MORGANTOWN - In high school his team went 50-5, he passed for 8,515 yards and 113 touchdowns, ran for 2,427 yards and 38 more scores, was a three-time first-team all-stater and won the Kennedy Award as West Virginia's top player as a senior.

Yet Nate Sowers said that even back then he had a problem with confidence.

"But in high school I worked hard and everything went well for me,'' Sowers said. "At this level it takes more than that to get that extra edge on people and I've learned that.''

The fact is, Sowers has learned it well enough that when West Virginia opens the season Saturday against Liberty, the 6-foot-1, 211-pound fifth-year senior will finally begin a season as a starter.

Coach Bill Stewart indicated Tuesday at his weekly press conference that Sowers would, in fact, be in the lineup when he said another veteran won't. Sidney Glover, who started 11 games last season at strong safety but has been plagued by injuries, will begin the game on the sidelines.

"He's not played enough football to start,'' Stewart said of Glover, who still should get on the field at some point.

This won't be Sowers' first college start. In fact, it will be his second in a row. He played in place of Glover in last December's 31-30 win over North Carolina in the Meineke Car Care Bowl. Earlier in his career he even rose to the top of the depth chart as a second slot receiver, although he never officially started a game because while he was in that spot the Mountaineers never began a game with a four-receiver set.

But this will be the first time he has opened a season with a well-defined role.

MORGANTOWN - In high school his team went 50-5, he passed for 8,515 yards and 113 touchdowns, ran for 2,427 yards and 38 more scores, was a three-time first-team all-stater and won the Kennedy Award as West Virginia's top player as a senior.

Yet Nate Sowers said that even back then he had a problem with confidence.

"But in high school I worked hard and everything went well for me,'' Sowers said. "At this level it takes more than that to get that extra edge on people and I've learned that.''

The fact is, Sowers has learned it well enough that when West Virginia opens the season Saturday against Liberty, the 6-foot-1, 211-pound fifth-year senior will finally begin a season as a starter.

Coach Bill Stewart indicated Tuesday at his weekly press conference that Sowers would, in fact, be in the lineup when he said another veteran won't. Sidney Glover, who started 11 games last season at strong safety but has been plagued by injuries, will begin the game on the sidelines.

"He's not played enough football to start,'' Stewart said of Glover, who still should get on the field at some point.

This won't be Sowers' first college start. In fact, it will be his second in a row. He played in place of Glover in last December's 31-30 win over North Carolina in the Meineke Car Care Bowl. Earlier in his career he even rose to the top of the depth chart as a second slot receiver, although he never officially started a game because while he was in that spot the Mountaineers never began a game with a four-receiver set.

But this will be the first time he has opened a season with a well-defined role.

Sowers' college struggles are well chronicled. He's played quarterback, slot receiver, special teams and now safety. If he had confidence issues as a high school star, imagine what it must have been like through all of that.

"I've always kind of struggled with confidence and this has all been a learning process for me,'' Sowers said. "I've always tried to keep a positive attitude because if you don't have that you're not going to play as well as you should and things are only going to get worse. I learned that last year.''

Even if Sowers weren't starting, he was sure to play a lot as one of the four most dependable, experienced safeties in WVU's secondary, along with Boogie Allen, Robert Sands and Glover. And that makes him a vital cog on a defense that figures to be West Virginia's strong suit.

So that, as well as his relationship with his teammates, has begun to cure some of those doubts with which he has always seemed to live.

"I've never felt closer to a group as I do these guys,'' Sowers said. "I don't know if it has to do with Reed [Williams] being back or what, but as a group - a whole group, everybody - it's been fun. I'm just trying to pick it up because I know it's my last time around.''

Reach Dave Hickman at 304-348-1734 or dphickm...@aol.com.