West Virginia Football: Childress to make first start at quarterback

West Virginia redshirt freshman quarterback Ford Childress will make his first-career start against Georgia State West Virginia head coach Dana Holgorsen announced Thursday night that redshirt freshman quarterback Ford Childress will make his first start this Saturday against Georgia State. Childress will also be taking his first snap ever as a college player, after sitting out last season due to his redshirt. The decision to start Childress comes as surprise, after he was considered to be third on the depth-chart going into the game. He’s been taking reps all week with the first team offense, and apparently, Holgorsen feels confident enough about him running the offense on Saturday. Word out of practice is that Childress is showing a good grasp of the offense and seems to have much better arm strength than quarterbacks Paul Millard and Clint Trickett. After the Oklahoma game, it was rather clear that a change needed to be made if the Mountaineers were to show improvement. This game is a perfect opportunity for Childress to get his feet wet. The Mountaineers should be able to physically dominate Georgia State, which should leave Childress with plenty of time to sit in the pocket and make good throws. It was clear during the Oklahoma game that Paul Millard and the receivers were not always on the same page. It was also clear that Millard struggled at times to make certain throws, either under throwing them or just completely missing his target. If the Mountaineers had any offense at all against Oklahoma, the outcome could have been different. Holgorsen indicated that there would be no quarterback rotation if things go well against Georgia State. This leaves Childress with a great opportunity to play well and take over as the man under center for the rest of the season. Mountaineer fans can only hope for a positive outcome, as Childress finally has his chance, now it’s time for him to seize the moment and spark an offense searching for its identity.