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WVU Begins Spring Football Practice

Posted 3/21/2005 04:28 PM

Rich Rodriguez

Photo Credit: MSNsportsNET.com  

The Mountaineers are looking for a new quarterback and help at wide receiver.

Story by The Associated Press

The Mountaineer football team started spring practice Monday -- and head coach Rich Rodriguez started the task of replacing starting quarterback Rasheed Marshall and finding adequate help at wide receiver.

Rodriguez also wants to get an idea of which players might be on his two-deep roster in the fall.

He said this is probably one of the most important springs West Virginia's program has had in years because there are so many new players.

Rodriguez isn't expecting to find Marshall's replacement by the time practices conclude on April 16 with the Blue-Gold game. Sophomore Adam Bednarik -- the third-string quarterback last fall -- will miss all of spring practice after having shoulder surgery in December.

Redshirt freshman Pat White and sophomore Dwayne Thompson will challenge Bednarik for the starting job in August.

Marshall's returning wide receivers combined for just eight catches last season. Also gone from last season are the top two running backs and three offensive linemen who combined for 90 starts.

The defense has the most returning experience, but two of the three starting linebackers and cornerback Adam Jones are gone.

WVU Begins Spring Football Practice

[Apis Bull]

WVU's Rodriguez has tall task as spring practice begins

By Ryan Mcneil The Daily Athenaeum

Morgantown, WV (U-WIRE) -- The West Virginia University men's basketball team's run to the Sweet 16 has deflected attention away from what is usually the biggest sporting event in late March for West Virginia fans: spring football practice.

Head coach Rich Rodriguez's team returned to the field on Monday for a series of practices leading up to the Gold/Blue Game on Apr. 16. The Mountaineers were hammered by graduation and two players, cornerback Adam Jones and wideout Chris Henry, leaving early for the NFL.

WVU lost its leading rusher, passer and receiver from last season. The team also lost its top defensive back and two starting linebackers on the defensive side of the ball.

All of the defections means Rodriguez and his staff have plenty of players and positions to evaluate over the next few weeks.

So what positions present the biggest concerns to the head coach? "Biggest concerns? Well the kicking game. Obviously we have some guys that can do it, but the execution of it ... They've got a spring to try and do it and the fall," Rodriguez said.

"And then probably linebackers because we lost two starters. I would say that's the position defensively that will be critical to evaluate in the spring," he said.

Another position that will be critical is the receiving corps. The Mountaineers lost their top four leaders in receiving yards from last year.

Brandon Myles is the leading returner at wide receiver. He had six catches for 138 yards in 2004.

"(Rayshawn) Bolden and Myles both are two guys that are veteran guys that we need big years out of. They have played a lot of football for us. They're talented enough to do it," Rodriguez said.

Bolden's only catch last year was a 49-yard grab against Florida State in the Gator Bowl. He is a big target at 6-foot-5, 220 pounds and Rodriguez will try to use him to stretch the field.

"I am here and trying to help the team as much as possible. I'm just trying to help us keep winning Big East championships. (I want to) have a nice spring game and go into the upcoming season," Bolden said.

One of the biggest questions for Mountaineer fans is who will be throwing the ball to Bolden and the others.

Dwayne Thompson has made the switch back to quarterback after playing receiver last year. He is the only player remaining who attempted a pass last year.

Thompson was 0 for 1 with an incomplete pass against Pitt in the regular season finale.

"I had a way better day than yesterday. It definitely feels good getting back under center," Thompson said.

Thompson will be challenged in spring practice by fellow southpaw Pat White. Adam Bednarik, who will also challenge for the starting job, is out for spring practice because of shoulder surgery.

Thompson worked with the first team on Tuesday while White manned the second team.

"I teach Pat the basic things. We are just all trying to learn," Thompson said.

The two quarterbacks focused mainly on short to intermediate passes on Tuesday.

However, both quarterbacks connected on a long pass against the starting defense.

Thompson hit Myles on a long post pattern. The receiver was heavily guarded and made a nice adjustment in traffic.

White floated a long ball up to Travis McClintic that the junior was able to haul down on the sidelines.

Rodriguez said that connecting on long pass plays is something West Virginia needs to implement in the offensive gameplan.

"We've got to create something in the passing game. We need to spread it out on the perimeter," Rodriguez said.

The coach said that losing Rasheed Marshall, the 2004 Big East player of the year, presents a difficult challenge. But he is also happy to have a quarterback battle between young players.

"It's exciting. They're like sponges. They absorb whatever we tell them," Rodriguez said.

West Virginia's reliance on young players at critical positions and the short amount of spring practice (three weeks) means every moment is critical for Rodriguez and his staff.

"In the pros, they have numerous rookie camps, they have training camps for six weeks, they have four preseasongames," Rodriguez said. "For us, we start in August with about three weeks of practice. Then we play a game and it counts. The sense of urgency at this level is heightened more than any other level of football," he said.

© 2004 The Daily Athenaeum via U-WIRE

WVU's Rodriguez has tall task as spring practice begins

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Rodriguez Not Thrilled With Offensive Performance

MetroNews Sports

Morgantown

The Mountaineer football team is nearing the midway point of spring drills, but WVU head coach Rich Rodriguez is still looking for cohesiveness and execution on the offensive side of the football.

West Virginia held its first major scrimmage of the spring on Monday, and the Mountaineer mentor came away wanting to see a better performance from his offense. He said that unit lacked the intensity he strives for, but there is still plenty of time to right the wrongs.

Rodriguez Not Thrilled With Offensive Performance

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Henry Adjusting To Role At Inside Linebacker

MetroNews Sports

Morgantown

West Virginia’s defense has several big holes to fill this year, and one of those hoping to step into an open starting role is linebacker Jay Henry.

Primarily an outside linebacker in his first two seasons with the Mountaineers, Henry has moved inside this spring, trying to take over for departed middle linebacker Adam Lehnortt.

Henry admits that there are some differences between inside and outside linebacker, but the Tulsa, Oklahoma, native says he’s feeling more comfortable with his new position with each passing day.

Henry Adjusting To Role At Inside Linebacker

[Brad]

WEST VIRGINIA

INSIDE SLANT

West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez looks at this as the most important spring he can remember since he took over the Mountaineers in the 2001 season.

After getting a share of the Big East championship the last two seasons - but losing out on the tie-breaker for the league's BCS bowl berth - the Mountaineers have holes everywhere with a big one at quarterback.

Rasheed Marshall, who led the Mountaineers the last three seasons, is gone with only inexperienced newcomers in his place. And one of those, sophomore Adam Bednarik, won't be available in the spring after having shoulder surgery in November.

That leaves the spring duel up to Dwayne Thompson, a sophomore, and Pat White, a redshirt freshman. Thompson is the only one with game experience, that being only token appearances in nine games. He threw one pass. It was incomplete.

Both have been compared to Marshall, who was the team's second-leading rusher in 2004.

"The biggest difference now obviously is experience but they have a lot of things that are similar," Rodriguez said. "They are both very athletic as far as ability to run and throw on the run."

Rodriguez notes that 70 percent of the roster is made up of freshmen and sophomores, making the spring a critical learning process.

"It's one of the most important ones we've had probably in a couple of years," he said of the spring camp, "because we've got so many young players that are going to be playing this fall."

NOTES, QUOTES

BUILDING BLOCKS: Three starters will return to the offensive line, though two - guards Dan Mozes and Jeremy Sheffey - won't be available in the spring. The third returnee is tackle Garin Justice. That should be of some comfort as the Mountaineers look to take the pressure off at quarterback, where there is virtually no experience returning.

COACHING CAROUSEL: West Virginia has a new wide receivers coach in Butch Jones, hired in January to replace Steve Bird, who was let go earlier in the month. Jones comes from Central Michigan, where he spent the last three seasons as offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach. He is the only new member on the staff.

SCHEDULE SITUATION: The Mountaineers will open with a conference road game - at Syracuse - before playing four consecutive non-conference affairs, including former Big East member Virginia Tech at Morgantown on Oct. 1. The Mountaineers also have back-to-back Wednesday games against Connecticut and Cincinnati, the latter on the road.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "Last year we had more of a veteran team and the spring was just to kind of fine tune things. This spring it's going to be more critical because those young players have got a lot to learn, and we've got to get a lot of questions answered, and I don't know if we can get them all answered this spring." - Coach Rich Rodriguez.

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

STARS OF 2005: RB Jason Colson - The junior first made an impression when he was called on to start against Temple in place of an injured Quincy Wilson in 2003. He responded with 104 yards rushing on 28 carries. Last season he ran for 706 yards, third best on the team and the most of any returnee. That included a 113-yard effort against Syracuse, which had recruited him out of Rochester, N.Y., as a cornerback.

FS Jahmile Addae - After sitting out 2003 with a shoulder injury, he returned with a vengeance in 2004 and recorded 59 tackles and a pair of interceptions. He earned all-Big East first-team honors and will be a key leader for a rebuilt defense.

TOP NEWCOMERS: TE Lou Davis - The 6-6, 300-pound transfer from Cerritos College in Norwalk, Calif., signed in February 2004 but didn't enroll until this spring semester.

DE Johnny Dingle - The 6-3, 245-pound transfer from Florida figures to have an immediate impact on the defense. He was the Miami-Dade County Player of the Year and first-team 4A all-state while at Miami's Booker T. Washington High. He had begun practicing with the Gators before being declared academically ineligible. He has passed all his classes since enrolling at West Virginia a year ago.

ROSTER REPORT: QB Adam Bednarik will not be available until fall camp because of shoulder surgery he had last November. He is expected to compete with another sophomore, Dwayne Thompson, and redshirt freshman Pat White for the starting job.

— Returning starting guards Dan Mozes and Jeremy Sheffey, TE Josh Bailey and LB Justin Hensley also will be out until the fall because of shoulder problems.

— Redshirt freshman Mike Dent was moved from the defensive line to the offensive line because of injury-related depth issues.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/bigeast/home.htm

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West Virginia Mountaineers

2005 Schedule

9/4 at Syracuse

9/10 Wofford

9/17 at Maryland

9/24 East Carolina

10/1 Virginia Tech

10/8 at Rutgers

10/15 Louisville

10/22 at South Florida

11/2 Connecticut

11/9 at Cincinnati

11/24 Pittsburgh

2004 overall record:

8-4

Conference record:

4-2

Returning starters

Offense: 4, Defense: 5, Kicker/punter: 1

2004 statistical leaders (* returners)

Rushing: Kay-Jay Harris (959 yds)

Passing: Rasheed Marshall (1,886 yds)

Receiving: Chris Henry (872 yds)

Tackles: Adam "Pac-Man" Jones (76)

Sacks: Jason Hardee (4)

Interceptions: Jones and Dee McCann* (3 each)

Spring Answers: One of the biggest surprises of practice was sophomore FB Owen Schmitt. Coach Rich Rodriguez never gives his fullback many carries, but the 250-pounder will bring a much-needed physical presence to the Mountaineer backfield. ... At a position that needed an injection of energy, Vaughn Rivers moved over to the receiving corps from cornerback and made a move to the top of the depth chart. He's small in stature, but he made a big impression with his obvious athletic ability. ... The offensive skill positions took a major hit, but whoever ends up the quarterback will at least be playing behind a fairly experienced line, led by all-conference selection Dan Mozes. In fact, both lines look deep and talented, something you can't exactly say about a lot of areas on this team. ... The return game is one thing, but the secondary should be fine even without the electrifying Adam "Pac-Man" Jones. Jahmile Addae and Mike Lorello are standouts at safety and Dee McCann leads a veteran group of corners.

Fall Questions: Where to begin? The Mountaineers put an incredible 12 players on the first and second teams in the Big East last season. It was fun while it lasted, but only three of those players return. ... Rodriguez said coming in that nothing would be decided until August with the quarterbacks, none of whom has ever lined up under center in college. There's sophomore Dwayne Thompson, converted receiver Pat White and the injured Adam Bednarik, who is battling shoulder problems. Granted the hobbled O-line was a trainwreck in the spring, but it was obvious no one distinguished himself from the others. The longshot sleeper is J.R. House, a former West Virginia high school legend who long ago chose baseball over football. Now 25, House is coming off his fourth surgery, but is an intriguing prospect down the road if he can ever stay healthy. ... Big receiver Rayshawn Bolden has shown flashes of quality play, but never on a consistent basis – frustrating Rodriguez to no end. Someone has to emerge from the pack at receiver. Will it finally be Bolden's time? And will Rodriguez move back White if he's not behind center, as he suggested after the spring game? ... West Virginia still needs some answers at the two linebacker spots vacated by Adam Lehnortt and Scott Gyorko. The offense was at times inept this spring and it'll be essential for the Mountaineer defense to carry the load at times this season. If not, it could get ugly in Morgantown.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2046841&num=5