2003 Football Outlook
July 21, 2003 02:30 PM | General
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By Shelly Poe for MSNsportsNET.com
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- Coach Rich Rodriguez wants to see more of the same and then some from his 2003 West Virginia football team. "What we need to do, because it forged a lot of our success last year, is continue to approach the game with the attitude of we need to prove ourselves, as players and as a program. We made tremendous improvements last year, but falling short in the bowl shows us there is still a lot we can do. "We can work harder. We can work smarter. I don’t ever want to coach a team that doesn’t believe those improvements are possible. We had a taste of success and we liked it. Now we have to realize why we had it and continue that effort. We want to build on that confidence through preparation and performance, instead of holding a false confidence based solely on last year’s record. Last year is over. "This is a new team, with new seniors, new leaders and players who are meeting different challenges. "We won’t be real deep, in terms of experienced players, but we have talent. Our guys will work hard and they will play hard. If we maintain the type of energy and intensity we developed last year, we will be exciting to watch. "Yet, if you take a look at our schedule, which might be one of the toughest West Virginia has ever faced, we’ll need every bit of that energy. The fans love it because there are seven home games, but there are five or six teams on there that will be ranked preseason and the BIG EAST is the strongest top to bottom that it’s ever been." That schedule, which includes contests against eight bowl participants from a year ago, is indeed challenging, but the real test may come in replacing 14 starters from last year’s 9-4 BIG EAST runners-up, five of whom went on to NFL camps. The Mountaineer defense, retooled with remarkable success last season into a more aggressive, play-making unit, loses seven starters, but returns its leader in all-conference linebacker Grant Wiley. Beginning his fourth season as a starter, the first team all-BIG EAST defender led the Mountaineers in 2002 with 133 tackles, 13.5 TFL, three sacks, two forced fumbles, two interceptions and according to Rodriguez "a knack for making the big play at the critical time like few players I’ve ever seen. We know we have someone special in Grant, but we also know he can play even better." At the other linebacking spots, junior Adam Lehnortt saw substantial action at middle linebacker last year and will replace the graduated Ben Collins there. Also gone is pass rusher James Davis; senior Leandre Washington is the replacement at that position, backed up by Kevin McLee and Mo Howard. Home-state products Scott Gyorko and Jeff Noechel will work behind Wiley, while Alex Lake and Jay Henry will spell Lehnortt in the middle. Up front, sophomore Ernest Hunter, fully recovered from the broken leg that cost him seven games last year, leads an all-new defensive line that graduated second team all-BIG EAST veteran David Upchurch, Jason Davis, Tim Love and Kevin Freeman. "Hunter will have to be a leader there, and a guy who can give us 60-70 plays per game," Rodriguez says, "but he is capable of doing that." Less experienced linemen who will get "a real opportunity this fall" include Fred Blueford, Ben Lynch and freshmen Warren Young, Craig Wilson and Pat Liebig. "There’s some real talent there," Rodriguez says. The most experienced element of the Mountaineer defense is the secondary, where at cornerback, seniors Brian King (79 tackles, 3 Int, 12 PBU) and Lance Frazier (49 tackles, 1 Int, 8 PBU) are three-year starters. "Those two, along with (junior Jahmile) Addae, will carry a big load for us in terms of leadership," Rodriguez predicts. Newer additions to the mix on the corners are Adam Jones, Krys Williams, Thandi Smith and Joe Hunter, "a talented group of athletes that just needs some game experience." Among the safeties, Addae, last year’s starter at free, has moved to bandit, where he will be backed up by Lawrence Audena and James Woodruff. A healthy Anthony Mims gets the nod at free safety, where Jerry White was also productive during spring, and at spur, true sophomore Mike Lorello leads the way with Mike Henshaw and Dwayne Mundle set to contribute. "Safety is a concern for us, but also an area where younger guys can step up and contribute," Rodriguez says of the position that lost all-BIG EAST performer Angel Estrada, Jermaine Thaxton and Arthur Harrison. The Mountaineer offense, which returns five starters, starts with junior quarterback Rasheed Marshall, the multi-talented, athletic signalcaller who passed for 1,616 yards and nine touchdowns last season while rushing for a BIG EAST quarterback-record 666 yards and 13 scores. "At quarterback, it’s important for Rasheed to continue to improve at the rate he did last year. He was very strong in the spring, and continues to master all phases of the offense. "One of the real pluses of the spring was the play of Charles Hales behind Rasheed. Charles has progressed to the point where we can count on him," says Rodriguez of the junior college transfer who is now Marshall’s backup. "The quarterback play this spring really encouraged me." Rodriguez calls running back "one of the deepest positions on the team, even though we lost one of our greatest ever in Avon Cobourne (West Virginia and the BIG EAST’s career rushing leader). "We are lucky that we still have Quincy Wilson (who rushed for 901 yards and six scores as Cobourne’s backup last season); he is so talented and solid in everything he does on the field, plus a tremendous leader. We’ve got some talented young backs in Jason Colson, Erick Phillips and Bryan Wright, and Kay-Jay Harris, a junior college transfer, will be joining us this summer. There’s a lot of ability at what we call our superback position." Bruising blocker Moe Fofana "is one of the better fullbacks in the BIG EAST," Rodriguez says, "and we have two tight ends who are ready to produce" in senior Tory Johnson and sophomore Josh Bailey. Adam King backs up Fofana at fullback, while Ryan Thomas is next in line at tight end. Along the offensive line, "we have some good leaders in Tim Brown, Jeff Berk and Ben Timmons." Brown, a senior, is a three-year starter at tackle, while junior Berk is the returning starter at left guard. Guard Geoff Lewis and center Timmons, both seniors, have quality experience as well. Redshirt freshman Dan Mozes and junior college tackle Mike Watson performed well in the spring, adding to a depth pool that already contained junior Justin Williams, sophomore Josh Stewart and redshirt freshmen Jeremy Hines and Jeremy Sheffey, a converted defensive lineman. The offensive line "will remain solid," Rodriguez predicts, despite the loss of first team all-BIG EAST tackle Lance Nimmo, second team all-league guard Ken Sandor and stalwart center Zack Dillow. Wide receiver "is one of the positions where we lost the most bodies," Rodriguez says of the graduated Phil Braxton, A.J. Nastasi and Derrick Smith, "but where we still have experience." Leading that list will be junior Miquelle Henderson, WVU’s leading receiver in 2002 with 40 catches for 496 yards and a pair of scores, and veterans Travis Garvin and Aaron Neal, both of whom had "break-out" springs. "That group showed great improvement and will give us bigger things this season," says Rodriguez of the corps that includes Dee Alston, John Pennington, Nathan Forse, Cassel Smith and Scott Beresford, as well as Chris Henry and Brandon Myles, eligible in August. On special teams, Rodriguez wants to see "more production from every unit. We need some big plays from our return teams, and a stronger result from our punt team, in terms of kicking and coverage." Senior Todd James has been the best kickoff man in the BIG EAST and handled the Mountaineer placekicking duties last season. This year, he will concentrate on punting, backed up at that spot by redshirt freshman Eric Daugherty. Brad Cooper, a junior transfer, appears to hold the edge at kicker after a tremendous spring showing, but redshirt freshman Casey Welch is also a possibility. All the kickers will work with a steady combination in veteran snapper Scott Fleming and holder George Shehl. "Coming out of the spring, I like what I’ve seen, but the developmental season over the summer has to be a productive one," Rodriguez says. "We have so much young talent that needs seasoning, but we also have 22 seniors who have to have their best years ever for us to reach our goals. "Sure we have questions, but those also mean opportunities for a lot of new players. We are getting to the point at several positions where a player has to perform at his best every day to earn or hold a job. That competition makes us a much stronger program; when we get it at every position, I will be very pleased." |
