DALLAS - I’m sure there were many times back in the 1980s and 1990s when West Virginia faced Penn State and Miami on an annual basis that people frequently wondered why the Nittany Lions and Hurricanes were always so good year after year.
Of course, getting good football players is a big reason why it happened.
Program stability is another factor, naturally. And right along those lines, having older, more mature players showing the younger guys the ropes can also play a big role in a football program’s continued success.
Take Penn State’s Linebacker U. tradition, for instance, where Dennis Onkotz got things started in 1968 and soon after that Jack Ham came along, and then Greg Buttle, then later Shane Conlan, Lavar Arrington, Paul Posluszny, Sean Lee and so on.
The tree grew taller and wider, in part, because of the older players helping the younger ones along.
It was the same deal at Miami with all those terrific wide receivers the Hurricanes had, beginning in the mid-1980s with Eddie Brown, Michael Irvin and Brian Blades and continuing with Brett Perriman, Randal Hill, Lamar Thomas, Horace Copeland, Chris T. Jones, Santana Moss, Reggie Wayne, and so on.
One great player led to the next and the next until sheer momentum kept things going.
Well, perhaps a little bit of that is beginning to develop in West Virginia’s secondary where pro players Karl Joseph, K.J. Dillon and Daryl Worley could be opening the door for the next wave of standout players who are waiting in the wings.
Among the next wave of secondary standouts is junior free safety Dravon Askew-Henry, once the No. 1 prospect in Pennsylvania on West Virginia’s recruiting board when the Mountaineers plucked the Aliquippa standout right out from under Pitt’s nose in the winter of 2014.
Immediately, Askew-Henry was thrown into the deep end of the pool by facing top-ranked Alabama in the Chic-fil-A Kickoff Game in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta during his true freshman season - an experience he says he will never forget.
“That one was crazy,” admitted Askew-Henry during last week’s Big 12 media day in downtown Dallas. “I had all type of feelings that game and I didn’t know what to expect. I was nervous, excited - any feeling you can think of I probably had. At the end of the day I knew I was just blessed to be out there.”
Askew-Henry was also blessed to have Karl Joseph around to help him out.
Joseph could see that Askew-Henry had opened up a can of crazy when he was getting his ankles taped before his first college game against the Crimson Tide so he walked over to see how his young buddy was doing.
“What’s up, Dravon, you alright?” Joseph asked. “I can see it in your eyes, you’re looking a little crazy right now.”
From that moment until Joseph was drafted in the first round by the Oakland Raiders last spring, Askew-Henry was Joseph’s shadow.
The two were literally inseparable on and off the field.
“I was his roommate my first year,” said Askew-Henry. “He said he could see greatness in me and I just followed his footsteps by just watching the way he worked and watching the way he prepared for games. When I first got here I did none of that, but now I carry that around with me.
“I just grew up a lot,” Askew-Henry added. “When I first got here I was childish, immature and really didn’t care for film or workouts.”
Askew-Henry is not unlike many young players who begin their college careers - especially highly-touted young players with big expectations hovering over them - so to have an older player around to take them under their wings is really a blessing.
Now, Askew-Henry says it’s time to take all that knowledge he’s gained the last two years playing alongside Joseph, Dillon and Worley and spread it around to the younger guys.
“I will do for them what Karl did for me,” he said. “I will take them under my wings and show them how to watch film and how work ethic will take you a long way and hopefully they follow that.”
Hopefully it does happen, because some very knowledgeable football people believe big things could be in store for the Mountaineers in 2016 if West Virginia can get some consistent play from the back end players it has on defense.
It’s clear from the number of guys returning on offense - the experience WVU has at quarterback and offensive line, and the explosive playmakers coach Dana Holgorsen has assembled at the skill positions - that West Virginia is capable of scoring a lot of points this fall.
And defensively, the Mountaineers appear to have the players up front to hang with the best teams in the Big 12 and the linebacker corps has older, more mature guys manning those three spots to make it a position of strength once again, so that leaves the spotlight pointed directly on those five guys manning the three safety and two corner positions in the back of the defense this fall.
If they can hold up, especially those two corners, a lot of people will be breathing a lot easier this season.
“We’ve got a lot of jucos that came to play corner and (senior) Rasul Douglas and (Miami transfer) Antonio Crawford are here; last year was their first year out there and this offseason I’ve seen them really get out there and try to perfect their technique,” Askew-Henry said. “I feel like this season is going to be a great season for them.”
Askew-Henry believes the other two safety spots will be alright, too, particularly the all-important spur position where Dillon played so effectively last season.
“We’ve got Marvin Gross Jr. in there and now (touted juco safety) Kyzir White is here, plus, Jarrod Harper is back now battling and I feel all three of them can get the job done,” Askew-Henry pointed out. “For them it’s going to be who wants it the most? We’ll find out at the end of camp.”
One other factor that should help West Virginia’s remodeled secondary this year is facing on a daily basis the fleet set of wide receivers WVU has assembled - possibly the deepest group of pass catchers the Mountaineers have ever had, and that includes the 2012 season when quarterback Geno Smith was throwing to stalwarts Tavon Austin and Stedman Bailey.
“What impresses me most about them is their speed. Just being out there on an island with them one on one … man, I’m just happy they’re on our team,” said Askew-Henry.
Indeed, all that speed they are facing on the other side of the ball, combined with the knowledge filtering down from Joseph, Dillon and Worley through Askew-Henry, will hopefully get the secondary where it needs to be come September 3rd when WVU opens the season against Missouri.
All eyes will certainly be on them.
“They are going to see September 3rd,” Askew-Henry predicted. “We see it because we are out there with each other every day, but September 3rd I can’t wait to show everybody.”
We’ll be watching.
