Seeking Balance
March 21, 2009 10:12 PM | General
March 22, 2009
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – If you liked what you saw in the Meineke Car Care Bowl then you can expect more of the same in 2009, says West Virginia offensive coordinator Jeff Mullen.
 |
||
| Noel Devine rushed for 1,289 yards and averaged 6.3 yards per carry as a sophomore in 2008.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks photo |
The Mountaineers exploited all areas of the field by passing for 332 yards and rolling up 455 yards of offense in a 31-30 victory over North Carolina. It was easily West Virginia’s best passing performance of the year, and one of the best since Marc Bulger was quarterbacking the Mountaineers in the late 1990s.
In the past, West Virginia was known as a run first, run second and pass third offensive team. What Mullen is hoping for is a much more balanced offense in 2009.
“Every offensive coordinator I think would lie to you if they didn’t say if they finished the game with 200 yards rushing and 200 yards passing you’d take it and run every time because you become a much harder team to defend,” said Mullen. “If you are one dimensional at some point you’re going to get stopped and we’re trying to put ourselves into a position to where we can win every football game - or at least give our kids a chance to be successful in every football game.”
Mullen believes statistics widely skewed toward either the run or the pass will not accomplish that objective.
“The more we can come to the middle the better we will be. From East Carolina to North Carolina I saw a lot of growth each week and I was really proud of how our kids hung together through what was perceived to be some difficult times, and yet we still found a way to win nine games and get better each week while doing it,” Mullen said.
There will be plenty of new faces that Mullen and his offensive staff must work into the mix. Under center will be senior Jarrett Brown, who patiently spent three years biding his time backing up Pat White. Brown will also be working behind a rebuilt offensive line that must replace three key performers from last year in Ryan Stanchek, Greg Isdaner and Mike Dent.
“With our offensive line, last year Mike Dent, Greg Isdaner and Ryan Stanchek did not go through spring practice because of injuries. This year we’ve got to replace those guys, but at least we’ve got a group of kids who are going to be together and be able to grow from this point until our first football game,” Mullen said. “That’s going to be fun to watch those guys. That’s an area that we’ve got to address and demand that we get good play out of.”
Mullen believes there is returning talent available there in Donny Barclay, Eric Jobe, Selvish Capers and Josh Jenkins, who all saw action last year. But it is imperative that a working rotation of at least eight offensive linemen can be developed by the end of spring drills.
“You’ve got to start somewhere and we’re not going to change the kind of runs we do. We’re going to demand those guys do them. We’re not going to change what pass protections we do. We’re going to demand those guys do them,” Mullen said. “It doesn’t affect how we call plays or systematically design plays. Skill positions kind of direct your attention to that. This guy has to touch it in this space and that guy has got to have that many throws … that kind of stuff.”
Of course most of the attention is going to be focused on Brown, who is replacing the school’s winningest quarterback in White. Surprisingly, Mullen believes Brown’s and White’s skill sets are very similar.
“I don’t see drastic change within the system with what you will see with him at quarterback,” Mullen said. “I think we will be able to get under center a little bit more. He’s taller.”
Mullen is beginning to see in Brown a much more polished quarterback after having spent an entire year studying the offense.
“It was harder for Pat because he had to kind of learn it along the way. I’ve often said I wish I could have had Pat for five years and not five months. Fortunately I get Jarrett for two and it’s been fun,” Mullen said. “It’s been fun to watch him grow from last year at this time to this year at this time. This time last year he was playing basketball and we didn’t have him at the start of spring football. He’s certainly grown.”
According to Mullen, getting another quarterback ready behind Brown will be important. Bradley Starks will continue to take quarterback reps when he is finally cleared for unrestricted work, and White’s younger brother, Coley, will also get a lot of QB reps this spring.
“Bradley Starks is one of the smartest kids we’ve got. He knows two different wide receiver positions and he also knows the quarterback position. We’ll always have him as a guy who can get us out of a game if we need him to,” Mullen explained. “Clearly we’re a better offense if he can go line up out there at wideout. You want to talk about a kid who grew each week. It was fun to watch his growth and it’s going to be fun when he gets 100 percent healthy next fall.”
Noel Devine returns as West Virginia’s offensive headliner. He rushed for 1,289 yards and averaged 6.3 yards per carry, but his four rushing touchdowns were 13 fewer than Steve Slaton scored in 2007. Getting into the end zone and getting those tough yards on third down is one of the team’s primary objectives in the running game this spring.
West Virginia will benefit from having its entire offensive staff returning intact. Mullen said all five coaches in the offensive meeting room now know the entire offense and what each offensive play call is designed to do.
“Last year our coaches were learning on the fly,” he said. “Now I’m going to have the ability to let Lonnie (Galloway) and Chris (Beatty) call skelly and let Dave (Johnson) call inside drill so on game day we’ll all be better.”
