Face of the Offense
July 28, 2008 10:15 AM | General
July 28, 2008
 |
||
| Jeff Mullen |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – First-year West Virginia offensive coordinator Jeff Mullen is not planning a lot of changes when the team begins fall camp this Saturday. He said last week that the face of the offense will continue to be quarterback Pat White.
“It’s Pat White’s offense,” Mullen said. “We are going to do what he likes doing and we’re going to call plays that he likes called because at the end of the day when he plays fast and he knows what he’s doing he’s a dangerous kid and that’s what we want.”
According to Mullen, the most important thing for him will be to resist the urge of overusing his star quarterback and keeping the West Virginia offense as balanced as possible.
“We’re not trying to get him killed,” Mullen said. “We’ve got to spread the wealth a little bit, and I think Pat’s excited about that part of our offense as well.”
In an effort to bring more balance to the offense and improve the passing game, the coaching staff tried two major experiments during the spring and both should pay dividends this fall. Redshirt freshman quarterback Bradley Starks was moved to wide receiver to take advantage of his great speed and athletic ability, and wide receiver Will Johnson was moved to the H-back or the hybrid position, meaning he could line up at tight end, fullback or split end.
“(Starks) has done a great job and he’s very excited about contributing there this fall,” Mullen said. “And Will Johnson was a find – we put him inside in the core in the front seven to be a fullback, tight end, H – that type of guy. He had a great spring and he will continue to play there for us this fall.”
The other part of the offense that has Mullen brimming with confidence is the experience and depth the Mountaineers have along the offensive line. All five guys that will be out there in the opener against Villanova have major experience.
“A lot of people talk about Pat White and they should because he is the face of our program,” Mullen said. “But at the end of the day it’s the five guys up front. And that’s the way it is in every offense. We are blessed to have five fifth-year seniors and some older guys – some fourth-year juniors and some third-year sophomores who have gone out there and played on Saturday afternoons in front of a lot of people.
“They are experienced and tough and physical and mean and they’re ours and I’m excited,” Mullen added. “If you are going to be a run football team it starts up front and we’re very fortunate to have a great group of offensive linemen.”
However, balancing Mullen’s optimism is the task of having to find some depth at running back and at tight end during fall camp.
“We need some depth at tailback,” Mullen said. “The tight end position has always been one that I like to have. We’ve got some fine players there but we can use some added depth at that position as well. I think those would be the two biggest on offense that we would look to add some depth during fall camp.”
The back ups at those two positions most likely will be comprised of young players.
“We’re going to have to really play these young kids only if they are ready and if they show us that they are ready in scrimmage situations against the one defense,” Mullen said. “You get the feel as a football coach whether or not you tell a kid something that you know in your bones that he’s going to do it. It’s a trust that he understands what you are trying to do with the football on that particular play and that he’s going to execute that assignment.”
Mullen is also content with what he’s got to work with at wide receiver.
“We’ve got a lot of old guys there and that makes me feel good,” he said. “They are veteran guys and we will certainly play to their strengths. I expected good players here and that’s what we got. I’ve been very happy with our talent and everything I expected coming in is what it seems to be.”
Briefly:
“We got a lot of it in,” he said. “There are some wrinkles in some of the things we do, but in terms of lining up and our top plays they’ve got a real good feel for what those are.”
“I think our kids picked it up quickly in spring practice and I thought they learned a lot every day,” he said. “We’ve got three weeks with these young guys, some who are true freshmen and some with the junior college kids, and I think in that time we’ll get them ready to go. If we won’t play them, and if they have trouble, we’ll call certain plays that they understand specifically.”
“They’ve been out there working hard for eight straight weeks, they had one week off prior to the Fourth of July, but the four weeks prior and after they’ve been working real hard,” Mullen said. “They are in their last week before we get started on August 2nd. I’ve been happy with what’s been going on this summer. They’ve been adding, too, mentally to what they’ve learned in the spring during the last six weeks, so I’m looking very forward to starting on the second.”
“You learn early on that it’s a team sport. All the credit will go to our staff and of course all of the blame will fall on me and I’m cool with that,” Mullen said. “I knew that coming in. But we have a great staff and a great group of guys that I can lean on, starting with our head football coach. And we got a great group of players.”
Mullen said those 15 practices during the spring and the time the coaching staff spent together was an important step in the process of getting everyone on the same page.
“The good news is we all got hired in the winter,” Mullen said. “I think we all understand what we are trying to do on offense and what everyone’s role is in the system, and I think everyone is comfortable with it.”
Mullen said the coaches have also had an opportunity to bond this summer.
“We’ve had an occasion to get out there and chase the white ball around,” he said. “And clearly over the years that will grow. Lonnie (Galloway) has three young pups but I think that’s about it. Coach Casteel’s son and my son are joined at the hip. My son is now 12.”
