Rock Solid
August 06, 2007 07:35 PM | General
August 6, 2007
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – With a season of starting experience under his belt, Jake Figner enters the 2007 football campaign as a rock of stability at right tackle for the Mountaineers.
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| Junior Jake Figner started all 13 games last season at right tackle.
Dale Sparks/All-Pro Photography |
The junior, who has been through the highs and the lows of the 2006 season, says that the experience of starting every game gives him the piece of mind and the confidence to perform at an even higher level this fall.
“It puts your mind at ease. When I get in a game now, I know I have been there before. I’m not going to have those jitters that you have for the first two or three games starting,” Figner said. “It doesn’t change much in the way of camp or practice because you still have to go out there and earn your spot every day.”
Figner has worked hard to do just that throughout the summer months and the first two days of fall camp. The Fogelsville, Pa., native believes this has been the most productive summer of his Mountaineer career.
“I feel like I had my best summer since I have been here. Every summer that you’re down there with Mike Barwis you’re getting better,” Figner said. “I feel like we’ve worked hard this summer and we have a lot of dedication throughout the team.”
That dedication has shown on the offensive line this summer. The men in the trenches have challenged each other, often staying after workouts to go the extra mile.
“We’d stay after and get some extra work in on occasion whether it be extra lifting or working on our hands or our pass sets,” Figner said. “It kind of affirms that bond of sacrifice, working hard together in the weight room in the off-season.”
Figner is looking forward to seeing how a new-look Mountaineer offensive line works this season. West Virginia must replace a pair of standout performers in all-Big East right guard Jeremy Sheffey and Rimington award-winning center Dan Mozes.
“I definitely feel that the attitude of hard work is still there. It is just a matter of getting that experience together. Last year it was Sheffey and Mozes helping us out because they were the experienced ones,” Figner said. “This year it falls to the juniors to help the new guys get accustomed.”
Junior Mike Dent will step in at center while redshirt freshman Eric Rodemoyer is expected to fill the right guard spot. Figner is confident those two can step up and make the line as productive as past years.
“Judging from the way they worked this summer and their attentiveness in meetings I know they are taking it really seriously,” Figner said. “When game time comes it’s for real. They are doing everything in their power to get ready and I think they are doing a really good job so far.”
Figner says that one factor that has helped the offensive line along throughout the spring and into the summer is the intensity and flare that new position coach Greg Frey brings to the job.
“He is very intense, having been a former offensive lineman. He was on a national championship team at Florida State and he knows what it takes to win it all,” Figner said. “He brings a lot of enthusiasm and gets everybody amped up to perform every day.”
Figner says that while working out with his teammate in the off-season has helped ease the obvious transition that will come this fall the biochemistry major reiterates that there is simply no substitute for game experience.
“Part of it is just the communication and knowing what each other is going to do before the ball is snapped,” Figner said. “You get to the point where you can make a read on a given blitz and you don’t even have to say anything -- you just trust each other to pick it up.”
Figner is encouraged by the fact that all his mates up front will return next season, allowing the current line time to develop a chemistry that should make them a force to be reckoned with over the next couple years.
“It’s definitely nice to know that you’re not going to lose anybody. You get used to playing next to a certain guy and you develop a rapport with him. It adds to the commitment to one another knowing that we’re going to be spending two years together,” Figner said. “We have to be in it for the long haul so we realize it’s important to get on the same page and start working together well.”
Figner is confident that Patrick White, Steve Slaton and Owen Schmitt will also have a hand in lessening the offensive line’s growing pains.
“It’s really nice having guys like that behind you. The raw athleticism back there really helps an offensive line out,” Figner said. “All you have to do is put a hat on a hat and run your feet and those guys can find a way to make a big play out of it.”
Look for plenty more big plays this fall with Jake Figner paving the way.
