Work in Progress
April 17, 2007 09:15 AM | General
April 17, 2007
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – When it comes to sophomore wide receiver Wes Lyons, West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez hopes the time is soon when potential meets production.
 |
||
| Wes Lyons has the talent and ability to be a big-league pass catcher in Rich Rodriguez's no-huddle, spread offense.
Bill Amatucci, Sr. photo |
Lyons, a 6-foot-8-inch, 215-pound, North Braddock, Pa., resident, has the measurables to be a big-time pass catcher in Rodriguez’ no-huddle offense. Lyons doesn’t quite possess Chris Henry’s pure speed or the competitiveness yet of a Brandon Myles, but he’s learning.
And Lyons has the talent to be a major factor in the passing game anywhere on the field – not just down on the goal line.
“Just because you’re tall doesn’t mean you’re ready,” said Rodriguez. “He’s got to work harder to get ready and hopefully he’ll do that this summer.”
Lyons is one of several young players Rodriguez says needs to make a 100 percent commitment this summer to getting better during the developmental season under strength coach Mike Barwis.
“Wes has got some talent and it’s important to him but it’s time for Wes to take the next step,” Rodriguez said.
Translation: Give maximum effort and pay attention to detail on every single snap.
“I had my ups and downs; some days I came out there and I felt like practicing and other days I came out there dragging,” Lyons admitted. “I motivated myself just to practice.”
Lyons has never had any problems when the lights are on. The Woodland Hills High standout caught 62 passes for 1,100 yards and 13 touchdowns as a senior in 2005, earning Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Fabulous 22 and Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Terrific 25 honors. Ohio State’s Jim Tressel doesn’t spend a couple hours in your house before signing day if you don’t have talent.
Mountaineer fans caught a glimpse of Lyons’ talent in the Gold-Blue Spring game earlier this month. He finished the scrimmage with three catches for 76 yards, including a 46-yard touchdown pass from Adam Bednarik.
Lyons admits it was hard to remain focused during the spring when there were no games to look forward to on the weekend.
“The games are fun. That’s how it’s meant to be. Practice is practice. You practice hard and you’re supposed to practice to work up to the games,” he said.
And there in lies the conundrum. Rodriguez has never issued free passes for playing time. You earn it in the spring and you earn it on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
“Everybody wanted us to throw the ball to him all of the time last year. Last time I checked the rules if we did the passes would be incomplete because he was standing next to me half the time on the sidelines,” Rodriguez said.
“There were some days when Wes did really well and some days when Wes didn’t do as well as we’d like,” Rodriguez said. “This was his first spring so I think he’s still maturing in his role of what we want. He’s got talent; he’s a good guy and he’ll work hard.”
Rodriguez says it’s not about laziness or an unwillingness to work -- it’s simply a matter of Lyons not yet fully realizing the way West Virginia players are expected to work every day.
The same can be said for the entire receiving corps. Rodriguez says the group still has plenty of room for improvement.
“We’ve got four-five wide receivers coming in and all of them are going to have a chance to break the receiver rotation right now,” he said. “If Coach Magee and I are going to call the plays we’ve got to have some viable pass receiving options.”
Ever since Rodriguez arrived at West Virginia he has been looking for the balance needed to make his run-heavy offense completely unstoppable. The delay has always been getting those three or four big-league playmakers out on the perimeter to compliment the playmakers he has always had in the backfield.
The perfect balance in Rodriguez’s world would be 250 yards rushing and 250 yards passing. Lyons is confident that West Virginia’s receivers will eventually hold up their end of the deal this fall.
“We can pass the ball. We can do whatever we want,” he said. “Certain teams may feel that we can’t pass the ball and I guess we’ll have to prove them wrong. We’ve got three good quarterbacks who can throw the ball.”
And Lyons could be a significant player in West Virginia’s passing game in 2007 provided he does what it takes this summer to improve his overall game. He says he will.
“I just have to work hard, get stronger and get better in every aspect.”
