Anonymous Standout
May 30, 2007 06:38 PM | General
May 30, 2007
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University junior offensive lineman Ryan Stanchek says blocking for dual Heisman Trophy candidates Steve Slaton and Patrick White has its obvious advantages.
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| Junior Ryan Stanchek is West Virginia's most experienced returning offensive lineman.
Pete Emerson photo |
“I’m not anonymous when I’m with Pat or Steve,” he laughed. “When I’m not with them people might think I’m just another fat kid walking around ... I guess?”
Well, not exactly.
Stanchek is the most experienced piece to a retooled offensive line that will do its best this year to get along without Rimington Award-winning center Dan Mozes and coaching Svengali Rick Trickett. Stanchek says new offensive line coach Greg Frey has come in and picked right up where Trickett left off.
“He’s a great coach and he’s taught us a lot so far and I’m really excited to work with him throughout camp and the rest of my career here,” Stanchek said.
Stanchek’s value to the team can’t be overstated. Because he has played both guard and tackle during his career he could conceivably play four different positions this fall if the need arises. If he had his choice, however, he would prefer to remain at tackle.
“It’s more one on one,” he explained, noting too that his best chance at pro football is probably at guard because of his size. “You’re usually going against a defensive end but that can change if a linebacker blitzes. I like that.”
Stanchek also likes the fact that once again West Virginia is the talk of the college football world. Many are predicting another Top 10 season for the Mountaineers with some predicting even greater things.
“I think it’s good to have high expectations,” Stanchek said. “I think Coach Rod has said that. I think the guys expect to have those expectations every year now. We just need to have a great summer.”
A great summer for Stanchek means dropping a few pounds and getting down to his spread-offense playing weight of 290-295. He says fall camp will be an important time for a young offensive line to work together and gel. That group could be made up of Stanchek and Jake Figner at tackles, Greg Isdaner and freshman Eric Rodemoyer at guards, and Mike Dent at center. However, Coach Rich Rodriguez has said repeatedly that he won’t give out a depth chart until a couple of days before the season opener against Western Michigan on Sept. 1, meaning the starting five up front is fluid.
Because of injuries, several younger players got a lot of work at offensive line last spring. It may have slowed down the offense’s progress and aggravated the coaching staff to a degree, but Stanchek sees a silver lining in it.
“It was a great experience for the young guys and (left guard) Greg Isdaner is a great player and I think he’s going to come right back where he left off,” Stanchek said. “He’s very intelligent and he’s not going to miss a beat. And from the aspect of the younger guys getting in there, that’s going to help a lot.”
As will Stanchek, who has played a big part in West Virginia’s unprecedented success the last two years. Stanchek admits he enjoys reading about White, Slaton and Owen Schmitt in the newspapers. That means he’s doing his job.
"That’s pretty much our statistics,” he said. “We can’t score touchdowns. When we see Steve, Pat or Owen succeed – just the whole offense – that is meaningful to us. When we’re ranked No. 2 in the nation in rushing that is something we thrive on and hopefully we can continue to do that.”
In order to do so, a young offensive line is going to have to grow up quickly this fall.
“Myself, Jake Figner, Mike Dent and John Bradshaw … we don’t have any seniors so it’s kind of a unique perspective for us because we’re juniors and everybody kind of looks up to you,” Stanchek said. “I don’t think it’s changed that much -- I’m not one of those guys who likes to talk a lot. I just try to lead by example.”
Leading by example also means that the versatile Stanchek knows he’s on call.
“It’s a cliché but I’ll do whatever the team needs me to do,” Stanchek said. “I love tackle and I’m a guard also. I think it helps the line that I can play either position and as long as we’ve got the best five guys out there I’ll play anywhere.”
Stanchek has no second-thoughts about his choice of attending West Virginia University, turning down offers from North Carolina State, Northwestern and hometown Cincinnati.
“I loved West Virginia’s family atmosphere and to this day I’m glad I made the right decision. We’re a great team, I love the people here and I love the West Virginia family. They say it’s a West Virginia football family and it truly is – it’s not just on the front of a t-shirt,” Stanchek said.
Being on bowl-winning teams the last two years are memories he says he will always cherish.
“It’s awesome playing for a perennial Top 10 team in the country. It’s also neat playing in a great offense,” he explained. “It’s amazing to see the coaches that have come in here – the hundreds of coaches that have come here to study what we’re doing. I think it’s great that Coach Rod does that. It’s a fun system.”
It’s also fun returning home to Cincinnati where his parents own a restaurant/pub called Abbys that has its fair share of Ohio State Buckeye supporters. Abbys also has a growing collection of Ryan Stanchek’s West Virginia Mountaineer memorabilia.
“The West Virginia fans and alumni from that area usually meet up there before we play at Cincinnati. We’ve got a lot of backers and a lot of people rooting for me,” he said.
There’s no doubt Abbys will be jam-packed with Mountaineers on Saturday, Nov. 17, when WVU faces Cincinnati. That’s one place where Ryan Stanchek is not anonymous.
