First Snap
August 28, 2007 03:08 PM | General
August 28, 2007
 |
||
| Mike Dent |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – As you settle in for West Virginia’s season opener Saturday afternoon against Western Michigan, take a close look at who settles over the football to fire the season’s first snap back to Patrick White.
Gone is four-year starter and Rimington Award winning center Dan Mozes. In his place steps junior Mike Dent. While the loss of a consensus All-American at center might seem frightening to a lot of Mountaineer fans, Dent has learned a lot from Mozes over his first three years in the program, serving as Mozes’ backup the last two seasons.
“Mozes is just that type of guy that has good poise and if he would mess up or something he wouldn’t let it bother him,” Dent said. “That’s probably one of the most important things I learned from him, the importance of just going to the next play.”
The center serves as the anchor of the offensive line and makes the calls to the rest of the linemen when the defense makes adjustments. Dent describes his responsibilities as he sets up over the football.
“As soon as I get on the line I’ve got to call the defense out. After you get the play then you’ve got to make your calls,” Dent said. “When you put your head down and lift it back up and (the defense) is stemming or moving you’ve got to change your calls and get ready to snap the ball and then get after somebody.”
What Dent didn’t say is that all of this is happening in a matter of seconds. That’s why Mozes, arguably the best Mountaineer center of all-time, was snapping pop ups to Adam Bednarik on his own team’s goal line at Maryland the first time he was asked to do it a couple of years ago.
Dent admits that while it’s a trying task, he has used the spring and summer to prepare himself and he plans to continue to fine tune his skills right up until game time on Saturday.
“I still have a few days so I need to continue to get crisper and work on getting everyone to communicate a little more quickly down the line,” Dent said. “I feel like come game time I will be ready for that. I am excited to get out there.”
The Jeannette, Pa., native admits that he will be battling nerves as he approaches his first career start.
“I’ll be nervous no matter what. I’m always nervous before games,” Dent said. “I feel like if you’re not a little bit nervous you shouldn’t be playing. I just have to make sure I don’t get too nervous.”
Dent understands that a major key to the position is the ability to control your emotions under pressure. Getting too fired up, too nervous, or too down on yourself can lead to over thinking and trying to do too much on the field.
“If you lose your poise and your focus you might start calling out stuff you don’t need to call out. A big part of playing center is always keeping your poise out there,” Dent said.
Dent says one factor that helps him stay calm and relaxed on the field is the steady, take-charge demeanor of his starting quarterback.
“He makes me feel really comfortable out there because he always tells me to calm down,” Dent said. “He basically takes control out there and helps a lot of guys by getting everybody calm and keeping everybody focused on the next play.”
Another calming factor for any offensive lineman is simply having White and Steve Slaton behind them. You don’t exactly have to pancake your man to give those two an alley to run through.
“Having guys back there that have played as much as Steve and Pat and that have a vision for the field and the open field like they do makes the job of the offensive line a lot easier,” Dent said. “You just get on your block and nine out of 10 times they are going to make you right. It helps out a lot.”
Dent says that Western Michigan’s defensive front is very similar to what West Virginia employs, making game preparation for his first start slightly easier than it might otherwise be.
“We’ve been watching a lot of film on Western Michigan. They play a lot of even and they can get into an odd situation too,” Dent said. “That’s what we run so we go against that everyday and it has helped preparation a lot.”
Dent got a chance to talk to Mozes this past weekend. During a brief conversation his former mentor gave him a meaningful vote of confidence.
“He just told me to stay focused and get prepared and to take this week and work as hard as I can,” Dent said.
More than anything, Dent is simply excited for his first Division I start. He will cherish the opportunity to run out of the tunnel in front of 60,000 fans and finally go against someone other than his teammates.
“I’m ready to hit someone else,” Dent said. “You’ve got to get prepared every day and get ready to face someone else and I think everyone on the offensive line is ready to face someone else.
“I’m excited for that.”
Just as Mountaineer fans everywhere are excited to see that first snap of 2007 fired back to Pat White.
