Quarterback Troika
March 21, 2007 10:36 AM | General
March 21, 2007
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – For all of his experience coaching at different levels, West Virginia’s Rich Rodriguez admits he’s never had this many proven quarterbacks to work with at the same time.
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| Adam Bednarik estimates he's about 85 percent recovered from last year's shoulder surgery.
Bill Amatucci photo |
Of course, junior Patrick White will be on everyone’s Heisman Trophy list, the Daphne, Ala., native almost single-handedly winning last year’s Gator Bowl game against Georgia Tech. His 15-2 record as a starter is unmatched in WVU history.
Sophomore Jarrett Brown has Vince Young-like measurables and his 244-yard, two-touchdown performance against No. 13 Rutgers last December saved the season for West Virginia.
And then there is Adam Bednarik, who once shared the starting quarterback job with White and actually won his first career start at the Carrier Dome before injuries eventually forced him to the sidelines.
“These guys were in big games – huge games,” said new quarterbacks coach Rod Smith. “I don’t think there is any other program in the country that has three guys that have won ballgames as a starter. If there is I’d like to know who they are.”
What makes all three so special, beyond their enormous God-given talents, is their willingness to place the team ahead of themselves.
“They are as good a young men as you can have so that helps,” Rodriguez said. “They’re team players. Now obviously they all have individual goals but those three guys are so well respected not only because of what they can do but who they are.”
And while sophomore Jarrett Brown is West Virginia’s future, White and Bednarik are two key ingredients to the present.
It is difficult to imagine a West Virginia offense without White under center, but Bednarik wasn’t exactly chopped liver when he was running the show early in 2005. The Bethlehem, Pa., native was 5-1 as a starter before going down with an ankle injury in the Louisville game. After that he injured his throwing shoulder.
Bednarik says it’s not unusual for college football’s best programs to have more than one good quarterback on its roster.
“When you’re playing for a top program like this you’re going to get top athletes and top players,” he explained. “For all three of us to have game experience like we do is a big luxury to have.”
White agrees.
“That game experience makes a big difference,” he said.
After two shoulder surgeries and another major setback last spring, Bednarik is looking more and more like his old self. Rodriguez has made it a point after just about every practice this spring to comment on Bednarik’s progress.
“Adam is coming along real well,” Coach Rod said. “He’s probably getting more confidence in his arm. Obviously he knows mentally what he can do and physically he’s looked better each and every day.”
“I would say I’m anywhere from 75 to 85 percent,” Bednarik said. “It’s just one of those things where I’m just working on getting my full strength back. As far as pain with the shoulder it feels good.”
White says having Bednarik back out on the field has been beneficial to everyone.
“It’s good for him to get back onto the field and it’s also good for the program,” White said. “We have three decent quarterbacks and all of us can go in there and get the job done.”
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| Rod Smith |
Rod Smith says his job with those three is really very simple … “not to screw them up,” he joked. “Sometimes you’ve just got to let them play. We’ve got three good ones and we’re going to keep working them and getting them to play at the highest level.”
Smith plans to build on what former quarterbacks coach Bill Stewart has taught WVU quarterbacks the last six years.
“We’re doing a lot of fundamental work,” Smith said. “Coach Stewart has done a tremendous job with these guys. There is not much to do with them. They set the foundation: I’m just working on techniques and fundamental things to get them to understand the game of football.”
Smith has been equally pleased with what has taken place so far in the film room.
“They are absorbing a lot,” said the first-year WVU coach. “Sometimes you see them make mistakes and you know they know but it didn’t trigger fast enough. There is still some information being processed. They are willing to learn; they ask questions and they ask the right questions. They don’t give you the right answers all the time but they’re doing a good job.”
Everyone aggress that having three good quarterbacks makes it a lot easier to get the most out of the guy at the top of the depth chart.
“You don’t want them loafing or relaxing,” Smith said. “You want to keep them on edge. Coach Rodriguez obviously does a good job of that. My job is to kind of filter that.
“If he’s going to get on them I’ve got to be the guy that kind of coaches them on the side,” Smith explained. “If he’s not ripping them then I’ll rip them so you kind of have to work your way through it. You just coach them – that’s what they want anyway.”
Rodriguez is known as one of college football’s most innovative coaches so don’t be surprised if he has something special up his sleeve for West Virginia’s three special quarterbacks.
“Heck, everybody knows how good Pat is and certainly they now know how good Jarrett is, but Adam is one of the better athletes on the team,” Rodriguez said. “We’ll have to come up with some creative ways to get all three of them involved. That’s our job to do that over the summer.”
If Rodriguez is successful in doing that, it’s a possibility that the Mountaineers could have as many as four quarterbacks on the field at the same time if you also count converted wide receiver Nate Sowers.
And that will certainly get people’s attention.
