Lyons Share
March 29, 2009 08:29 PM | General
March 29, 2009
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Wes Lyons found himself Saturday afternoon in the somewhat awkward position of having to explain a pretty impressive practice. Who was that guy wearing the white number four jersey, someone asked only half jokingly.
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| Senior Wes Lyons is looking to finally enjo0y a breakout year in 2009.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks photo |
To those watching Saturday’s workout, Lyons looked like a cross between Jerry Rice and Harold Carmichael.
“It felt like a high school game,” Lyons explained afterward. “The game has slowed down. College is starting to slow down for me like high school did my senior year. I’m recognizing coverages and recognizing defenses more.
“Now, I’ve just got to stay healthy …”
That has proved to be easier said than done. Lyons has appeared in 37 out of 40 games during his Mountaineer career, but nagging injuries - some more severe than others - have seriously limited his production.
Back in 2006, Lyons was pried away from Ohio State before signing day with the notion that he would personally end the nine-man fronts West Virginia was running into. And when the Mountaineers got into the red zone, the 6-foot-8 Lyons was going to be the guy counted on to make touchdown catches.
For a variety of reasons, it hasn’t quite worked out that way.
Lyons is still searching for his first touchdown catch, and his 22 receptions for 254 yards in three years doesn’t exactly strike fear in the hearts of West Virginia’s opponents.
Yet on Saturday, Lyons looked more like a 254-catch guy than a 22-catch guy. Each time quarterback Jarrett Brown got into trouble near the goal line, his first inclination was to look for Lyons. Twice Brown fired laser beams to Lyons on quick slants for touchdowns. Three other times, Lyons used his height to out-jump defenders for scores.
“If he’s scrambling or he needs somebody to throw it to I just tell him to throw it high and I will go and get it,” Lyons said.
Because Lyons came here with such big expectations, he hasn’t been able to rid himself of some of the more unfortunate labels, namely that he’s injury prone and an underachiever. Lyons thinks he has gotten a bad rap.
“Yeah, I think I get a bad rap for the injuries,” he said. “I don’t think everybody knows that I have been injured.”
His frustration is evident as questioners press the subject.
“It stinks, especially since it happens right at the beginning of the season,” he said. “You get hurt, surgery or whatever at the beginning of the year, and that hurts you all through the season.
“I never got a chance to heal, but finally I am starting to heal up and I can prove myself.”
The people most closely involved with the program say that Lyons is working harder than ever. Now that he is a senior, Lyons realizes the clock is ticking on his career.
“The people most direct with the players are the strength and conditioning coaches and I was told that he has really stepped to the front,” West Virginia coach Bill Stewart said. “We have a player panel and he’s on the player panel for the offensive side of the ball. That’s the highest compliment the coaching staff can give you.”
Added Lyons, “The off season we just had to work hard. It’s there - I’ve just got to stay healthy. I’ve been injured every year so just staying healthy is a big thing for me. That just gives me motivation right there. It’s my senior year and this is my last chance.”
Lyons saw the value of having a great leader like Pat White last year, particularly when the team started out so poorly with road losses at East Carolina and Colorado. This year, Lyons envisions the team having several leaders.
“(White) was a great leader and now we must have a whole bunch of leaders to equal his leadership. I have to step up and be a leader.” Lyons said. “Some of the other seniors have to step up and be leaders – even the underclassmen - because we still have a young team.”
Offensive coordinator Jeff Mullen may have found a bright shaft of light when the decision was made earlier this week to move Lyons to slot receiver. Because Lyons is so big, DBs have an easier target to tie up when he lines up on the outside. In the slot, however, Lyons has more room to use his great size to his advantage. He can work the middle of the field and he can also stretch defenses on deep drags.
“We’re moving Wes all over the place as long as he can handle it mentally,” Stewart said. “(Friday) he caught a big drag coming across the middle. I thought it was a brilliant move from our offensive coaches. Will he step up and make the plays? We’ll see this spring.”
Mullen is seeing signs that Lyons can.
“We have to find a way to get Wes on the field. We played him at two or three positions this spring. The last couple days inside at slot he’s really excelled,” Mullen said. “We’re always going to put our best 11 on the football field, and the neat thing is we’re in year two of the passing game and all those wide receivers are returning and they can all play multiple positions without mental errors.”
Now with a year under his belt in this offense, the big picture is beginning to become much clearer to Lyons.
“I think we will be real hard to handle. We’ve got a lot of good formations and a lot of different personnel,” he said. “By the time the season comes around we should all be good at it what we do.”
That includes Wes Lyons, provided he can keep himself out of the training room.
