State of the Program
August 25, 2004 01:59 PM | General
August 25, 2004
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 10-rated West Virginia football team broke fall camp last Saturday with several questions still on the mind of Coach Rich Rodriguez.
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| Rodriguez |
Among the most notable are:
The coach attempted to tackle some of those questions last Saturday afternoon during his annual ‘state of the program’ address following the conclusion of fall two-a-day practices. Rodriguez, now in his fourth season at the helm, says this year’s camp was “average.”
“We didn’t get the heat that we wanted and we had several guys that missed a lot of practice time and quality time as far as getting prepared to play,” he said. “I don’t really feel comfortable right now that we’re ready, but we’ve still got time. I think they understand that we’ve got a whole lot of work to do before September 4.”
Coach Rod offered his position-by-position assessment of this year’s team.
Quarterbacks
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| Marshall |
Senior Rasheed Marshall (6-1, 190) is clearly the top quarterback heading into the season opener against East Carolina with senior Charles Hales (6-1, 200) waiting in the wings as a high-quality backup. Redshirt freshmen Adam Bednarik (6-2, 220) and Dwayne Thompson (6-2, 190) are still battling it out for the No. 3 spot.
“I think we have four quarterbacks that I would feel comfortable playing with this year,” said Rodriguez. “It would make you nervous to play the two freshman quarterbacks in a starting role, but I think all four can run our offense and have continued to get better. I’m high on our new guy Pat White (6-1, 175) as well. I think he’s a perfect fit for our offense and he’s going to be an exciting player.”
Because West Virginia has more depth at the quarterback spot this year, Rodriguez is going to give Marshall the green light to run the football more this year. Marshall has looked good running the ball during the fall and is considered one of the fastest players on the team.
The coach is still concerned about the team’s passing proficiency, although the quarterbacks combined to complete better than 60 percent of their pass attempts during the team’s two officiated scrimmages (60-percent completion percentage was a stated goal of Rodriguez’ during camp).
However, some of the passing difficulties can be attributed to injuries at wide receiver. Nonetheless, Rodriguez enters the season with more capable quarterbacks then he’s ever had during his time at West Virginia.
“The quarterback position is the deepest it has been since I’ve been here,” said Rodriguez.
Running Backs/Fullbacks
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| Colson |
According to Rodriguez, the running back position is thin and “bordering on scary thin.”
Senior Kay-Jay Harris (6-2, 245) and sophomore Jason Colson (6-1, 215) are still battling it out for the starting job, with sophomore Bryan Wright (5-7, 195) as the third tailback.
“I think Jason had a better camp than Kay-Jay overall but they both did some good things,” said Rodriguez. “They also still have a lot of work to do. I need a third guy to compete with them because those two guys are clearly out in front of the rest, but they’re not nearly ready to be the type of back we’ve had the last three years since I’ve been here.”
True freshman Pernell Williams (5-10, 190) is the team’s fourth tailback and a fifth, freshman Alphonso Gross (5-8, 191), is has left the team due to homesickness. The coach would prefer to have at least four usable running backs for his spread system and he’s dangerously close to going below that number right now.
“Erick Phillips is the wild card,” he said. “If he can make progress there is no question he will be in the mix. He may be the best one we have if he can get back to his old form.”
Phillips (5-9, 220) seriously injured his knee last fall and missed the second half of the season and all of spring practice recovering. Rodriguez hopes to have him back out on the football field in a couple of weeks.
“The sooner he can get back the more comfortable I’ll feel at that position,” said Rodriguez. “He may possibly be ready for the second game.
“I’d like to have one or two guys emerge a little bit more and give us complete confidence and that hasn’t happened yet,” said the coach of his runners. “Those guys do have the ability … they can play. Our expectations are pretty high. There has been a standard set here at tailback for many, many years.”
The other factor in the running game could be the quarterbacks, “All of our quarterbacks run pretty well,” said Rodriguez. “We can hopefully do a few things with them.”
Meanwhile, Rodriguez says he hasn’t done much with the fullbacks but they have still done a pretty good job during camp.
Senior Hikee Johnson (6-0, 220) is the top fullback with sophomore walk-on Justin Dziak (5-11, 235) from Latrobe, Pa., working as his backup right now.
“They’re not real big guys but we’ve actually handed off to the fullback three times so far in practice,” Rodriguez joked. “Hikee is going to be a solid player for us, though.”
Running backs coach Calvin Magee could also put Johnson at tailback if the team gets in a major pinch. “He can play some tailback as well. He’s just not as fast as the others,” said Rodriguez of Johnson.
Wide receivers
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| Myles |
With junior Chris Henry (6-5, 195) returning, any wide receiver corps in the country would have to be considered solid but Rodriguez is still concerned about filling out the other three spots in his four-receiver sets.
“It’s hard to judge them because several of them missed practice,” he said.
Among the walking wounded are seniors Eddie Jackson (6-4, 225) and Miquelle Henderson (6-3, 225), two capable veterans with different backgrounds. Henderson was the team’s top receiver in 2002 as a sophomore who has spent a good portion of the past two seasons in the training room. He has been limited during fall camp with a hamstring problem this fall.
Jackson, a Washington transfer, sat out last year and was able to get in a fair amount of work during spring drills. But he has since been sidelined with a hamstring problem and missed virtually all of two-a-day practices.
Junior Dee Alston (5-11, 180) has also missed time with a shoulder problem, forcing Rodriguez to use quarterbacks Charles Hales and Dwayne Thompson some at receiver.
Senior John Pennington (5-10, 180) has been solid as usual and the coaches have been excited with the development made by junior Brandon Myles (6-3, 190).
“I think we’ve made some steps but I think that is a position like running back where we’re scary thin,” said Rodriguez. “We need to have five or six that can play … and play well on a consistent basis. I’m not sure we have that right now.”
Others getting a lot of work are Nate Forse (6-5, 220), Rayshawn Bolden (6-5, 210) and converted defensive back Joe Hunter (6-1, 205).
Offensive Line
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| Brown |
West Virginia’s offensive line has garnered a lot of preseason publicity having nine players back with starting experience, but Rodriguez hasn’t been overwhelmed with their performance during fall camp.
“Offensive line has been okay with the first group … the second group has really struggled because of youth more than anything else and they’ve been overpowered a little bit by some of the guys on defensive line,” he said.
The coach has been concerned about some nagging injuries that have forced senior guard Jeff Berk (6-5, 290), junior tackle Travis Garrett (6-6, 305), and sophomore guard Jeremy Sheffey (6-3, 285) to miss some valuable time.
“Some guys who we think are quality guys haven’t played,” he said. “If they can come back healthy … which who knows when that will be? Then I think we’ll be okay up front.”
The coach expects more out of center Jeremy Hines (6-2, 295) and believes he has gotten better as he’s been able to shed pounds. “I don’t think he was in the shape that he needed to be, but Jeremy is a conscientious young man. He was too heavy at the start of camp and he’s getting down to where his playing weight needs to be.”
Joining Hines and Berk with the first group are sixth-year senior Tim Brown (6-5, 305), senior Mike Watson (6-5, 305) and promising sophomore Dan Mozes (6-4, 295). Tackle Garin Justice (6-8, 305) is also an important player in the mix.
Tight Ends
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| Thomas |
West Virginia doesn’t have a whole lot of depth at tight end but according to Rodriguez, the top two are pretty solid in junior Josh Bailey (6-5, 265) and senior Ryan Thomas (6-7, 270).
“I’m pleased with the progress of the tight ends,” he said. “Josh Bailey has fought through camp and has had a good camp. He’s battling some shoulder things.
“Ryan Thomas was the one I thought was in great shape and I was really excited for him but he’s missed the last few days with back spasms,” Rodriguez said. “We need to get him back. Clearly Josh and Ryan are our two co-starters at tight end.”
The coach is high on sophomore Brad Palmer (6-3, 250), a former walk-on from Oakland, Md.
“I think he’s come on as a walk-on and he’s going to play some and helps us at tight end,” said the coach.
Rodriguez also singled out sophomore Adam Serena (6-3, 220), though he’s concerned about his lack of weight. “He’s just too light … we’ve got to get weight on him” said the coach. “He knows the technique but he’s 220 pounds and he gets thrown around a little bit.”
Defensive Line
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| Lynch |
Perhaps the biggest single area of improvement in the team has come at defensive line, where veteran coach Bill Kirelawich could have as many as 10 quality players to choose from. The defensive line stood out in both scrimmages this fall and Rodriguez has consistently praised that group throughout camp.
A player that is really emerging is senior Jason Hardee (6-3, 300), a one-time tight end who is now thriving at defensive end. “Jason Hardee has been having his best practices since he’s been here,” Rodriguez admitted.
The coach continues to believe that senior defensive tackle Ben Lynch (6-4, 280) is one of the best defensive linemen in the Big East.
“I thought he was at times last year, too,” Rodriguez said. “He’s got great quickness off the ball and he’s had an excellent camp as has Craig Wilson (6-1, 285), who we consider a starter along with Ben. He’s really come along and is going to be a factor there.”
The coach has been pleased with the progress made by junior college transfer Joe Sykes (6-4, 255), particularly as an edge pass rusher.
“We’ve still got to teach him some in the run game but he probably is our best edge rusher and he’s going to help us a lot there,” said Rodriguez.
Others Rodriguez singled out for solid play are Warren Young (6-4, 285), Pat Liebig (6-4, 270), redshirt freshman Keilen Dykes (6-4, 280), and junior Ernest Hunter (6-4, 290).
Yet another player expected to make a strong push, redshirt freshman defensive end Andrae Wright (6-5, 290), has been sidelined with a stress fracture and isn’t expected back for a couple of weeks.
“The defensive line is the deepest since I’ve been here,” said the coach. “We’re going to have a lot more bodies there then we’ve had.”
The coach is also very high on true freshman defensive end Doug Slavonic (6-6, 235), a Mt. Lebanon (Pa.) product who played for former WVU standout linebacker Chris Haering.
“He’s going to be an outstanding player here … we believe he could be a really, really good one,” Rodriguez noted. “We may not be able to redshirt him because he could be in the mix.
“Keilen Dykes is another young guy who hasn’t played, but has a chance to be one of the better defensive linemen that’s played here in a long, long time. And Mike Villagrana (6-4, 260) is another guy who has had a good camp,” Rodriguez continued.
“There wasn’t a whole lot of difference between our ones and twos throughout camp.”
Linebackers
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| Gyorko |
Rodriguez singled out the play of sophomore Boo McLee (6-1, 245) and calls him perhaps the team’s most athletic linebacker.
“He’s coming along and he’s know our defense a lot better … he’s starting to play ours,” laughed Rodriguez.
The coach noted that senior Scott Gyorko (6-0, 225) has had another good camp and will be a solid player for the Mountaineers at outside linebacker. Middle linebacker Adam Lehnortt (6-4, 230) had minor surgery on his knee Saturday morning and will be out of practice for about a week, meaning redshirt freshman Marc Magro (6-2, 240) and sophomore Jay Henry (6-2, 230) will get more work in the middle. Rodriguez mentioned that Henry would probably get the nod at mike linebacker if Lehnortt isn’t ready.
“We consider Jay Henry a starter who can play all three positions,” he said.
Rodriguez mentioned that Magro had an outstanding camp and is “going to be an outstanding player for us at mike linebacker.”
“He’s going to play a whole lot of football for us,” Rodriguez said. “Plus, he’s on every special team so you’ll see him a good bit out there.”
The coach has also been impressed with walk-on Jeff Noechel (6-2, 230) from Fairmont. Noechel excelled last year on special teams.
“He’s had a really good camp and he’s on every special team,” said Rodriguez. “He’s in the mix and he can play a couple of the linebacker positions.”
Spur/Bandits
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| Audena |
Junior Mike Lorello (6-1, 205) was one of West Virginia’s better defensive players last year and returns as the team’s starting spur.
“Mike has been his solid self,” said Rodriguez. “He rarely makes a mistake and he’s a good football player.”
Senior Lawrence Audena (6-0, 200) will team with Lorello at the bandit safety position. Audena saw more action as the season progressed last year and was a major contributor in the Pitt win with a key second-half interception.
“He’s the starter at bandit and he’s had a solid camp,” said Rodriguez. “The bandits give us a little bit of flexibility with what we can do with our defense because Lawrence can play deep and he can play up close to the line, so he’s kind of perfect for that bandit position.”
The coach listed Eric Wicks (6-1, 215) , LJ Montinar (6-1, 200), Mike Henshaw (5-11, 200) as the top backups at spur, with Ridwan Malik (6-1, 195) being the top backup at bandit who could also play free safety.
“He pushed Lawrence pretty well at bandit,” said Rodriguez of Malik.
Free Safeties
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| Addae |
The Mountaineers get back Jahmile Addae (6-0, 205) at free safety after the junior missed most of last season due to a shoulder injury that required surgery. Addae was one of WVU’s top defenders as a sophomore in 2002.
“He looks like he’s recovered from his shoulder and he’s going to be the leader in the secondary,” said Rodriguez. “He may be the most valuable member of our defense because of his understanding of our schemes and his knowledge of what we’re doing. It’s going to be a key to keep him healthy.”
Vince Beamer (6-2, 200) is a good athlete who has progressed this fall and will back up Addae at free safety. Hard-hitting senior Jerry White (6-0, 185) will also get a close look there.
“(Jerry) has been one of the best surprises of our camp from a special teams standpoint and even playing free safety,” said Rodriguez. “He’s been around and is a walk-on who has done an outstanding job.”
Cornerbacks
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| Jones |
The coach believes West Virginia will have quality depth at the two cornerback spots, though several of the backups have yet to play in any games.
Adam Jones (5-11, 185) and Anthony Mims (6-0, 195) are the two starters at corner heading into the opener.
“Pac-Man has had a good camp and he’s in great shape,” said Rodriguez. “He’s also been pretty physical. Anthony Mims has been pretty solid at the other corner and has had a good camp.”
Rodriguez likes the way his younger corners are progressing and isn’t afraid to throw them out there. Among those Rodriguez cited were Vaughn Rivers (5-9, 170), Antonio Lewis (5-10, 190), Davanzo Tate (5-10, 185) and Larry Williams (6-1, 190).
“Larry Williams and Antonio Lewis will push Anthony Mims at times for his spot,” said Rodriguez.
The coach was hopeful that junior college transfer Dee McCann (5-11, 200) would also factor in at corner but he has been limited with a hamstring injury. McCann has a redshirt available and that could be an option if he remains out for an extended period of time.
Kicking Game
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| Cooper |
The kicking game has been erratic this fall, but Rodriguez is confident senior Brad Cooper (6-4, 190) can come around and be a reliable field goal kicker, particularly from 40 yards-in.
“Coop’s been hot and cold … he’s had some really good days and then there have been days when he’s missed some,” said Rodriguez. “It’s usually the longer ones like last year where he’s pushed them a little bit or peeked up a little too early. He’s got a great leg; we’re just trying to get him a little more consistent on the deeper ones.”
The coach indicated that junior Phil Brady (5-9, 175) has edged ahead of Eric Daugherty (6-0, 210) for the starting punting job. The coach was really concerned about the punting game after the end of spring practice, but the play this fall of his two punters, particularly Brady, has eased some of those concerns.
“If we had a game today or tomorrow, Phil would be our starting punter,” said Rodriguez. “But Eric is going to battle him.”
Scott Fleming (6-0, 230) once again returns as the team’s long snapper.
“This is the best he’s snapped in his four years and he’s been a solid guy the whole time,” said Rodriguez.
All photos by All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
