Moving Forward
December 30, 2007 04:13 PM | General
December 30, 2007
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Interim coach Bill Stewart has unquestionably been the front man in leading West Virginia beyond the resignation of Rich Rodriguez and coordinating the team’s preparation for Oklahoma in the 2008 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.
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| Quarterback Patrick White talks to reporters Sunday morning.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks |
But the guy behind the scenes leading the way in the locker room has been Patrick White. Any questions about whether or not this is the White’s team were answered in the days immediately following Rodriguez’s departure.
“When it first happened we all had our heads down but we’ve grown as a family and a team throughout all of this,” the quarterback said diplomatically. “Now we have a great opportunity in front of us. We’re trying to make the best of it.”
White has been the vocal leader in practice and the players have responded.
“I consider myself one of the leaders of the team and that’s part of my job description,” White said.
White spent more than 45 minutes Sunday morning answering questions from reporters covering the Fiesta Bowl. He was asked about his upbringing in Daphne, Ala., the teams he rooted for growing up and his thoughts on West Virginia’s disappointing performance against Pitt to end the regular season.
Yet the conversation invariably kept returning to his old coach. Each time a reporter probed White chose his words carefully.
“The situation with Coach Rod we understood,” White said. “Whatever happened had to happen. You’ve got to move on and keep pushing forward.
“We were already a pretty close-nit group with what we have to go through throughout the summer. It makes you grow as a family. After having this happen it definitely brought us even a little bit closer,” White said.
White is appreciative of being afforded the opportunity Rodriguez, former offensive line coach Rick Trickett and offensive coordinator Calvin Magee gave him playing quarterback at WVU.
“Everything (Rodriguez), Coach Trickett and Coach Magee told me has happened except for one thing,” White said, declining to reveal what it was. “They were going to give me the opportunity to play quarterback. What else could I ask for?”
White said he had a chance to talk to Rodriguez the day he was cleaning out his office.
“It was a conversation,” White said. “There were no tears. There was emotion, yeah, because it was the last time I was going to be in the stadium with him. Knowing that he gave me the opportunity that not many people were willing to give me I was telling him that I was thankful for that.”
According to White, the most important thing is what happens now.
“You know, you have minor setbacks in life. You lose a family member but it doesn’t mean you’re going to stop everything you’re doing because of that,” White said. “You have to push forward and move on.”
White has done just that.
“We couldn’t let this hold us down,” he said. “We still have a game to play and letting something like that deter you from your goal … it’s not what we’re about. It’s not our team – it’s not West Virginia football.”
White also revealed Sunday morning that his plans right now are to return for his senior season.
“It’s not my decision,” White explained. “I’m not really evaluating myself. It’s up to the people at the next level and I think it would be best for me if I just came back.
“I don’t even think I had to make a decision,” White said.
White says he hasn’t really paid that much attention to the news concerning the West Virginia coaching search. His primary focus has been the Oklahoma Sooners.
“I’m not really focused on who is going to be the coach at West Virginia right now,” he said. “I’ve got a big bowl game to prepare for. Whenever that decision is made it’s made.”
The current situation has also not changed his outlook on the business of college football.
“Before all of this happened when I was being recruited my father told me you have to make the best decision for you,” White said. “You have to wake up every morning and get up and do the running. If you’re not happy why go?
“My little brother is a senior in high school and he has to make a decision coming up pretty soon,” White said. “All I can tell him is to make the best decision for you and nobody else.”
Briefly:
What is the best way to attack Oklahoma’s defense?
“Just try and out run them, I don’t know?” White said. “Execute I guess and play Mountaineer football – that’s all we can do. We can’t go outside of what we know.”
Some reporters have suggested to White that Oklahoma is susceptible to the pass because a couple of starters in the secondary are out. White wouldn’t take the bait.
“We can’t sit there and run the ball a million times and we can’t sit there and throw the ball a million times,” he said. “We have to be balanced. We can’t make many mistakes and expect to beat them.”
“Steve is excited for this game and I’m sure he’s going to show up – what you all call the old Steve Slaton,” White said.
White says Slaton has done things this year that go far beyond the numbers he’s posted on the stat sheets.
“I have heard him ask the coaches if he could block more,” White said. “He’s not the biggest guy in the world. He’s 5-9, 5-10 and a buck 90 and to want to lead on an iso and block a linebacker says a lot about his competitive nature.”
“That’s the first I’ve heard of that,” White laughed. “Is there a glitch in the game or something? I hear a lot of people playing West Virginia because of the option and it’s hard to stop. I don’t really play video games.”
