Colson's Journey
December 27, 2004 12:02 PM | General
December 27, 2004
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| Running back Jason Colson didn't arrive in Jacksonville until early Monday morning.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks photo |
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jason Colson’s bowl experience can only get better. Poor weather and computer problems forced the sophomore running back to spend an extra night at home in Rochester, N.Y., and then another full day’s worth of travel to Jacksonville on Sunday.
“When I got to the Rochester airport on Christmas day they said none of the Delta Flights were flying out,” he said.
Colson’s flight was one of 1,100 canceled on Christmas day as a result of severe weather, which caused the computer system that handles crew flight assignments to fail.
He had arrived at Rochester’s airport on Christmas Day fully expecting to meet the team in Jacksonville Saturday evening and then begin practicing for the Mountaineers’ Gator Bowl game against Florida State Sunday morning.
Instead, he was informed that he had to drive to Buffalo on Sunday to get a flight to Jacksonville. Colson eventually got into the air Sunday afternoon and wound up with a three-hour layover in Washington, D.C., due to mechanical problems with his connecting flight.
“I didn’t think I was ever going to get here,” he said.
Colson eventually arrived in Jacksonville at 2 am Monday morning and got to the hotel at 3:30 in time to get a couple hours of sleep before waking up for practice. Unfortunately, Colson had to go to practice in the same clothes he wore the day before; his luggage was lost during the transfer.
“Hopefully I’ll get it later on today or tomorrow,” he said.
Colson said he kept in constant contact with WVU assistant coach Herb Hand and then Football Director of Operations Mike Kerin.
“I kept them up-to-date with my situation,” he said.
Colson appeared weary and tired before Monday morning’s practice.
“I’m definitely ready for a nap,” he admitted.
Colson says he has fallen behind by missing yesterday’s practice and believes he’s got to stay focused the rest of the week to catch up.
“I’m so used to going to practice and when you miss a day you kind of feel like you’re off beat a little bit,” he said.
Colson is definitely a big part of the team’s game plan, having rushed for 686 yards this year as a part-time starter. Colson had a streak of three-straight 100-yard games against Connecticut, Syracuse and Rutgers and finished the season as the team’s third-leading ballcarrier.
Colson isn’t certain if he’ll be excused from any bowl functions but he admits he will probably try and catch up on his sleep.
“I can’t sleep in practice,” he said.
Briefly: The only remaining player not in Jacksonville is senior fullback Hikee Johnson, who is expected to arrive today, “I can’t ever remember having this many problems at once,” said Football Director of Operations Mike Kerin, who has been with the Mountaineer program since 1980 … Rodriguez says the team had a good practice Sunday despite the cold weather, “I think we got good work in. It was a little colder than we expected and it was hard to throw and kick but it was good to get back out there and get into the routine,” he said … the team practiced a little earlier Monday morning to accommodate a scheduled bowl outing for the team at the Jacksonville Beach Outback Steakhouse … the temperature for Monday’s practice was in the low 50s and it is expected to continue to rise throughout the week … Rodriguez said the team will practice in full pads today and Tuesday before tapering off for the remainder of the week … According to Rodriguez, freshman Dwayne Thompson will be the team’s No. 3 quarterback in addition to his wide receiver duties for the Gator Bowl … Thompson moves up to No. 3 because of Adam Bednarik’s season-ending shoulder surgery, “(Dwayne) hasn’t thrown a ball in skeleton situation since August but he has taken some snaps and he knows how to hand it off,” said Rodriguez. “We have Rasheed and Charles and if something would happen we have both of them …” true freshman Pat White will not play in the bowl game to preserve his redshirt status … Rodriguez has been pleased with the team’s focus so far, “But it’s still early in the week,” he mentioned … the two teams met for the first time Sunday evening for a reception at the River City Brewing Company in downtown Jacksonville … FSU coach Bobby Bowden was by far the most popular attraction at the event.
