X Marks the Spot
August 29, 2007 02:39 PM | General
August 29, 2007
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| Alric Arnett | Eddie Davis | Dorrell Jalloh | Will Johnson | Wes Lyons |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – A mystery wrapped inside an enigma – that’s what the outside wide receiver position has been to West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez this fall. Injuries and inexperience have forced the veteran coach to sort through his depth chart like a deck of cards.
Even as late as Tuesday afternoon Rodriguez wasn’t sure which two will be out on the field Saturday afternoon for the season opener against Western Michigan. However, he does see improvement.
“I think our receivers are starting to develop a little bit,” Rodriguez said. “I think Dorrell Jalloh has come around. He is a guy that we have a lot of confidence in and he’s played a lot. Obviously we’ve got Tito (Gonzales) playing Z. I think we have some weapons but they’re the same weapons we had last year.”
Junior Darius Reynaud is a proven commodity in the slot. Last year he caught a team-best 39 passes with 520 yards and two touchdowns. His ability to take a pass or reverse at the line of scrimmage and go a long way has made him a formidable threat in his own right.
What Rodriguez is looking for is another receiver on the outside capable of complimenting Reynaud much like Brandon Myles did last year. The ideal candidate is someone standing about 6-4 with hands of glue that can run like the wind.
Does West Virginia have another player capable of stepping up and filling Myles’ role?
“It’s probably been Jalloh,” said Rodriguez. “He can play every receiver position and he’s made a few catches and done a few things that have given us a lot of confidence in him. Outside of that the X position is wide open. Other than Jalloh I don’t know who the second guy is?”
Several players are auditioning for the job including converted running back Eddie Davis, who is one of the fastest players on the team.
“The one thing Eddie has is his speed,” Rodriguez said. “I don’t know if Eddie wanted to make that move full time. I think he was kind of half committed to it and now I think he realizes that it is his opportunity to get on the field more.”
Each day Rodriguez says he’s seeing more and more from Davis, a 6-foot, 180-pound redshirt freshman.
“He can stretch the field and he’s one of the fastest guys on the team so that in itself will give us a dimension,” Rodriguez said. “He’s got enough ability to help us.”
Rodriguez hopes Davis can progress in the coming days and provide a pass-catching threat on the outside to loosen up defenses.
“I get frustrated and Coach (Tony) Dews gets frustrated because we want his progress to go faster because we know he can help us out there,” Rodriguez said. “He can be a threat when somebody goes one on one and he can run right by them. We’re still patient with him but I think it’s a move that will benefit us and him in the long run.”
There are plenty of others still in the mix on the outside, but Rodriguez wants to see more consistency from them in practice.
“It’s not an indictment on their intelligence and ability, I just think it’s a matter of one, being healthy and two, them having enough confidence in what we’re doing,” Rodriguez said. “It’s been pretty simple what we’ve done package wise for them to learn it.”
Junior college transfer Alric Arnett and sophomore Wes Lyons have spent a good portion of fall camp in the training room, and true freshman Will Johnson has a great deal of ability but has yet to play in front of 60,000 people.
“Alric Arnett hasn’t practice because he’s been hurt and he has a chance to help. There is some ability there and this is going to be a big week for us to see if anybody else besides the ones we know can emerge,” Rodriguez said.
“Wes is a smart guy and he knows what we’re doing but you’ve got to take reps and when you take reps you’ve got to show a few things,” Rodriguez said. “We’re not just going to put you out there. I’m anxious to see what Wes does this week.”
Rodriguez is hopeful one of them will step up and be able to win some one on one match ups on the outside to open up the field for Steve Slaton and Patrick White.
“The key is will we be able to execute and can we spread the wealth so to speak when they defend everybody in the box against Steve and Patrick,” Rodriguez said.
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