West Virginia is hiring Cal offensive coordinator Jake Spavital to the same job, the school confirmed with an official release on Saturday evening.
Holgorsen announces Spavital as Offensive Coordinator | https://t.co/IaYVXBwebz#HailWV pic.twitter.com/4NJxswH46I
— WVU Football (@WVUfootball) January 15, 2017
Spavital was a reported candidate to replace Sonny Dykes as Cal’s head coach, but the Bears decided on Wisconsin defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox instead.
In light of that, Spavital-to-WVU makes sense. He’s got a longstanding relationship with Mountaineers coach Dana Holgorsen, having worked under him as a graduate assistant at Oklahoma State in 2010 and as quarterbacks coach at WVU in 2011 and 2012. Former Texas, Oklahoma State, and Florida assistant Joe Wickline held the job this past season. Feldman reports Wickline will coach WVU’s offensive linemen next season.
The addition of Spavital to West Virginia’s staff also recalls one of the more enjoyable inter-program Twitter exchanges in the history of that medium. It happened before the 2014 Liberty Bowl, which pitted WVU against Texas A&M, where Spavital was working as the Aggies’ offensive coordinator. Let’s enjoy it in all its beauty:
Got'em. @JakeSpavital upon learning Texas A&M would play WVU called @Holgorsendana and said "I know all your signals" and hung up.
— TonyCaridi (@TonyCaridi) December 8, 2014
.@TonyCaridi I am not worried, I taught @JakeSpavital all of his signals
— Dana Holgorsen (@Holgorsendana) December 9, 2014
.@Holgorsendana Game On, Old Sport. pic.twitter.com/8MkzLO1iHX
— Jake Spavital (@JakeSpavital) December 9, 2014
.@JakeSpavital pic.twitter.com/YinnkCVJgZ
— Dana Holgorsen (@Holgorsendana) December 9, 2014
.@Holgorsendana pic.twitter.com/quchs8csTj
— Jake Spavital (@JakeSpavital) December 9, 2014
And a good time was had by all. A slightly better time was probably had by Spavital, because A&M beat WVU in that Liberty Bowl, 45-37.
Jump ahead a few years, and Spavital inherits an offense that was decent this season and will be in transition heading into 2017. WVU won 10 games, but the team’s strength was its defense, and the offense only scored 31 points per game, 49th-most in the country. The Mountaineers weren’t great when they had the ball.
Dual-threat quarterback Skyler Howard and his top target, Daikiel Shorts Jr., are both out of eligibility. Leading yardage receiver Shelton Gibson declared for the NFL Draft. Running back Justin Crawford is expected to return, and that should be a boost. Florida transfer Will Grier is expected to start at QB, and he should help, too. Still, Spavital has to find some pieces in his first year in Morgantown.
Spavital should be excited. He’s going to a Big 12 that’s light on defense, and he’s reunited with a coach he knows well.