Dana Holgorsen To Arrive Thursday, Excited To Begin

Originally Published: Jan 21, 2010 3:40 PM CDT

Dave Carty
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

Oklahoma State was the destination for new offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen all along.

As offensive coordinator at the University of Houston, his squad led the nation with 563 yards of offense per game, scoring offense with 42.2 points per game and passing offense with 433.7 yards per game.

Those results will lead to offers, but despite a number of teams courting his services, Oklahoma State was the clear choice. “There were others. I’m not going to talk about anything like that,” Holgorsen said in a teleconference. “Quality of life and winning [are] the most important [things]. Stillwater is a great place to live, from what everybody tells me. It’s a good place to live and you’re going to win football games.”

Under Holgorsen, Houston’s Case Keenum became one of college football’s most prolific quarterbacks. Now he’s tasked with bringing along 26 year-old quarterback Brandon Weeden, a player he hasn’t yet met. “I’ve heard he is a very smart, mature kid with a big arm,” he said. “I’m excited about sitting down and talking with him and working with him.”

One player he’s well-familiar with is Kendall Hunter, whose talents were clear to him in the times his squads played the Cowboys. “I try to not make it a habit to watch the opposing team, but when you’ve got guys like Kendall Hunter and Dez Bryant running around, you kind of tend to get your eyes out there to see what those guys are doing,” he said.

Holgorsen hasn’t had any contact with OSU commits for fear of violating NCAA rules, but that’s one of many duties he’ll begin Thursday when he flies to Stillwater with head coach Mike Gundy, who is recruiting in Houston.

Holgorsen also confirmed that former Texas Tech Red Raiders Graham Harrell and Brandon Jones will join the staff with him, indicating they were both already in Stillwater.

The possibility of such a tight-knit coaching staff is just another reason Holgorsen leapt at the chance to join Gundy’s staff. “Having good staff chemistry to me is important and it’s important to him,” he said. “He’s got a bunch of good guys working for him and I’m looking forward to it.”