Charles in Charge
November 05, 2003 01:42 PM | General
November 5, 2003
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Charles is now in charge.
West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez announced Tuesday that junior Charles Hales will likely start Saturday’s game at Boston College because starter Rasheed Marshall is still feeling the lingering effects of a concussion sustained in last Saturday’s Homecoming win against Central Florida.
“More than likely Rasheed Marshall won’t play this weekend,” said Rodriguez. “The reason I’m saying it is not definite is because doctors are going to meet and visit with him. They think the symptoms have lingered for too long.”
Marshall left the game early in the third quarter when he was hit while on the ground after running an option play.
“Watching it on film it wasn’t a helmet-to-helmet blow. It looked like he got a forearm or a thigh that caused the concussion,” said the coach.
Hales stepped in and after losing a fumble during his first series, he later fired a 79-yard touchdown pass to Chris Henry to put away the game. Hales finished the game completing both of his pass attempts. The Ellisville, Miss., resident has also seen action in two other games this year against Wisconsin when Marshall was knocked out after sustaining a blow to the chest, and against Maryland when he went in to try and provide a spark in a game WVU lost 34-7.
“With Charles we can basically run the entire offense,” said Rodriguez. “He’s been in the system for a couple of years now, he’s been in some games although limited, and I think everybody is confident that he can do the job.”
Hales has completed eight of 17 passes for 139 yards and a TD. The 6-foot, 200-pounder played a key part in one of WVU’s two TD drives against Wisconsin in the season opener. Hales did not attempt a pass last year after transferring from Jones County Junior College.
With Hales moving up to starter, that means true freshman Adam Bednarik is now the backup. Despite being just an injury away from playing, Rodriguez is hopeful that Bednarik can maintain his redshirt.
“He’s as ready as any freshman can be. He’s really, really intelligent and has done a good job of grasping our system in such a short period of time,” said Rodriguez.
Rodriguez says Bednarik has been on the traveling squad as the team’s No. 3 quarterback and has spent the entire year working with the second and third groups instead of running the scout team.
“Adam has prepared since August for every ball game,” said Rodriguez. “He has taken very few reps but he’ll get them this week. We’re really excited about him, not just now, but also in the future. He’s going to have a great career here.”
WVU’s third quarterback for BC is walk-on Josh Broeker, a 6-foot-3, 200-pound sophomore who played last year at Montgomery Junior College in Maryland. Broeker is a native of Manchester, Mo.
WVU’s other quarterback on the roster is promising freshman Dwayne Thompson, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound Miami native who can practice but cannot play in games because he is a partial qualifier. Like Bednarik, the coaching staff is high on Thompson, though the lefthander has been sidelined with a broken wrist.
“We have all four returning and we’ll sign another one so we’ll have five for the position,” said Rodriguez. “That doesn’t help us right now but in the future we’re going to feel very secure.”
In Hales, West Virginia is getting a cool customer who has the confidence of both the coaching staff and his teammates.
“Even though he’s only been in there a handful of times, he acts like he’s been in there a lot. That’s why we feel pretty confident with him,” said Rodriguez. “Now I’m sure he’s going to be a little nervous making his first start but that being said, once he gets into the flow of things he’ll be okay.”
Rodriguez says there are a lot of similarities between Hales and Marshall, from their body types to their arm strength.
“Chares has had some experience coming in from the junior college level -- that’s completely different -- but he’s got some of the same leadership qualities,” he said. “They both have similar arm strength. Rasheed is a little faster but Charles is a little bigger. There are a lot of similarities and that’s why our offense really won’t change much regardless of who’s in there.”
There is, however, one big difference: where as Marshall is more serious and focused on the task at hand, Hales is more of a carefree practical joker. Rodriguez says Hales’ fun-loving attitude often comes out in practice.
“Rasheed is a little quieter and Charles is more of a clown at times. I don’t say that in a bad way,” said the coach. “Charles will go an entire practice where he’s making good decisions and then all of the sudden he’ll do something and you’re like, ‘Where in the heck did that come from?’
“It’s almost like he did it on purpose just to get a rise out of me,” Rodriguez added. “I think sometimes he does because he’ll throw one right to the other guy and I’m thinking, I know he saw him and I know he knows not to do that. And then he has that big smile.”
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| Charles Hales runs for positive yardage in a game against Wisconsin earlier this season. (All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks) |
Rodriguez admitted Tuesday that while he is certain that Hales can run the entire offense, he may have to be careful with his play calling so as not to expose Charles to unnecessary punishment with a true freshman as his backup.
“You probably aren’t going to run as many options and some of those quarterback traps,” he said. “You’ve still got to run it and have it in your package because you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do to win the game. I think Charles wants to do those things, but I think you have to be smart about it and not run him into the teeth of a blitz.”
Regardless of who is quarterbacking West Virginia this weekend, Rodriguez says the method of attack will still be the same as always: run the football.
“It’s not like we were throwing it 50 times a game anyway,” said Rodriguez. “Charles is a pretty confident guy and for us to beat BC we have to establish some things on the ground. We are at our best when we can do that and fortunately we have some pretty talented tailbacks. Our offensive line is starting to come together, too.”
Briefly ...
