the ball solely every week."

 

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Mike Gundy up now.