Alric is Alright
September 01, 2008 01:17 PM | General
September 1, 2008
EAST CAROLINA RELEASE
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Alric Arnett got the confidence boost he needed when the West Virginia offense returned to the field for its second possession with the ball resting at the Villanova 24 yard line.
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| Alric Arnett celebrates his second touchdown catch during West Virginia's 48-21 victory over Villanova on Saturday at Milan Puskar Stadium.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks photo |
West Virginia quarterback Pat White told Arnett to be ready for a heater low and away on the post.
“When we broke the huddle after coming on the field Pat said he was coming to me,” Arnett said. “He told me when he saw the pre-snap read that I could beat my guy and Pat delivered a great ball and I just made a play on it.”
In fact, Alric Arnett’s first two catches as a Mountaineer went for touchdowns – perhaps some kind of record. Arnett’s second TD grab later in the second quarter went for 34 yards, also on a post but not quite the same pattern.
Not since Brandon Myles in 2006, and before that Chris Henry in 2004, has West Virginia possessed a lanky receiver with the speed and athletic ability capable of stretching the field and keeping defenses honest.
Arnett was supposed to do this last year after coming to West Virginia from Scottsdale (Ariz.) Community College but a thumb injury during fall camp eventually required surgery that prematurely ended his 2007 season.
“It was a long year but you just have to be patient,” Arnett said after Saturday’s 48-21 victory over Villanova. “Everything happens for a reason and when your number is called you’ve got to take advantage of it. Last year it wasn’t meant for me to play. It wasn’t my year. This year coming out in my first game and catching two touchdowns, I guess that was what was planned for me.”
West Virginia coach Bill Stewart kept bringing up Arnett’s name during preseason camp and the praise now appears warranted. Arnett caught four passes for a team-best 70 yards against Villanova as one of eight first-time starters for the Mountaineers.
Arnett’s first TD grab was a pretty, sliding catch in the end zone where he had secure the ball against his body and roll over before the football hit the turf. The second touchdown was an easier grab, but he still had to get his feet right to keep from stepping past the end line in the end zone.
In all, White threw six times to Arnett with one of those misses a catch Arnett could have made down the far sideline running a streak pattern. It would have been an above average catch for Arnett, but it is one Mountaineer wide receivers are now expected to make.
That’s because West Virginia’s wide outs are being asked to do more than just block downfield and catch an occasional bubble screen.
“With the new offense we knew we were going to get some passes,” Arnett said. “Like they always told us, ‘If we’re going to throw the ball around you’ve got to run around and catch it.’ That’s basically it. I just took it and ran with it and tried to take advantage of every opportunity that I got.”
Arnett said after Saturday’s game that it may take a few games of production from the wide receivers before opposing defenses truly respect West Virginia’s passing game.
“It’s not going to happen this early,” Arnett said. “We’ve got to do it a little bit more. Some teams are still going to load the box because we’ve got the greatest one-two punch in college football in Pat White and Noel Devine. Once those guys start loading the box on those guys that’s when we’re going to try and hit you over the top and across the middle.”
And that’s no problem, says West Virginia’s head man Bill Stewart.
“If they put nine people in the box we’re going to throw the football,” Stewart said. “That’s the only thing I know how to do. I don’t know how to run with nine guys in the box. I’m not that smart.”
Stewart said the plan going into the Villanova game was to run 65 percent of the time and pass 35 percent of the time. It turned out to be the opposite.
“We wanted to get these guys involved in case they load the box like they have in the past so we don’t get caught short handed and try and run 5 every single time,” Stewart said.
Arnett referenced the Oklahoma game as a perfect example of what the passing game can do to a defense dead-set on stopping the run.
“We saw when we threw the ball against Oklahoma in the bowl game how we can beat people over the top,” Arnett said. “Villanova just gave us some soft coverages and we knew we could play action with Noel and just throw it and let us make plays.”
It’s probably more than Arnett bargained for when he came to West Virginia and the Mountaineers were predominantly a run-first, pass-third football program.
When Arnett saw the cut-ups of all those bubble screens did he get the impression that he went to the wrong place?
“I knew we were going to run the ball but I didn’t think that,” Arnett said.
“Not really.”
Briefly:
That was a year ago when Casteel’s unit had trouble stopping Western Michigan.
This year, the Mountaineer defense surrendered 399 yards of offense and 21 points to Villanova in the 2008 opener. The Wildcats were 8 of 14 on third down.
In the 2006 opener, Marshall had 322 yards of offense against the Mountaineers.
As it turns out, the Villanova performance was not unusual for season-opening opponents.
What would be unusual is if Jeff Casteel’s defense failed to improve during the season. The unit had two returning starters among its top 11 on Saturday (Bill Stewart chose to hold out three-year starting middle linebacker Reed Williams). Four of the five players in the back end were starting for the first time.
Yes, there were guys running open in the secondary last Saturday and yes, Skip Holtz will certainly take some shots down the field against the Mountaineer secondary this weekend.
Casteel and his defensive board of strategy know that. But once those guys in the back end are more comfortable – and the coaches are comfortable that those back-end guys are comfortable – you will see a more aggressive, risk-taking defense.
