Scrimmage Recap
August 17, 2005 09:43 PM | General
August 17, 2005
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez was generally pleased with Wednesday afternoon’s 95-play scrimmage inside Milan Puskar Stadium. Members of the media were permitted to watch the hour-and-a-half scrimmage.
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| West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez says his team isn't quite where last year's squad was in terms of the installation of plays, but they may actually be ahead of last year's team in some other areas.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks |
“I see nobody with ice bags walking to the trainer so that makes me happy,” Rodriguez joked. “The guys played hard. I still think we’ve got a long way to go but I think the attention to detail and the willingness to do their best as far as that goes … I think we’re getting better every day.”
The scrimmage featured some good decisions by all three quarterbacks, some solid play by the first defense and some impressive running by freshmen tailbacks Steve Slaton and Jason Gwaltney.
Slaton ripped off a 58-yard run from his own two and also scored on a 10-yard run with the second group; Gwaltney nearly scored on a 15-yard run and then capped off the drive by bulling over from the one. Slaton finished the scrimmage carrying six times for 86 yards and Gwaltney ran seven times for 23 yards.
“It’s like ground hog day – every day is a new day for Steve,” said Rodriguez. “He has got a little extra burst that we’re excited about and I think he’s going to help us on special teams. He got a lot of extra work today on purpose because he’s going to need a lot of reps because we’ve got to get him ready as well as Jason (Gwaltney).”
Jason Colson and Pernell Williams ran with the first group and finished the scrimmage rushing for 20 and 8 yards respectively. Williams lost the only fumble of the scrimmage when defensive back Ridwan Malik stripped him and was able to score from the two.
The quarterbacks were all efficient. Adam Bednarik and Pat White took turns with the first group and both showed the ability to move the ball. Bednarik finished the scrimmage completing 9 of 15 passes for 79 yards while White completed 7 of 12 passes for 40 yards. Both quarterbacks wore black jerseys meaning they were not to be tackled.
Freshman J.R. House worked with the third group and finished the afternoon completing 5 of 8 passes for 80 yards and he threw the only TD pass of the scrimmage to walk-on freshman receiver Jack Crow. The score covered 10 yards.
Rodriguez said the passing in Wednesday’s scrimmage and the decision making by all three quarterbacks was much better.
“It was sharper today than it was in the spring -- it was sharper today than it was a few days ago and that’s good,” he said. “The quarterbacks are seeing the field pretty well; I thought some of our young receivers caught the ball a little better today, and we’re coming along. They’ve been a great group to coach so far and I think they’re really eager to get better every day and that’s important.”
The top receiver for the scrimmage was Rayshan Bolden with 5 catches for 36 yards. Travis McClintic caught 2 passes for 59 yards and true freshman Darren Brownlee snared a couple of passes over the middle for 38 yards.
Rodriguez says his team still hasn’t caught up to last year’s squad as far as the installation of plays goes, but he believes they might actually be ahead in some other areas.
“As for the effort and conditioning wise we’re every bit as far as we were last year and maybe further ahead,” he said. “Experience wise, the only way for us to judge how they do in a game is to get them into a game. We’re still nervous about that but they’ve worked hard and there are going to be more guys playing now then we’ve ever had simply because we have a little more depth and we’ve made an effort to get more guys ready.”
True freshman kicker Pat McAfee made field goals of 47 and 31 yards and was perfect on both extra point tries. Backup kicker Kevin Tice was also good from 29 yards. Tice is a walk-on from Carrollton, Ga.
“(Pat) made all of his kicks today and he’s getting more confidence,” Rodriguez said. “Timmy Lindsey has done a great job of snapping and we know we have a guy in George Shehl who is going to get the hold down. Pat is getting more consistent every day and he’s got a super leg. I’m pleased with the other two walk-ons, too. They kicked better today than they have been and you need a couple more just in case.”
Defensively, Craig Wilson, Ernest Hunter, John Holmes and Jahmile Addae were credited with sacks, although quarterbacks were not taken to the ground. Interceptions were made by David Igono and Marcus Law against true freshmen quarterbacks Jarrett Brown and T.J. Mitchell.
The true freshmen and scout-team players were permitted 22 plays at the end of the scrimmage. West Virginia’s final scrimmage of camp is Saturday. That workout will be closed to the media and general public.
“Saturday is going to be a little bit of Syracuse preparation and a lot of special teams,” Rodriguez said.
Briefly:
“We’re going to see how it responds once the swelling goes down and see if he’ll be able to play with it,” Rodriguez said. “It’s a shame because he had a great summer getting ready and he’s the guy replacing Travis Garrett who has been out.”
Unofficial Scrimmage Statistics
Rushing: Slaton 6-86, Dorsey 6-25, Gwaltney 7-23, Colson 6-20, Williams 4-8, Barrett 1-4, Schmitt 1-3, Brown 3-1, Rivers 1-1, McClintic, 1-0, House 1-minus 1, Sowers 2-minus 3, Mitchell 2-minus 4, Bednarik 8-minus 9, White 8-minus 5, Total 50-149.
Passing: Bednarik 9-15-79-0-0, White 7-12-40-0-0, House 5-8-80-1-0, Sowers 2-3-8-0-0, Brown 1-4-7-0-1, Mitchell 1-3-4-0-1, Total 25-45-218-1-2.
Receiving: McClintic 2-59, Brownlee 2-38, Bolden 5-36, Tate 3-15, Rivers 3-14, Crow 2-14, Reynaud 2-17, Slaton 2-9, Schmitt 1-6, Barrett 1-4, Serena 1-4, Bailey 1-2, Total 25-218.
Scoring
