FIVE GUYS WHO MIGHT SURPRISE
May 30, 2011 12:23 PM | General
We all know about Geno Smith, Tavon Austin, Bruce Irvin, Julian Miller and Keith Tandy. Those five are proven players.
But what about some of the other guys?
After scouring through old spring notes and re-reading the comments of coach Bill Stewart and West Virginia’s two coordinators, Dana Holgorsen and Jeff Casteel, here are five under-the-radar guys who could play an important role in the Mountaineers’ success this fall.
1. Stedman Bailey (outside receiver) – Yeah I know, he’s not exactly under-the-radar, finishing fourth on the team last year with 24 catches, including that pretty, toe-tapping TD grab against Maryland, but Bailey may be primed for a breakout season in 2010. He was consistently praised by the coaching staff for his play during spring drills; he has the best set of hands on the team, and he showed during the spring game that he has the jets to get behind the secondary with touchdown catches of 44, 67 and 47 yards to finish the scrimmage with six catches for 182 yards. Tavon Austin will likely be the No. 1 option in the passing game this fall, but I could also see Bailey being option 1A.
2. Tyler Urban (inside receiver) – When the new coaching staff came in the one guy who appeared to be on the outside looking in was Tyler Urban, a tight end more seemingly suited for run blocking and goal line situations in West Virginia’s old offensive system. Urban’s most productive season came in 2009 when he caught 10 passes for 117 yards and a touchdown, and TD catches against Rutgers and South Florida as a freshman in 2008 helped West Virginia to a pair of important home victories. Yet when Holgorsen took over the offense Urban didn’t really seem to have a home, but he impressed right away with his ability to catch the football in traffic and block down field. The guy weighs 250 pounds and provides a big target for Geno Smith in the passing game, and he can be equally effective consuming much smaller DBs in the running game. In fact, the former tight end played so well that the offensive coaches decided to move Bailey to the outside midway through the spring in order to get Urban more reps at inside receiver.
3. Darwin Cook (bandit safety) – Heading into the spring, redshirt sophomore Darwin Cook was listed No. 1 on the depth chart at bandit safety, and he should be the guy to beat out when fall camp begins in August. Cook, at 5-feet 11, 201 pounds, is not the biggest safety around, and he doesn’t have a lot of prior experience playing in the back end having played defensive end in high school, but he possesses outstanding straight-line speed (a 10.6 guy) and a willingness to mix it up. Last year, Cook appeared in all 13 games, playing mostly on special teams, and defensive coordinator Jeff Casteel repeatedly complimented the work assistant head coach Steve Dunlap has done getting Cook prepared during spring drills. It will be interesting to see how much Cook progresses during fall camp playing Sidney Glover’s old position.
4. Vernard Roberts (running back) – With a new offensive staff comes a clean slate, and nobody benefitted more from having a clean slate than Vernard Roberts, a January enrollee recruited to WVU as a slot receiver. Roberts was forced to sit out his final season of high school in 2010 because he played for Dunbar’s freshman team in 2006 as an eighth grader, so he arrived in Morgantown in the shadows of his twin brother Vance, also a promising prospect. But by the second scrimmage of the spring Roberts was taking the majority of the reps with the first group, and he wound up leading all ball carriers with 64 yards rushing in the spring game. Sophomore Trey Johnson and junior Shawne Alston are by no means out of the RB mix, and those three will also have to fight off a pair of pair of talented freshmen recruits coming in this fall, but the running back position, once considered a big question mark, has become a little more stabilized now.
5. Avery Williams (cornerback) – Veteran defensive backfield coach Dave Lockwood is not afraid to play young corners. He started freshman Keith Tandy in the 2008 Meineke Car Care Bowl and after a tough first half chasing around North Carolina’s Hakim Nicks, Tandy settled down to play a solid second half, helping West Virginia knock off the Tar Heels. Today, Tandy is considered one of the best corners in the Big East. Well, Lockwood may be grooming another lock-down guy in Avery Williams, a January enrollee who showed right away his willingness to get right up on the line of scrimmage and press receivers. Lockwood continually praised his young corner throughout the spring, and Williams may have performed well enough to warrant a serious look at the other corner spot playing opposite of Tandy this fall. Of course, Pat Miller, Brodrick Jenkins and Brantwon Bowser will have a lot to say about that as well.
Stay tuned.
But what about some of the other guys?
After scouring through old spring notes and re-reading the comments of coach Bill Stewart and West Virginia’s two coordinators, Dana Holgorsen and Jeff Casteel, here are five under-the-radar guys who could play an important role in the Mountaineers’ success this fall.
1. Stedman Bailey (outside receiver) – Yeah I know, he’s not exactly under-the-radar, finishing fourth on the team last year with 24 catches, including that pretty, toe-tapping TD grab against Maryland, but Bailey may be primed for a breakout season in 2010. He was consistently praised by the coaching staff for his play during spring drills; he has the best set of hands on the team, and he showed during the spring game that he has the jets to get behind the secondary with touchdown catches of 44, 67 and 47 yards to finish the scrimmage with six catches for 182 yards. Tavon Austin will likely be the No. 1 option in the passing game this fall, but I could also see Bailey being option 1A.
2. Tyler Urban (inside receiver) – When the new coaching staff came in the one guy who appeared to be on the outside looking in was Tyler Urban, a tight end more seemingly suited for run blocking and goal line situations in West Virginia’s old offensive system. Urban’s most productive season came in 2009 when he caught 10 passes for 117 yards and a touchdown, and TD catches against Rutgers and South Florida as a freshman in 2008 helped West Virginia to a pair of important home victories. Yet when Holgorsen took over the offense Urban didn’t really seem to have a home, but he impressed right away with his ability to catch the football in traffic and block down field. The guy weighs 250 pounds and provides a big target for Geno Smith in the passing game, and he can be equally effective consuming much smaller DBs in the running game. In fact, the former tight end played so well that the offensive coaches decided to move Bailey to the outside midway through the spring in order to get Urban more reps at inside receiver.
3. Darwin Cook (bandit safety) – Heading into the spring, redshirt sophomore Darwin Cook was listed No. 1 on the depth chart at bandit safety, and he should be the guy to beat out when fall camp begins in August. Cook, at 5-feet 11, 201 pounds, is not the biggest safety around, and he doesn’t have a lot of prior experience playing in the back end having played defensive end in high school, but he possesses outstanding straight-line speed (a 10.6 guy) and a willingness to mix it up. Last year, Cook appeared in all 13 games, playing mostly on special teams, and defensive coordinator Jeff Casteel repeatedly complimented the work assistant head coach Steve Dunlap has done getting Cook prepared during spring drills. It will be interesting to see how much Cook progresses during fall camp playing Sidney Glover’s old position.
4. Vernard Roberts (running back) – With a new offensive staff comes a clean slate, and nobody benefitted more from having a clean slate than Vernard Roberts, a January enrollee recruited to WVU as a slot receiver. Roberts was forced to sit out his final season of high school in 2010 because he played for Dunbar’s freshman team in 2006 as an eighth grader, so he arrived in Morgantown in the shadows of his twin brother Vance, also a promising prospect. But by the second scrimmage of the spring Roberts was taking the majority of the reps with the first group, and he wound up leading all ball carriers with 64 yards rushing in the spring game. Sophomore Trey Johnson and junior Shawne Alston are by no means out of the RB mix, and those three will also have to fight off a pair of pair of talented freshmen recruits coming in this fall, but the running back position, once considered a big question mark, has become a little more stabilized now.
5. Avery Williams (cornerback) – Veteran defensive backfield coach Dave Lockwood is not afraid to play young corners. He started freshman Keith Tandy in the 2008 Meineke Car Care Bowl and after a tough first half chasing around North Carolina’s Hakim Nicks, Tandy settled down to play a solid second half, helping West Virginia knock off the Tar Heels. Today, Tandy is considered one of the best corners in the Big East. Well, Lockwood may be grooming another lock-down guy in Avery Williams, a January enrollee who showed right away his willingness to get right up on the line of scrimmage and press receivers. Lockwood continually praised his young corner throughout the spring, and Williams may have performed well enough to warrant a serious look at the other corner spot playing opposite of Tandy this fall. Of course, Pat Miller, Brodrick Jenkins and Brantwon Bowser will have a lot to say about that as well.
Stay tuned.
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