Pitt Redshirt Diaries : WVU

WVU-Villanova live

Chuck Finder — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 17:41:00 GMT

Chuck Finder | Gameday

8:53 p.m.: In the end, Patrick White tossed a Mountaineer Field-record and lifetime-best five touchdowns, and eighth-ranked West Virginia tried to show East Carolina and the rest of college football that you can't always crowd the line of scrimmage to dare this team to throw. Sure, only Marc Bulger in 1998 with a half-dozen against Pitt has thrown for more scores in West Virginia history. But the subtext to this 48-21 triumph tonight over The Villanova That Doesn't Shoot 3-Pointers seems to be: That remodeled defense didn't exactly stymie a Division I-AA offense. Seven of the Wildcats' first 11 possessions carried into West Virginia territory. The Wildcats possessed the football an entire quarter longer than West Virginia, which in theory represents a practical way to keep that vaunted offense off the field. The Wildcats even outgained the Mountaineers by half a football field. "We missed some open-field tackles," new coach Bill Stewart said. "We just can't do that." By the way, in a precautionary move by Stewart and the medical staff, Reed Williams didn't dress (no wonder this correspondent couldn't find him), but he and his surgically repaired shoulders should be ready to play, if not start, next Saturday at East Carolina. And, after the soon-to-be-ranked Pirates' 27-22 upset of No. 17 Virginia Tech today, this West Virginia-East Carolina fray looks a whole lot more sizeable, doesn't it? "From what I heard today, we're going into a hornet's next, we're going into a Pirates den," Stewart said. "We have to improve a whole lot."

5:26 p.m. (our apologies. . . wireless problems here): Pat Lazear indeed started at middle linebacker and lasted barely a handful of plays. Anthony Leonard replaced him -- no sign of Williams, so it's doubtful he'll play -- but the Villanova offense still moved with relative ease throughout the first half. Four of its first six possessions reached into West VIrginia territory. It dominated the first half time of possession, 20 minutes, 32 seconds to West VIrginia's 9:28. It even outgained the vaunted West Virginia offense. Yet a red-zone fumble by Villanova quarterback Antwon Young was returned halfway across the field, mostly by Gateway's Mortty Ivy, to set up the first of three. . . wait for it. . . passing touchdowns to give the Mountaineers a 24-7 lead at intermission. Records that fell in the half: White has his inaugural three-touchdown-passing performance (with a half yet to play) and West Virginia's first since Brashear's Rasheed Marshall four years ago against Temple (which one press-box wag called another Division I-AA team from Philadelphia); White surpassed Bulger's career mark for total offense with almost 8,000 yards; and Plum's Pat McAfee at half's close kicked a career-long, 52-yard field goal, beating by one yard his previous best against Pitt at Heinz Field two years ago.

1:52 p.m (more than 90 minutes to kickoff).: A roster update: If sophomore Lazear doesn't start ahead of senior star Williams at middle linebacker today, he at minimum is expected to play the majority of the defensive snaps so Williams can test and then rest his surgically repaired shoulders.

A scoreboard update: The three-times-larger Panasonic big board is up and running, showing the Virginia Tech-East Carolina broadcast at this moment, and it's a dandy home-theater system. And workers did find the KA missing from the Tuesday night truck carrying the scrambled letters now spelling out "MILAN PUSKAR STADIUM" above the new scoreboard (see Aug. 26 blog entry, below). LED boards running roughly between the 10-yard lines adorn the bottom of the upper decks at Mountaineer Field now, too, much like ones found at Heinz Field or any other major stadium.

Finally, a weather update: The hazy, gray skies that appeared to threaten with rain have just given way to beams of sunshine. Radar looks clear, though. Not that it should matter much today, but the Mountaineers would prefer a dry, fast track on their ersatz grass.

That college-football itch

Chuck Finder — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 04:38:00 GMT

With just a dozen days remaining until the opening kickoff, let's catch up with one particular Penn State season-ticket holder and Juniata College grad from Joisey. Steve Koreivo had a dream: To attend at least one game involving each and every program in Division I-A (forget that Championship-Less, Going-Down-The-Bowls Subterranean Division pap, or whatever the NCAA labels it). Dream fulfilled. Though it still seems a tad scary when the fabulous Mrs. K is quoted by Vincent M. Mallozzi, "It's the only thing in life he truly loves."

Weekend after this, he plans to jump-start the season at East Stroudsburg, Stony Brook, Army and Rutgers over the four-day Labor Day weekend. Locally speaking, he tentatively lists three Penn State games and Auburn-WVU on his 23-game (so far) 2008 schedule that ends with the Dec. 20 Congressional Bowl in Washington, D.C. Steve-Oh likely won't stop there, though; after all, he crammed four bowl games in five Texas days around last New Year's. He's got it baaaaaad.

One other story of note, in case you missed it: USC is, uh, chafed. No word yet if the Trojans have gotten to the Cruex of the matter.

-- Chuck Finder

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.

WVUpdate: For openers

Chuck Finder — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 21:26:00 GMT

“Day One. . . . First practice. . . ,” was how a hoarse Bill Stewart opened his first news conference, after the first day of camp Saturday on Mountaineer Field in Morgantown, W.Va. And it was a good day for him.

Forget about it being his first fall practice as a head coach in almost 12 years. Forget about it being his first official season start as the coach of his homestate university – “the American dream,” he calls it.

Rather, it was the first of many business days, with the preseason Top-10 Mountaineers ushering in yet another season brimming with expectation.

So let’s get down to business, as so much personnel has changed and continues to change:

Nose guard Pat Liebig awaits approval from the NCAA for a sixth season of eligibility, after skipping last season to return home to Florida and help his ailing father in the family business of three car dealerships. He expects to get the go-ahead Mond ay. At a spot Keilen Dykes manned to all-Big East proportions, Liebig and backup Chris Neild are joined by former Wake Forest recruit Uriah Grant to transform it into a deep, if not as starry, position.
Middle linebacker Reed Williams awaits clearance from doctors to fully tackle and play, so he may don a cautionary green practice jersey and refrain from using his surgically repaired shoulders and arms to make tackles until the Aug. 30 opener against Villanova.
All-America candidate Ryan Stanchek sat out the first practice because of illness, with Seneca Valley’s Don Barclay filling in. . . but only temporarily.
Brandon Hogan, expected to start or split time at slotback, is being tried out at cornerback. That leaves slotback to fellow sophomore Jock Sanders, redshirt freshman Bradley Starks (who will double as the No. 3 quarterback behind Patrick White and Jarrett Brown), and senior Dorrell Jalloh, who, unbeknownst to Stewart, worked at slotback in summer sessions that coaches are forbidden to watch.
Speaking of that secondary, which lost four senior starters from last season and at least two recruits who didn’t cut it (yet another recruit was added, former Virginia Tech signee D.J. Thomas of Hargrave Military Academy in Virginia), it will remain a concern for some time. However, Stewart was brightened by last year’s star defensive-back signee, junior-college transfer Ellis Lankster, who reported at the precise, lower weight that Stewart requested . . . in exchange for allowing Lankster to try to return punts and kicks this season.
Backup outside linebacker Archie Sims cleared all academic hurdles and joins John Holmes, after his offseason arrest, as welcome returnees for depth. Yet Stewart likes the look of Williams, Gateway’s Mortty Ivy and J.T. Thomas as the starting linebackers. “It’s good to see John Holmes out there flying around,” Stewart said of the senior eight credit hours shy of graduation. “He’ll be OK.”
Hair today. . . . Pat Lazear went with the honorary Owen Schmitt Mohawk; Usually beach-bleach-blond Pat McAfee of Plum went with a buzzcut. (His second field-goal try of camp? It plunked off the right upright. “But the first one went into the upper deck,” McAfee pointed out.)
In case you missed it in the Sunday story, Jason Gwaltney is back. . . for a third time. It figures to either be a third-time charm or a third strike, but Stewart approaches it carefully. He told Gwaltney, who’s so Three Years Ago that he last played college football by sharing time with then-fellow-freshman Steve Slaton, that 2008 will be a red-shirt season and he must stick to the academics. If Gwaltney passes Stewart’s approval shortly after classes start, the coach might permit him to practice – with the scout team only.
In the “Oops” category, receiver Kendall Washington is listed in the Mountaineers ' 2008 media guide, headshot and bio and everything on page 94, even though he hasn’t been with the program since May and seemingly won’t be back – particularly since he ended July in the Stark County jail in his native Ohio.

Check that recruit list again

Chuck Finder — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 11:11:00 GMT

Much is made of the Mountaineers’ recruiting the past seven-plus months, what with 14 oral commitments for 2009 already, yet here is a cautionary tale for folks who place wayyyyyy too much attention, time and money on the pursuit of 18-, 19- and 20-year-olds: Eight of West Virginia’s 26 signees aren’t here.

More than a few may never come to campus.

Missing are: junior-college defensive end Tevita Finau, who needs four more credits to graduate Phoenix College and aims to report to West Virginia in January; non-qualifier Jerome Swinton, a Florida defensive back whom the aforementioned D.J. Thomas replaces and isn’t expected back; Virginia defensive back J.J. Dorsey, who went home sick in July, but he still didn’t meet academic approval so his return is up in the air; defensive lineman Corey Freeman of Cleveland, who was in summer school and still awaits NCAA Clearinghouse approval; defensive lineman Bernard Smith of Atlanta, who will attend Georgia Military College prep, which means he ultimately could sign elsewhere; defensive lineman Chris Palmer of Philadelphia, who will wait until January to enroll at West Virginia to further rehab a shoulder injury; cornerback Brantwon Bowser of Phoenix College, who underwent season-ending knee surgery in spring drills; and offensive lineman Benji Kemoeatu, brother of Steelers guard Chris, who is headed the junior-college route, possibly in Arizona at Mesa. So long as Chris remains in Pittsburgh, that gives Benji a sure reason to come to West Virginia. . . but their other brother, Ma’ake, plays for Carolina nowadays and a move by either NFL brother could conceivably lure Benji into following them elsewhere.

Here's a glimpse of why the 'eers are big on Finau: