Aug 23, 2016 4 min read

West Virginia has something not all Big 12 Conference teams have – an experienced center lining up in front of an experienced quarterback. The Mountaineers have it with Tyler Orlosky, who some believe could be the best center in college football, and Skyler Howard.

Don’t discount how valuable it is having a quarterback and center who have played together for as long as Howard and Orlosky – 17 games. They have recognized, reacted to and replayed in their minds everything Big 12 rivals have thrown at them for the last year and a half.

“All of the time we were doing 7-on-7s on our own we would say, ‘Think back to the so-and-so game. This is that look and this is what we need to do,'” Howard said. “‘Any little thing we can relate it back to game situations. When you have a bunch of freshmen out there, or a guy who hasn’t played a lot, you can’t say, ‘Hey, remember, this is what happened in the Texas game.’ They have no idea.”

The advantage Howard and Orlosky have is something just as important as speed, arm strength, physical strength, quickness, toughness or ability: good, old-fashioned football knowledge.

They say the mind can speed up the feet and speed up the game. These two guys could have coach Dana Holgorsen’s turbo offense working at warp speed this fall.

Holgorsen can remember only a few years ago when his offense was set on idle, and, sometimes going in reverse.

“Three years ago, when we were 4-8 (in 2013), we had a new center and three new quarterbacks and we didn’t know where the snap was going to go; we didn’t even know the snap count,” Holgorsen recalled. “We had a quarterback and five skill kids who had never, played together and that’s a coach’s worst nightmare.”

This year, the parts are all in place, from the guys handling the quarterback-center exchange, to the guys lined up next to them, to the guys Howard is throwing and handing the ball to.

Holgorsen had this once before at WVU in 2012, with Geno Smith at quarterback, Joey Madsen at center and Tavon Austin and Stedman Bailey at wide receiver breaking just about every school record, and he had it at Houston in 2009. Those offenses produced juggernaut-type numbers. A creative coach can do a lot when his guys know a lot.

Howard passed for 3,145 yards and 26 touchdowns last season. He is coming off one of the best passing performances in school history in the Cactus Bowl, completing 28 of 51 attempts for 532 yards and five touchdowns in a 43-42 victory over Arizona State.

There have been times when Howard and Orlosky carved up defenses like Hibachi chefs. They did it against Arizona State and during the spring game when the offense scored six touchdowns, three coming from Howard’s arm.

There were instances during the spring when West Virginia’s offense looked like it was playing against air. And it should continue through fall camp leading to Sept. 3, when the Mountaineers open the season against Missouri.

Howard’s top pass-catching targets are back, including junior speedster Shelton Gibson, whose 24-yard-per-reception average ranked among the best in college football last year. Senior Dakiel Shorts led the team with 45 receptions and youngsters Jovon Durante, Ka’Raun White and Gary had good moments.

Senior tailback Rushel Shell finally gets to show if he’s capable of being the featured running back everyone expected him to become after his high school career at Hopewell. Shell rushed for 708 yards and eight touchdowns as a backup last year.

Offensive line is perhaps the strongest area with Orlosky, Adam Pankey and former Michigan transfer Kyle Bosch manning the three interior spots, and Yondy Cajuste, Marcell Lazard and Colton McKivitz available to work the tackle spots.

Defensively, WVU appears to be strong up front with three veterans in Noble Nwachukwu, Christian Brown and Darrien Howard. The secondary will be built around the skills of improving safeties Jarrod Harper and Jeremy Tyler.

Two key areas to watch on defense will be cornerback, where replacements for former starters Daryl Worley and Terrell Chestnut must be found.

West Virginia has one of the most experienced and productive kickers in the country in senior Josh Lambert, who will sit out the first three games of the season for a violation of team rules.

“We’ve shown improvement the last two years,” Holgorsen said. “Last year we won more games than we have in the previous three years in the Big 12 – we were two points away from winning 10 – so I think we’re pretty competitive.”