Deep Thoughts
August 10, 2006 07:50 PM | General
August 10, 2006
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Download Coach Rodriguez's Thursday comments at MSN's new MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – It’s the fourth quarter and West Virginia is trailing by three points and is about to receive a kickoff. Don’t be surprised if you see No. 10 jog out onto the field as one of the Mountaineers’ deep return men.
West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez can envision certain situations when he might use his star running back Steve Slaton to return kicks.
“Sure, in certain situations kind of like USC did with Reggie Bush,” Rodriguez said after Thursday afternoon’s practice. “Maybe in a tight ballgame in the fourth quarter or if we think we might need a little jumpstart.”
Certainly Slaton has the speed to take a kickoff the distance.
“He’s the type of runner that excels at that,” Rodriguez said. “A kick returner and a punt returner can sometimes be the same guy, but a lot of times it’s a different type of guy. The punt returner needs a little bit of wiggle while a kick returner needs speed and takes it and hits it.”
Shawn Terry and his older brother Nate were two prime examples of being outstanding kickoff returners because of their ability to hit a seam going full speed.
“The best ones we’ve had like Shawn Terry -- he wasn’t a great side-to-side-make-you-miss guy, but once he hit a hole he could go full speed ahead,” Rodriguez said.
Presently, Rodriguez plans on using a quartet of returners that includes Vaughn Rivers, Antonio Lewis, Darius Reynaud and Jeremy Bruce. Those four will also be responsible for returning punts. Freshman Guesly Dervil could work himself into the mix as well on kickoff returns.
“We’ve got a whole pool to do that,” Rodriguez said.
Other Thursday afternoon practice notes:
“I wish we would have had the full-contact practice this morning because we had about 12 guys out this afternoon because they were in a summer class and I think 10 of the 12 were defensive guys,” Rodriguez said. “They had to do the class and get ready for finals tomorrow so it was not as crisp a practice.”
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| Rich Rodriguez talks to his team on the grass practice field above Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown, W.Va.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks |
“He threw a little bit today and took some reps in individual but didn’t do any of the team work. If it keeps lingering on I’ll be concerned but the only positive is that it’s forcing the younger guys to really step it up a little bit as far as getting into the fire,” Rodriguez said. “That’s not a bad thing and in the long run I think that’s going to help us.”
Rodriguez said kicker Pat McAfee will be held out for at least “four or five more days” with a deep thigh bruise.
“Pat McAfee still looks like a Christmas tree with his red (jersey) on and his white hair. We’re still working on special teams but it’s David Brewer who is getting a lot of reps,” Rodriguez said.
“By the end of the camp you’ve got to have some semblance of execution in all three phases,” he said. “Right now it’s a different mistake here and there. We hadn’t an exchange problem in four days and today we had three of them. We’re not under center much but we had those on the goal line.”
“Ed Collington is getting better,” he said. “It looks like he’s going to be in the mix. We need somebody else for sure and Ed has been very encouraging so far.
“He’s bigger than Steve, probably 205, but he’s strong and he runs hard behind his pads. He’s just learning but for it being the first seven practices he’s done a nice job and he’s very conscientious. He figures in our plans this year.”
“Quincy (Wilson) was different from Slaton. They’re all different from Avon (Cobourne),” Rodriguez said. “The neat part is there are different parts of the offense that they excel at. We’ve been very fortunate to have very good backs and obviously when you run for a lot it’s easier to recruit them.”
“This time last year I wasn’t sure he could play here. Now he’s going to be in rotation,” Rodriguez said. “He’s a great worker. He needed to get tougher physically and he’s done that. He needed to improve his technique and he’s done that. Obviously he had to get better blocking on the perimeter and he’s done that. We’re looking for depth there and I think he’s going to be able to help us.”
The coach said Gonzales can play both the X and the Z.
