Spring Notebook
April 15, 2004 10:23 AM | General
April 15, 2004
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez says the clock may run a little faster in the second half of Saturday afternoon’s Gold-Blue game at Mountaineer Field. Injuries at tailback and other positions may dictate that.
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| Coach Rich Rodriguez discusses a play with quarterback Rasheed Marshall during a workout earlier this spring. (All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks) |
“We’ll see how injuries go and if we run out of tailbacks and other positions it will be pretty quick,” said Rodriguez.
Tailback depth has been a concern all spring and Rodriguez said Wednesday evening that it is unlikely that neither Jason Colson nor Bryan Wright will be available for Saturday’s scrimmage.
“(Bryan) has a knee sprain and is probably doubtful for the spring game … it just depends on how he feels the next couple of days. The same thing goes for Jason Colson,” said the coach. “He re-aggravated his ankle and he won’t be able to take any reps the rest of the week as well.”
The two squads were picked Wednesday morning with the goal of keeping some units intact.
“We wanted to have guys on the o-line and d-line that have worked together,” said Rodriguez. “Most of the starters right now on the offensive line are with one group and most of the starters on the defensive line are with the same group.
“We’re trying to get good on good as much as we can.”
The coach says he will do everything in his power to make sure everyone gets into the game, although that may be impossible at some positions, “Throughout the course of the game there will be a lot of young guys and some walk-ons to get in there,” he said. “We want everyone to get an opportunity. Just about everyone will play but that’s not a guarantee because if you’ve got six at one position it will be hard to get everyone in.”
Saturday’s scrimmage is set to begin at 12:30 and will air on WAJR-AM in Morgantown, WAJR-FM in Clarksburg and WCHS-AM in Charleston. A live stream can also be heard on the Internet through MSNSportsNET.com and WVmetronews.com.
Spring Notebook: Rodriguez touched on several topics after Wednesday’s practice conducted indoors … because of the injury situation at tailback the coach says it has been frustrating trying to develop continuity on offense, “You can tell Kay-Jay and some of the backs haven’t taken any reps and they’re making mental mistakes. They can learn by watching a little bit but the best way to learn is by taking reps ...” junior Brandon Myles has been a pleasant surprise at wide receiver and made several acrobatic catches during Wednesday’s practice. His efforts haven’t gone unnoticed, “Brandon is a talented guy and I really like the way he works,” said Rodriguez. “He’s a great young man and he’s one of the best leapers we have on the team. He played a little bit last year but this is really his time to step up and he’s gotten better every day ...” Rodriguez is hoping for continued improvement from his defensive line, particularly seniors Ben Lynch and Jason Hardee, “Ben we thought was one of our most consistent defensive linemen last year and plays inside and out. And Jason is one of the most talented guys we have. He’s got a lot of athletic ability and I think he understands our schemes better. I’m expecting big things from Jason. He’s the one who has got to take it up a notch and so far this spring I think he has,” said Rodriguez … another defensive lineman that has caught Rodriguez’ attention is sophomore Craig Wilson, whose development has permitted senior Ben Lynch to play some defensive end, “I’m really pleased with Craig this spring. We think Craig has played well enough to be considered a starter,” said Rodriguez. “He’s a powerful guy who plays hard ...” although Wilson has made strides at nose tackle, Rodriguez still plans on playing Lynch some there as well, “He’s still our best nose guard. Particularly some of our four-man rushes and nickel packages he’s going to be inside. He’ll still play both,” said Rodriguez … the coach also mentioned Wednesday that he plans on keeping converted defenders Brad Palmer and Chris Malamet at tight end, “We have more depth at the d-line then we do at tight end. We need to have three tight ends and hopefully four that can play and we haven’t gotten that resolved yet. Chris and Brad both have the talent to do that and they’re both still learning. I think they’re going to be okay there ...” West Virginia spent Wednesday’s practice indoors working on the passing game … Rodriguez says his team will spend Thursday outside for its final workout before Saturday’s Gold-Blue game.
