MORGANTOWN - His fifth season as West Virginia's football coach begins in an unusual, though promising, position. The situation on offense, where he's made his name, is the best available example.
"He's an innovator in the passing game, but isn't afraid to switch gears to play to his team's strength," CollegeFootballNews.com wrote.
It's true the most experience returns at running back and the receivers have little more than potential to their names. There's also the notion a great runner is about to break through at quarterback, and though that's been a part of the offense before, the word is this guy is going to do something new.
Of course, there are a lot of new parts on offense, and that's not necessarily a bad thing.
"There are so many freshmen and sophomores in the two-deep that they can look to their left and to their right and know that their time is now," the coach said.
This was supposed to be the case when the coach was hired. He'd been at different schools and coordinated some of the best offense in the nation, so it was just a matter of time until it clicked at WVU. Time was needed, though, and he's been reeling in better players lately.
"Our last few recruiting classes have been larger and more talented, so we have more guys in the program now with the physical ability to do what we want them to do," he said.
But the offense isn't what's producing the most buzz. The defense is supposed to lead the way and rescue the offense after the cleat was on the other foot the past few years.
"That unit is pretty athletic," the Mountaineers coach said. "Those guys run pretty well and there's good depth in the secondary and on the defensive line."
This is new, but it's been years in the making, and nobody's apologizing that this is the result of some rough patches in the past. Young players forced into starting roles and major playing time are now seasoned, accomplished and prepared to take on the competition.
That's exciting, because after all this time it's fair to assume the supercharged head coach is going to find a way to present a productive offense.
"He comes at the game going 100 mph and he knows how to outcoach the opposing defense," ESPN.com said. "He puts all his teams in a position to succeed."
And so began the 2005 season for Rich Rodriguez. Swap 2015 for 2005 and Dana Holgorsen for Rodriguez and tell me this doesn't feel familiar.
I'm not telling you the Mountaineers will lose but one game in the regular season and smoke an SEC team in the Sugar Bowl. This is just to say promise is good and unknowns can be even better. If history is to serve as a guide, then maybe you ought to buckle up Saturday night. Maybe this is the start of something special this season and beyond.
In January 2006, Pat White, Steve Slaton, Brandon Myles and Darius Reynaud were the leaders of one of America's scariest offenses. In August 2005, they were nobodies. White was new starter Adam Bednarik's backup. Slaton was the fourth-string running back. Myles was a senior who was the leading returning receiver with six catches for 138 yards and two scores - his entire career output - the year before. Reynaud was in school but away from the team as a prop in 2004 and hadn't played before the 2005 opener against Syracuse.
This August, WVU again lacks names and reputations on offense. Skyler Howard is WVU's new starting quarterback with four games under his belt. He's seemingly in a more stable position than Bednarik, not just because there isn't a proven competitor ready to take the job from him, but because he's at least played and Howard can add a running threat Holgorsen hasn't had before.
If for some reason it doesn't work out, William Crest, a redshirt freshman now like White was in 2005, is next, and he's athletic enough to have spent time at running back and receiver in preseason camp.
In 2005, the team was without the two leading receivers from the year before, and Chris Henry was in the NFL. In 2015, Kevin White and Mario Alford are in the NFL after leading the passing game last fall. Sophomore Shelton Gibson is the top returning wide receiver with four receptions for 60 yards. Three of the top six wide receivers - freshmen Jovon Durante and Gary Jennings and junior college transfer Ka'Raun White - will play and have to produce.
There's no telling where any of those names will be in January.
What seems easier to predict is the defense, led by defensive coordinator Tony Gibson and defensive line coach Bruce Tall, who were both on the 2005 coaching staff.
These Mountaineers will start a senior and two juniors on the defensive line, three seniors at linebacker, a senior and a junior at cornerback and two seniors and a sophomore at safety. Ten years ago, WVU started a sophomore, junior and senior up front, two juniors and a senior at linebacker, two seniors at cornerback and two seniors and a junior at safety.
That defense set the tone early and basically won that opener against the Orange with a defensive touchdown and a safety in a 15-7 win. This defense will have to be good from the start against option-oriented Georgia Southern.
The last time WVU played an option offense? That'd be Wofford. In 2005.