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Jake Spavital and Tony Gibson could be head coaches

By Matthew Peaslee

MORGANTOWN, WV - DECEMBER 03: The West Virginia Mountaineer mascot interacts with fans in the final moments of the West Virginia Mountaineers 24-21 win over the Baylor Bears at Mountaineer Field on December 3, 2016 in Morgantown, West Virginia. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images)
MORGANTOWN, WV - DECEMBER 03: The West Virginia Mountaineer mascot interacts with fans in the final moments of the West Virginia Mountaineers 24-21 win over the Baylor Bears at Mountaineer Field on December 3, 2016 in Morgantown, West Virginia. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images) /
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Jake Spavital

Jake Spavital has been one of the hottest names in coaching for almost a decade. This is his second stint with the WVU football team as he was quarterbacks coach in 2011-12 as Dana Holgorsen joined the team in his first head coaching position that year.

From WVU, Spavital went to Texas A&M when the Aggies were one of the best offensive teams in the nation. Now, he returns to the Mountaineers with the hope of developing the top unit in the Big 12 Conference.

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Spavital spent last season as offensive coordinator at Cal. He was interim head coach as early as January because the former head coach was fired. At Cal, Spavital guided Davis Webb as he threw for 4,295 yards and 37 touchdowns, according to USA Today.

Before Webb, Jake Spavital oversaw the development of quarterbacks Geno Smith at WVU and Johnny Manziel at Texas A&M. He now gets to develop gameplans for another potentially great quarterback in Will Grier.

Per SI.com:

"The 32-year-old Spavital returned to Morgantown (where he was the quarterbacks coach in 2011-12) to take over as play-caller on what should be a very potent offense with Will Grier at QB. Last year, Spavital directed a Cal offense that had to replace No. 1 draft pick Jared Goff and the team’s top six receivers and still produced the nation’s No. 10 offense, only a two-spot drop from the previous year. During his time at West Virginia, Texas A&M and Cal, Spavital has proven to be an elite recruiter, landing both five-star talent (Christian Kirk, Kyle Allen and Kyler Murray) while also unearthing unheralded prospects who blossomed into stars (Kevin White, Daryl Worley and Josh Reynolds). He was also a big reason why Cal landed coveted grad transfer QB Davis Webb last year. If Philip Montgomery leaves Tulsa, Spavital—a Tulsa native who interviewed for the head coaching job there three years ago—would make a lot of sense."

Next: 50 greatest WVU football players of all-time

With Spavital and Holgorsen reunited with the WVU football team, the sky is the limit for what the Mountaineers offense can achieve in 2017. Having them together in 2018 and beyond would obviously be great, but Spavital could be destined to become one of the youngest head coaches in college football by then.

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