Earlier this month, West Virginia University football coach Dana Holgorsen took a jump with the U.S. parachute team, the Golden Knights.

This past Sunday, he went to the Kongo.

Or, to be more precise, Holgorsen went to Pittsburgh's Consol Energy Center and watched Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight Cheick Kongo earn "knockout of the night" honors over Pat Barry.

"It's the first time I've seen it live," Holgorsen said of the UFC. "I've watched it, but I've never seen it in person. I was right there behind [Pittsburgh Steelers coach] Mike Tomlin."

The new WVU head coach also recently celebrated his 40th birthday in Deep Creek, Md. As for his next significant milestone birthday? "I don't know," he said. "I'll probably turn 60 before I turn 50."

Yet, too, the Mountaineer coach is tying up loose ends. Chief among them is filling an opening on his staff. That opening was formed when former head coach Bill Stewart was forced out earlier this month.

"It should happen in a few days," Holgorsen said of the hiring.

The coach said he's comfortable with the current staff setup. The reason is his faith in graduate assistant Jake Spavital, who has now followed Holgorsen to three stops as a quarterback-coaching specialist.

"I'll still call the plays and work with Geno [Smith], though," Holgorsen said, "then we'll revisit [the setup] in January. And I'm 100 percent confident in the nine full-time coaches we now have."

As for the position of recruiting coordinator, which has been open for a while, Holgorsen said he's "still working through that."

"I'm meeting with Oliver," he said of talks with athletic director Oliver Luck. "We have to jump through some hoops with the human relations department. But a new coach will be hired sometime in July. By Aug. 1, we'll have someone in place."

Holgorsen said, aside from a July 30 event, all Mountaineer football camps have been concluded. He added that the camps were beneficial in regard to recruiting.

"We did have some [campers worthy of recruiting]," Holgorsen said. "We had over 600 kids attend and, while I didn't see all 600, I know there were some good ones."

Horgorsen, by the way, said he's "heard rumors" his team will play James Madison at FedEx Field, home of the Washington Redskins, in 2012. He said he isn't opposed.

"I knew we were looking at a Division I-AA team for 2012," said the coach. "It's good from a recruiting perspective. The Baltimore-Washington area is big for us."

Oh, and of those high expectations placed upon the Mountaineers for this upcoming season?

"It's kind of coach-speak," Holgorsen said, "but the only thing I'm concerned with is getting better in camp. It means nothing to me who our first opponent [Marshall] is. It means nothing to me that it's an in-state game. It means nothing to me it's a rivalry. It means nothing that they're green or mean green. They're not even Mean Green; that's North Texas.

"All I'm concerned with is lining up and playing well."

Reach Mitch Vingle at 304-348-4827, mitchvin...@wvgazette.com or follow him at twitter.com/MitchVingle.