Pitt Redshirt Diaries : Jeff Mullen

Louisville slugfest

Chuck Finder — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 16:25:00 GMT

An updated version of the artistry previously known as: Two teams that really don't like each other

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- As part of the friendly rivals' fire that resurfaced in pregame warmups and lasted into the aftermath of this 35-21 West Virginia victory Saturday, Mountaineers quarterback Patrick White -- who jawed at, looked back at and taunted (while running down the sidelines for touchdowns) and pancake-blocked most any Cardinals in his proximity -- had some not-so-nice words about one Louisville player in particular.

On a Noel Devine cutback run, White took a moment from his NCAA record-setting rushing day to block 6-foot-3, 285-pound Cardinals defensive tackle Earl Heyman and topple him to the stadium turf. Heyman took umbrage, grabbing White and rolling him over in what became a two-man somersault. They arose to jaw and posture at one another.

Said White afterward: "He tried to break my neck. No need for ignorant, dirty play."

Then White, still miffed that linebacker Preston Smith denied this incident happened in the teams' meeting last November, added this little nugget: "At least I didn't get spit on."

White admitted that after the last of his three touchdown jaunts he began snapping his fingers in the end zone, showing everyone that his 200-yard day was a "walk in the park." As for establishing the new NCAA Division I-A standard for rushing yards in a quarterback career, the senior shrugged and added that the record will mean something to him "maybe one day when I'm old and in my rocking chair with my grandkids." One last White tidbit: He finished with 1,115 career yards rushing/passing plus a 3-1 record vs. Louisville.

More post-game doodads: Coach Bill Stewart: "I was so frustrated at half. Had 215 yards rushing, two blown opportunities [inside the Louisville 11-yard line]. I wanted to cry, I really did. But I can’t do that." . . . Offensive coordinator Jeff Mullen joked of White’s record-breaking, 4-yard run, which was two yards shy of a first down: "That’s the only time he slid all year, the knucklehead." . . . Mullen on West Virginia rushing for a season-high 376 yards against major-college football's heretofore eighth-stingiest rushing defense, all behind an offensive line with Seneca Valley's Don Barclay, in his first start, subbing for Greg Isdaner (head, though he played one series) and Eric Jobe, in his second start, subbing for Mike Dent (neck): "You kidding me? And you replace two all-Big East, All-American candidate guys. We didn't replace a couple of stiffs. That's crazy talk." . . . West Virginia allowed a third-quarter touchdown for only the second time all fall, ending a string of four consecutive games and six of seven without a third- or fourth-quarter score. . . Stewart pooh-poohed the pregame-warmup fracas between the teams, saying his Mountaineers didn't breach protocol by standing on Louisville's midfield Cardinal logo. A few wild punches were thrown, but coaches and game officials separated the two sides.

Oh(ffense), what a difference a WVU year makes

Chuck Finder — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 02:48:00 GMT

This is a subject to be tackled in next week's print editions, after the vaunted -- or is it vaulted? -- West Virginia offense gets its chance at Syracuse's sixth-to-last-ranked defense Saturday at Mountaineer Field. But quarterback Patrick White tonight offered a piece of insight that requires prompt sharing.

"We have to understand every time we touch the ball, it's not going to be a big play or touchdown," White said on the subject of the unit that Coach Bill Stewart has started calling a "ball-control" offense. "Coach [Jeff] Mullen's philosphy is, every down is third-and-four."

Let's pause to allow for proper digestion: They're always shooting for four yards, minimum. Maybe that explains some of the short-yardage sweeps, huh?

Some numbers with which to wash that down: Through five games last season -- with Steve Slaton, Owen Schmitt and Darius Reynaud on hand, of course, but also with White and Noel Devine and the same offensive line as well -- the Mountaineers averaged 40.4 points and 507 yards offensively. Through five games this season, they averaged 23.2 points (nearly half as many) and 357 yards (two-thirds as many). At this point last year, they had 41 offensive plays and 10 touchdowns of 20-plus yards; this fall, they have 14 (one-third as many) and five (half). More astonishingly, at this point last year, they had 20 running plays and seven touchdowns of 20-plus yards; this fall, they have nine (less than half) and one (a margin so wide it blew out my abacus). There were, by this juncture a year ago, a half-dozen plays from scrimmage and three touchdowns longer than any single play these current Mountaineers have produced yet, and their top three are all quarterback rushes.

While receiver Tito Gonzales maintains that Mullen the offensive coordinator is locking away the offense for full unveiling later in the season, it may well set off alarms if the Mountaineers this Saturday cannot shred Syracuse, which ranks 114th (of 119 major-college teams) in yards permitted per game, at 462, and 111th in points permitted per game, at 36.

One final note: White, withheld from contact in practice tonight and perhaps most of the week, didn't look so good to me, though I'm neither a trained medical professional nor someone who slept the night before in a chain hotel. Said he of the lingering "dinging," in Stewart's words, from Rutgers last Saturday: "I’ve never had my bell rung like that, but, playing football, you are going to get hit. I got hit. I feel pretty much normal."

Pretty much.

He was Marshall

Chuck Finder — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 19:18:00 GMT

West Virginia coach Bill Stewart, who coached at the Mountain State's other Division I-A program way back when Jimmy Carter was in office in 1980, steadfastly refused to hear any such talk. Earlier this week, when the notion was raised about assistant head coach/safeties coach Steve Dunlap offering some insider-trading insight on the Marshall where he worked as defensive coordinator last season, Stewart immediately tossed it aside. Won't happen.

But offensive coordinator Jeff Mullen was willing to listen.

"It's like if we were playing Wake Forest," he teased of his former employer, "I'd throw 'em all under the bus."

Seriously, he said he planned to pick Dunlap's brain about personnel, but there is no great information to be gleaned about systems or signals because the Thundering Herd has two new coordinators. Mullen even downplayed that type of scouting report, too: "Once the ball is kicked and the first punch is thrown, none of it matters. I mean, you've got to perform."

About this governor-mandated series: Truth be told, Rich Rodriguez wasn't crazy about it. He felt the game did little to enhance the Mountaineers' strength of schedule and program overall -- if they played poorly or, as on Dec. 1, went full-monty rotten, it would only hurt them come the polls and bowls. But Stewart the successor embraces this baby as if it were a long, lost relation. Said Stew: "I can't imagine growing up in this great Mountain State and not having any kind of interest in this game. It's great for college football. Should be very, very emotional. I can't wait to whip 'em. I can't wait to punch them right in the nose. That's the way it is in a family."

Now, a celluloid moment in honor of Marshall gameday:

Snippets from the White album

Chuck Finder — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 14:05:00 GMT

Chuck Finder | 10:18 a.m. Aug. 28

In addition to today's ruminations on the young man who is inarguably the most decorated quarterback in Mountaineers history, here are three extra, intriguing sound bytes.

Guard Greg Isdaner: "Best quarterback in the country, write it down. [Last year's Heisman Trophy winner from Florida] Tim Tebow's a good player and all, but. . . . [White] knows he's the best now. Some people let it go to their head, but he's using it to distance himself from the others."

Offensive coordinator Jeff Mullen: "He's already in meetings bringing up ideas and thoughts and tweaks and second-level adjustments that make me stop and go, [pretending to stare at the board] 'That's a good idea, Patrick. We're not going to do that yet.' " Hmm, makes it sound as if the White ideas will come into play later in the season, huh?. . . .

Finally, little brother Coley White: "He's more mature. He does better around the house, cleans up more - I think he got that from our brother, Bo [coaching at Bluffton University in Ohio], he's a neat freak. And [Patrick's] even letting me use his car around campus. I was surprised about that."

WVU's first practice in pads

Chuck Finder — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 18:41:00 GMT

Granted, it was only the first day in pads, but Wednesday’s Mountaineers practice was absent a couple of ancillary figures key to the West Virginia tweaked-spread offense.

Will Johnson, converting from receiver to tight end-fullback-H-back-you-name-it, missed practice because of a sprained left foot, which he termed minor.

“It’s not real serious,” said Johnson, a sophomore who has added more than 25 pounds since last season. “Just take a couple of days.”

Redshirt freshman Bradley Starks, working at receiver in addition to quarterback (and a lot of players are converting under new Coach Bill Stewart’s tent, huh?), sat out a second consecutive day because of what offensive coordinator Jeff Mullen described as a kind of groin-hamstring injury. Again, nothing too major.

Starks had been toiling with the first team thus far, mostly to acclimate him to the position.

“Bradley Starks at the core is a quarterback,” Mullen said. “He’s just one of our fastest football players. We’re not going to let him sit on the bench when he could catch some screens. . . .”

If Patrick White – and Jarrett Brown and West Virginia overall – will be throwing more often this fall, Johnson and Starks could well become critical primary and secondary targets, respectively.

Other tidbits from Mountaineer Field Wednesday evening:

· Cornerback Ellis Lankster, who maintained that he earned his junior-college All-America status on punt returns, has been working with safety Quinton Andrews on returning punts to date. Lankster, by the way, dropped nearly 20 pounds just so he could dabble as a returner -- a promise he forged with Stewart. Andrews talked openly Wednesday about changing his “hothead” ways (his words) from early in his Mountaineers career, but we’ll delve into that at a later time.

· Brandon Hogan, the sophomore slotback who converted to cornerback just Saturday, continues to impress. “Him being a rookie, his first five days, he’s showed a lot,” Lankster said.

· Noseguard Pat Liebig, 25, who is appealing for a sixth year of eligibility after taking off 18 months to return home to Florida to help his ailing father, still hasn’t heard officially from the NCAA about his eligibility. The hanging news has prompted his defensive linemates to dub him Brett Favre. “We tried to pay him not to come back,” teased tackle Scooter Berry, citing part of the wacky story arc involving the Green Bay quarterback/retiree/trade bait.