Young West Liberty Offense Looking For Identity
Allison, Diven competing for starting quarterback job
August will be a busy month for West Liberty football coach Roger Waialae as he sets out to learn as much about his team as possible before the 2021 season gets under way next month. The Hilltoppers will be young this year, and that is what has set Waialae on a fact-finding mission this summer.
"The big question mark because we're so young is what's going to be our identity offensively," Waialae said during practice Tuesday.
Depending on which skill players stand out during the team's training camp will determine what kind of team the Hilltoppers will be this upcoming season.
"If four wide outs give us the best opportunity to win then that's what we're going to play," Waialae said. "For the past three or four years, it's been two tight ends so it really depends on who grasps the offense, who's making the most plays and how we're matriculating the ball down the field."
No matter what formations the WLU offense are in this season, the Hilltoppers will be able to lean on a very experienced group of offensive linemen. All five starters from the 2020 season return in Francisco Pedrozo, Quinton Williams, Wyatt Gardner, Ryan Creech and Tyler Ely.
They could also return experience at quarterback, depending on who wins the starting job. Graduate transfer Jack Allison got the starting nod in the spring after coming over from WVU and helped the Hilltoppers to a 2-2 record.
He completed 53.8% of his passes for 478 yards, five touchdowns and seven interceptions.
Allison is in his sixth year of college football after coming out of Palmetto, Florida. He redshirted at Miami in 2016 before spending three seasons at WVU as a back from 2017-19 until ultimately landing with the Hilltoppers last season. He is competing for the starting job this summer with redshirt-freshman Jamie Diven.
Diven completed 58.3% of his passes in the spring for 170 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
Joining a new team in the midst of all of last season's COVID precautions was a challenge for Allison.
"That was the hard thing coming in last year because we didn't get a whole lot of time and everything was stop, start, stop, start, until we got to the spring," Waialae said during MEC Media Day last week. "Then you could just see him getting more comfortable in the system. I think that his true colors came out in our last game, he had a pretty phenomenal game against Glenville."
In the team's season-finale against Glenville State, Allison threw for four touchdowns while completing 81.3% of his passes for 149 yards.
"It was definitely a crazy time but I think the staff and the players here did a great job welcoming everybody and making sure everybody was on the same page," Allison said. "Outside of football it was crazy but I think in the football facility we did a good job. Just getting out of that jumbled up mess we were in, it's fresh and exciting."
Diven said his focus this camp is simply on performing well and that getting to see the field last season really helped him.
"I'm just coming in trying to do my best every day, perform well, don't force balls into turnovers and help teach the young players coming in," Diven said. "(Playing) helps tremendously, being out there for the first time since high school football. The game's a lot faster, you can see that."
Waialae said he will wait to name a starter until they start preparing for their week one opponent.
"(Allison) and Jamie have separated themselves somewhat," Waialae said. "I won't name a starter until the middle of next week when we start preparing for Walsh. That's when the reps will change."
West Liberty opens the 2021 season at home on Thursday, Sept. 4 with a non-conference game against Walsh.