Dana Holgorsen is known for play-calling wiz- ardry, but his creative dexterity is best displayed at the room-length whiteboard adjacent to his office in the University of Houston’s Athletics and Alumni Center.

The board is covered with magnets bearing the names and faces of each player on the UH roster, grouped by position. Before spring ball began, writ- ten in felt-tip marker alongside each magnet was the player’s years of eligibility and grade-point average, noting those who needed work in the classroom and those who will be around for the long haul of what Holgorsen believes will be UH’s re-emergence as a power program.

Once spring ended and Holgorsen had mastered what he said was the toughest part of his job as the Cougars’ new head coach — getting to know a new group of players amid surroundings with which he was familiar from his previous stint at UH as an assistant coach — the numbers were gone and the magnets remained, albeit in a constant state of flux as the coach moved names like yo-yos up and down the board at each position.

“How many magnets do you move around every day?” a visitor asked. 

“Double digits, maybe triple,” Holgorsen replied.

The magnets will continue flying when the Cougars reconvene in August in prepare for their opener against Oklahoma, which was moved in late spring to Sunday, Sept. 1, as ABC’s Labor Day weekend spotlight contest.

The prime-time exposure is just one of the benefits the Cougars believe they will accrue by hiring Holgorsen from West Virginia for a reported $20 million over five years.

“We’ve got to have an excellent athletics program, because that’s what is an asset to the university,” said Renu Khator, the university’s chancellor. “A medi cre program is not an asset, it’s a liability.”

Holgorsen inherited a challenging schedule that is nonetheless appropriate for where he has been and where he hopes to go. After Oklahoma, against which he was winless in seven tries at West Virginia, he will renew acquaintances with his old boss at Texas Tech, Mike Leach, when the Cougars host Washington State on Sept. 13.

The American Athletic Conference schedule includes a Nov. 2 trip to Orlando against Central Florida, the self-styled 2017 national champions and arguably the up-and-coming leader among Group of Five schools.

He also inherits a dynamic quarterback in D’Eriq King, who was responsible for 50 touchdowns last year despite missing most or all of three games with injury. King’s absence coincided with three November losses followed by a 70-14 loss to Army in the Armed Forces Bowl that prompted coach Major Applewhite’s dismissal.

Holgorsen spent the spring working with King on communicating plays but also on safety issues, including a two-minute video tutorial of Kyler Murray avoiding hits while completing passes and winning games.

“I forced him to work on what he needs work on, which is pocket presence,” Holgorsen said. “I don’t need him running around all the time, even though he’s really good at it. He needs to let some of these other guys do the work for him.”

He also brought in defensive coordinator Joe Cauthen and defensive line coach Brian Early from Arkansas State to install a four-man front. By the end of spring workouts, Holgorsen said the UH front was among the team’s strongest, deepest units.

Elsewhere, however, Holgorsen has concerns with what he considers significant roster composition issues. Only about half the team has used a redshirt year, and the previous regime, he said, did not take full advantage of the new four-game redshirt rule.

UH has 26 seniors, and Holgorsen said some of them could redshirt once they hit their allowable four games.

The Cougars also have six open scholarships, and Holgorsen will look to add bodies without dipping into the graduate transfer market unless he can do so with players like running back Kyle Porter, who arrives from Texas with two years’ eligibility.

Much remains to be done, but Holgorsen is pleased with what has been accomplished so far and, of equal significance, at returning to Texas — specifically, to Houston – after stints at Oklahoma State and West Virginia.

“I was happy with the spring,” he said. “You get 15 practices, and we maximized all 15. We got around 400 live reps and practiced all the situations I wanted to practice.

“And I love being back in Houston. I love the school and the city and going to Astros games and Rockets game and good restaurants. Houston allows me to be who I am. I’m very comfortable here.”