Fall Camp Begins
August 09, 2004 09:04 AM | General
Monday, August 9, 2004
The Pig Stock Tour got off to a great start last week in Parkersburg and we’re looking forward to trips to Bluefield tomorrow at the Brush Fork Amory, next Tuesday in Charleston outside Watt Powell Park prior to an Alley Cats game, and then we’re going to do the big one in Morgantown on Wednesday, Sept. 1, on the night of Coach Rod’s first talk-show of the season.
We had about 400 people turn out for the first Pig Stock at City Park in Parkersburg. In addition to Coach Nehlen, former Mountaineer standout offensive lineman Rick Phillips was also in attendance and it was great to catch up with Rick, who was one of the key members of the 1988 offensive line that helped pave the way to the school’s first undefeated regular season.
The concept for the Pig Stock Tour is to thank people for listening to Metronews Sports Line and get people together to have a relaxed, fun night eating barbeque and talking about the coming college and high school football seasons.
When football season comes in West Virginia there is a tremendous amount of excitement no matter what part of the state you go to. As a result of that the Pig Stock Tour kind of builds up to what is a real fun time of the year.
And our annual Pig Stock Tour couldn’t be done without the great support of the West Virginia Coal Association and the Friends of Coal.
Turning to the Mountaineers, I believe the No. 11 ranking in the preseason Coaches Poll kind of validates the perception of Rich Rodriguez’ program right now nationally. I think this rating is more validating than Athlon’s preseason No. 5 ranking because you’ve got the coaches attention. That’s remarkable considering where the team finished three years ago in 2001.
Overall, that tells me that the state of the program is in good health. There is carry over from one season to the next: you’re not a one-night stand in the world of college football. The coaches see what is going on here in Morgantown.
There is a frenetic pace in the Puskar Center and it’s not necessarily because of the Mountaineers’ lofty preseason ranking. The pace is probably more frenetic because those working inside are trying to avoid being hit by drywall or falling beams.
There has been a whirlwind of activity over in the building all summer with the movement of the defensive wing to the front of the Puskar Center where the Mountaineer Athletic Club Offices used to be. Actually in the master plan when the building was created the front was where the defensive coaches were supposed to be.
The MAC offices are now where the defensive coaches used to be and eventually plans call for an interactive Mountaineer football museum in the back. When this is completed it is really going to be a tremendous addition which will focus on the program’s tradition.
I talked to Coach Rod recently and he told me he believes the chemistry on his coaching staff is the best it has been since he took over in 2001. For the first time since he’s been here he also has his entire coaching staff back for another season. Coaches that didn’t fit are gone and it’s kind of like Rich has been sanding a piece of quality furniture the last four years and he’s close to getting the finished piece ready for the living room. That not only applies to his coaching staff but also his team’s depth chart. They’ve been striving to reach the 85 scholarship limit and they’re finally there. I don’t think Mountaineer football is a finished product by any sense but the process is a lot closer now than it was three years ago.
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| Look for QB Rasheed Marshall to run the ball more this season (All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks) |
All indications I’m getting are that the coaches are going to let Rasheed Marshall run the football much more this year. Two years ago when he was a sophomore Rasheed broke Michael Vick’s Big East rushing record. This year we’re going to see the quarterback become a threat to run it again like 2002 and by doing that it adds another element that defenses must prepare for.
Last year they had to be extremely careful about doing that because they did not have a great amount of depth at quarterback. This year with Charles Hales, Adam Bednarik and Dwayne Thompson, they have a stable that they can go to if something happens to Rasheed.
My big concern is whether we’re going to have running backs tough enough to dominate on the ground. We’ve been really spoiled since the 1996 opener of having terrific running back play from Amos to Avon to Quincy. West Virginia’s calling card over the last couple of years has been a high-powered rushing attack and we’ve beaten teams both mentally and physically with it.
I’m not saying West Virginia doesn’t have that tailback in the program right now, but it needs to be proven over the course of fall camp.
Not having Erick Phillips available for the start of fall camp is certainly a blow to the team. But people must remember that he had two ligaments that he tore and that is a huge injury. Had he not been injured he could very well have been the front runner for the starting job. Phillips is the classic, hard-running power running back in the mold of Quincy Wilson.
I hope that the rest of the tailbacks accept the challenge because I know Rich will not tolerate guys that won’t run hard all of the time. If they are not up to the task then he told me he plans on getting the true freshmen running backs ready to play as well.
From a depth standpoint the offensive line is really going to have a lot of pieces in place this year. At the start of last season Rick Trickett was out there doing his best Dan Henning imitation: smoke and mirrors. He did a fantastic job and those players did a wonderful job of maturing.
As a result of that he’s got nine guys that have started at least one game coming back this fall. Strong offensive line play could overcome WVU’s lack of a dominant, proven running back. In many ways the table has turned a little bit in that in the past WVU’s quality running backs have helped the offensive line along. This year it could be the other way around.
On the other side of the ball, West Virginia’s defensive line also looks to be much stronger. We all know that Bill Kirelawich has been successful at building solid units throughout the years and that is an area that I believe will be significant for the Mountaineers this fall.
Individually, Boo McLee has the potential to have a breakout season and give West Virginia something it hasn’t had in a long time: a dominant edge rusher. I understand he’s had a very productive summer in the weight room.
I was in Milan Puskar Stadium the other day and it certainly looks like a different place – name change aside. Now that they’ve closed in the end it really looks different. There is a new sound system in there now and the excitement the team has generated this summer is going to make Morgantown a special place to be this fall.
I can’t wait for it to get started. Stay tuned.
