MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Sometimes football practice conversation is worth writing about, especially when there are lulls in the action.

Such was the case last Friday when our Nathaniel Zinn posed a fascinating question during one such lull: “Name your all-time West Virginia football team of West Virginians,” he asked.

Of course, the Signalcaller, Jed Drenning, devoured that one like our Dale Wolfley inhales ribeye steaks on road trips, old Jed tossing out names like a carnival barker. I’m fairly certain Jed was still spitting out names to himself during his long drive back up the mountain to Davis.

Michael Fragale and Mike Montoro had some great suggestions, too, as did our multi-talented Dan Zangrilli, whose Mountaineer football knowledge is quite impressive for a Yinzer. I believe retired WVU athletic trainer John Spiker was also lurking in the background, and his WVU sports knowledge is still second to none.

Me? 

I purposely held back to listen to what the others had to say. Most of their picks were the popular contemporary players we’ve come to know and love such as Fairmont’s Darius Stills, Weirton’s Quincy Wilson and Morgantown’s Rich Braham. 

Having spent a lot of time through the years studying West Virginia’s great football history, though, my mind drifted back into time. Recalling some of the stories Mickey Furfari, Tony Constantine and Shorty Hardman used to tell, I quickly zeroed in on Bethany’s Ira Errett Rodgers, Shinnston’s Joe Stydahar, Farmington’s Sam Huff and Green Bank’s Bruce Bosley

If you think about in-state quarterbacks, for instance, Peterstown’s Chad Johnston is a contemporary player who immediately comes to mind. But years ago, particularly before the two-platoon era began in 1965, there were a bunch of West Virginians who starred at quarterback for the Mountaineers.

Rodgers was listed as a fullback, but it was his passing in the Princeton game in 1919 that made him a consensus All-American. Charleston's Francis “Skeets” Farley was a great passer in the mid-1920s, while Princeton’s Jimmy Walthall was a tremendous Wing-T quarterback in the late 1940s. It was Walthall's brilliant performance under center that ultimately helped steer Weston’s Freddy Wyant to WVU in the early 1950s.

Spencer’s Dick Longfellow ranked among college football’s passing leaders in 1958, and East Bank’s Allen McCune led West Virginia to a big upset victory over Syracuse and a Liberty Bowl berth to face Utah in 1964.

Wyant, one of the winningest quarterbacks in WVU history, is an easy choice for quarterback, but how can you put him ahead of Rat Rodgers? 

Someone once asked me if Rodgers was really as good as people say he was. Well, in 1969, during the NCAA’s 100-year celebration of college football, the NEA Service picked its 22-player College Football Team of the Century and Rodgers was on it along with Bronko Nagurski, Sammy Baugh, Red Grange, Jim Thorpe, O.J. Simpson, Johnny Lujack, Jim Brown and others. 

So, yes, he was that good!

Backfield is another tough call. It’s impossible to ignore what Carolina’s Kerry Marbury did in two short seasons playing for Bobby Bowden, or what Yukon’s Bob Gresham did during his impressive 1969 campaign that helped West Virginia to a Peach Bowl victory over South Carolina.

The success Gresham and Marbury enjoyed at WVU started a run of impressive state-bred backs in the 1970s that included Bluefield’s Pete Wood and Dwyane Woods, Northfork’s David “Duck” Riley and South Charleston’s Robert Alexander, considered the nation’s No. 1-rated tailback in 1977.

Had Alexander played four years in an I-formation, instead of just one with Don Nehlen in 1980, his rushing totals probably would have rivaled Avon Cobourne’s, Amos Zereoue’s and Steve Slaton’s, I believe. 

Huntington’s Robert Walker and Weirton’s Quincy Wilson were two contemporary backs who became 1,000-yard rushers.

Prior to Gresham and Marbury, Huntington’s Bobby Moss averaged an amazing 8 yards per carry during his four-year career in the mid-1950s. 

WVU has had a great tradition of in-state fullbacks, too, starting with Parkersburg’s Pete Barnum and Cameron’s Clarence Keefer in the 1920s and continuing in the 1940s with Weirton’s Pete Zinaich. In the 1950s, Charleston’s Tommy Allman was a battering ram for the Mountaineers and in the 1960s, Hinton’s Dick Leftridge’s amazing talents helped break the color barrier in the Southern Conference and earned him first-round status in the 1966 NFL Draft. It’s also hard to ignore what Charleston’s Walt Easley did at fullback a decade after Leftridge.

For me, I’m leaning toward Marbury’s explosive playmaking and outstanding ball skills to go with Gresham, a six-year NFL performer for the Saints, Oilers and Jets.

Wide receiver is a little bit easier to sort through. Shepherdstown’s James Jett was a world-class sprinter who parlayed his great speed into a 10-year NFL career with the Raiders, and Coalwood’s Oscar Patrick, the first player in school history to snare 50 catches in a season in 1968, would have likely had a pro career if not for a serious knee injury suffered in 1969.

Other wide receivers to add to the discussion include Hurricane’s Steve Lewis, Wheeling’s Zach Abraham, Warwood’s Bob Dunlevy and old-school ends Bill Karr, from Ripley, Wilbur Sortet, from Huntington, and Roy Lester, from Spencer. 

My tight end is Martinsburg’s Trevon Wesco, now playing for the New York Jets, but Farmington’s Nate Stephens is hard to ignore as an explosive downfield pass catcher in Bowden’s high-powered offense in the early 1970s. Buckhannon’s Rob Bennett had a couple of good seasons for WVU in the early 1980s, and Vienna’s Rich Duggan was WVU’s version of a Swiss Army knife who wound up his collegiate career at tight end in the late 1970s.

Offensive tackle is pretty clear with Pro Football Hall of Famer Joe Stydahar, who grew up in Shinnston, and Morgantown’s Rich Braham manning the two spots. Stydahar started out at Pitt playing for Jock Sutherland, but when Greasy Neale found out Big Joe was homesick, he scooped him off the street and hid him in a WVU fraternity house away from Panther boosters for the remainder of his freshman year.

Braham is the only player I know to once record three pancake blocks on a single running play. He did this by wiping out the defensive end, the outside linebacker behind him and the safety trailing. To this day, Nehlen’s assistant coaches still talk about Braham’s feat with amazement!

My honorable mention in-state tackles include Parkersburg’s Rick Phillips, Gilbert’s Garin Justice, Princeton’s Tanner Russell and old-schooler Russ Meredith from Fairmont.

My two in-state offensive guards are also easy picks - Green Bank’s Bruce Bosley and Wellsburg’s Gene “Beef” Lamone, members of West Virginia’s great Pappy Lewis-coached teams of the early 1950s. Right behind them are a pair of 1920s-era players, Charleston’s Carl Davis and Follansbee’s Walter “Red” Mahan.

Center also comes from the Lewis era: Huntington’s Bob Orders, an All-American player who helped lead the Mountaineers to the 1954 Sugar Bowl. But Weston’s Russ Bailey was also an All-America center in the late teens and is hard to ignore, as was Wheeling’s Gerald Schultze, who earned some All-America recognition performing in Bobby Bowden’s veer offense in the early 1970s. 

Poca’s Bill Legg, Nehlen’s first recruit at WVU, also deserves mention.

Rounding out the offense is Ravenswood placekicker Frank Nester, who once booted six field goals in a game against Villanova in 1972. St. Albans’ Chuck Kinder wore jersey No. 100 during the state’s centennial year in 1963 and deserves mention, as does Warwood’s Bill McKenzie, who kicked the most famous field goal in school history to beat Pitt in 1975.

The late Chuck Klausing, WVU’s defensive coordinator who was also in charge of the specialists, was so desperate for a kicker in 1974 that he discovered McKenzie while conducting midseason emergency walk-on tryouts. McKenzie admitted to Klausing that he did mostly squib-kicking in high school, but that didn’t deter Klausing from adding him to the roster. Turns out it was a good thing he did!

West Virginia has a long history of state-bred specialists, beginning with Elkins’ Gene Simmons in the late 1940s and continuing with Beckley’s Johnny Thackston in the 1950s and into today with Evan Staley of Romney and Casey Legg of Charleston on this year’s team.

My all-West Virginia defense is a 3-4 configuration with three defensive linemen and four linebackers. Fairmont’s Darius Stills is a no-brainer as the only state-bred consensus All-American defensive linemen in school history. Fairmont’s Calvin Turner and Ravenswood’s Joe Jelich occupy the other two D-line spots, with Charleston’s Charlie Fisher and Ripley’s Brad Hunt also deserving mention.

Fisher, who weighed just 200 pounds, was a starting defensive tackle on West Virginia’s 1969 defense that finished 12th in the country by allowing just 241 yards per game.

Two of the four linebackers in my Mountaineer 3-4 defense are obvious choices, although they didn’t actually play linebacker at WVU – Farmington’s Sam Huff and Warwood’s Chuck Howley. Both were two-way guards during college football’s one-platoon era, but both later became All-Pro linebackers in the NFL. 

One is in the NFL Hall of Fame and the other should be.

My two other linebackers are Hurricane tackling-machine Steve Dunlap and 2008 Fiesta Bowl defensive MVP Reed Williams of Moorefield.  They edge out an in-state group that includes South Charleston’s Baker Brown, Clendenin’s Billy Joe Mantooth, Williamstown’s Jeff Deem, St. Albans’ Derek Christian and Morgantown residents Scott Gyorko and Marc Magro.

Morgantown’s David Mayfield and Charleston’s Rick Sherrod were outstanding free safeties, for sure, but my pick for that spot is Ansted’s Tom Pridemore, an eight-year NFL veteran with the Atlanta Falcons. When the WVU coaches were recruiting Pridemore, they once watched in astonishment Pridemore completely blow away the rest of the field in the 100-hurdles at the state track meet despite not clearing a single hurdle! 

That’s how fast he was!

My strong safety is another clear choice – Huntington’s Mike Collins, one of the saltiest players to ever put on a West Virginia uniform.

My two West Virginia-bred corners are Martinsburg’s Fulton Walker, who earned fame by returning a kickoff for a touchdown against the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl XVII, and Peterstown’s Steve Newberry, who is still the school record holder in career interceptions with 20. Williamson’s Mike Slater, Weirton’s Leon Jenkins, Monongah’s Charlie Miller and Morgantown’s Willie Edwards are worth noting as well.

As for punter, I have to go with my hometown guy, New Martinsville’s Eddie Bartrug, an old-school performer and a 2008 WVU Sports Hall of Fame inductee. St. Albans’ Kim West also did some fine punting for the Mountaineers in the early 1970s.

And, yes, my West Virginia-bred Mountaineer coach is none other than Grant Town’s Rich Rodriguez. New Martinsville’s Mont McIntire and Bill Stewart also deserve special mention, as does Elkins’ Marshall “Sleepy” Glenn.

The Mountaineers recently wrapped up preseason camp earlier this week and preparation is well underway for the 2021 season opener against Maryland on Saturday, Sept. 4. Coach Neal Brown will have his next media opportunity on Tuesday at noon when he will meet with local media in the Milan Puskar Center team room.

Tickets for WVU’s six-game home schedule remain on sale and can be purchased through the Mountaineer Ticket Office by logging on to WVUGAME.com.