West Virginia's quarterback battle could be coming to a close.

Over the weekend, coach Dana Holgorsen told reporters that Skyler Howard is West Virginia's "clear-cut No. 1" quarterback as the Mountaineers near the end of spring camp.

"(It's) not even close," Holgorsen said. "He’s a different kid. He’s operating well. I sure hope I am not jinxing him right now. He is operating very well and looks great. His teammates believe in him. The coaches believe in him. He is doing well."

Howard started West Virginia's final two games last year after Clint Trickett suffered a season-ending head injury. Howard finished the season with eight touchdowns and no interceptions, though he struggled with a completion rate of just 51 percent. As a result, Howard entered the spring in a battle with redshirt freshman William Crest, as well as true freshmen David Sills and Chris Chugunov.

Apparently, though, it hasn't been much of a battle.

"All the other young kids are young kids," Holgorsen said. "They are freshmen and keep getting better. How good they get, I don’t know. We are going to keep repping the heck out of them and watch them and see how they progress."

Holgorsen hasn't officially announced Howard as the starter. But that could be a mere formality at this point.

"Skyler is the guy," Holgorsen said. "He's stepped up. His fundamentals are good. He’s accurate and he’s throwing the deep ball well. His communication is really good. His understanding of the offense continues to improve.

"He’s making plays and people believe in him. That’s what you look for in a quarterback."