Dana Holgorsen’s Monday presser was about as informative as any that the second-year coach has conducted. Plenty of topics were covered. Here are a few:
Holgorsen was effusive in his praise of Clayton Tune. Dana noted that Tune is “finally starting the year as the starter” and that he has taken over as the leader of the program. The head coach notes that the 2020 squad is Tune’s team. Other quotes: “He’s an intelligent young man…” and “I like what I see from a timing perspective.”
The team had a mock game on Friday night, had Saturday off, and went back to it on Sunday. Dana said it was a “heck of a mock game” and that he was happy with the work the team put in. Dana differentiated between the mock game and a scrimmage.
“It’s not what you think it is,” Holgorsen said. “It’s not a scrimmage. It’s more logistics than anything.”
Dana said that when the team returned to practice on Sunday, it was “the first time our players believed we were gonna play.” He said after the mock game he knew his team needed to play – they needed to see that the season was going to happen.
Holgorsen called new Baylor Coach Dave Aranda “one of the smartest guys that I’ve met.” Aranda was a GA on Mike Leach’s staff when Dana was there. He also praised Baylor’s OC, Larry Fedora.
When asked by a reporter covering Baylor if it will be an issue to conform to the Big 12’s three-times-a-week testing protocol, Holgorsen tersely said that it has been the rule in the AAC for a while.
Regarding the scheduling of Baylor, Dana said he had conversations with Chris Pezman about it on Friday. He confirmed that the school had been talking to Baylor last month about scheduling a game. “I just knew (Baylor) needed (a game).” He praised Chris Pezman and the UH administration for their work.
Marcus Jones will be returning punts and kicks. Dana praised his ball skills and said he is “excited where we are at special team-wise.”
“We got dudes back there,” Dana said somewhat excitedly. He said the team would be good on special teams again and that they have a lot of depth. But he emphasized that special teams is about more than the specialist. “The other 10 are just as important.”
Widget not in any sidebars
