MORGANTOWN - Assuming Saturday's West Virginia's football opener with Villanova goes as expected - and perhaps even if it doesn't - Bill Stewart would like to play a lot of people.
MORGANTOWN - Assuming Saturday's West Virginia's football opener with Villanova goes as expected - and perhaps even if it doesn't - Bill Stewart would like to play a lot of people.
And that's more than just a nod toward getting playing time for second- and third-teamers and walk-ons who might never have another chance.
As Appalachian State proved by beating Michigan a year ago, it's dangerous to assume that an opening game against a Division I-AA opponent is going to be a walk in the park. Perhaps No. 8 West Virginia won't have the luxury of mixing and matching different parts if the Wildcats put up a fight in the teams' 3:30 p.m. game at Mountaineer Field.
But even if Villanova is more competitive than most expect, that doesn't change the fact that West Virginia needs to play more than just its front-liners, the known quantities.
Take the offensive line, for instance. The starters are all veterans who have been through everything and form the core of what is expected to be one of the best units in the country.
Stewart would like to juggle the lineup, though, at times, not because of any dissatisfaction with the starters but because four of the top six are seniors (plus two juniors) and someone else needs to get some experience, both for the future and in case they are needed this season.
"We've got two or three young, great linemen we can't get in the lineup. They have to play,'' Stewart said. "I'm not going to mandate anything, but if we can play them we'll play them. We've got to get some young guys in there.''
At the top of that list of young linemen is redshirt freshman Donnie Barclay, who Stewart thinks might be the most talented lineman on the team, but can't get on the field because of the veterans in front of him. Redshirt freshman Gino Gradkowski and sophomore Eric Jobe are two others who need to play.
As for true freshman Josh Jenkins, that's still up in the air. Unlike the others, Jenkins has a redshirt to burn and so it becomes a more delicate decision. Jenkins seems good enough to play right now, but the decision has to be made whether to play him and throw away that redshirt or hold him back until and unless he is actually needed due to injury or because he improves so much that he can't be kept out.
Stewart also hopes to play a lot of people on defense, although he will largely stay out of that and allow the defensive coaches to make those decisions.
"I hope they play a lot of people,'' Stewart said. "When you're as solid as we are at linebacker, as solid as we are at defensive line, we need to play people. Play them, keep them healthy, get them experience and let them go.''
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West Virginia's two best kick returners are Noel Devine and Jock Sanders. They are at the top of the depth chart at that position, too.
They may not return kicks, though. At least not right away.
"I don't know if Jock and Noel will return the first kickoff,'' Stewart said. "But they're going to return some kickoffs. We'll just play it by ear. We may drop a ball here or there. That stuff happens. I'm just going to juggle it and see what happens.''
If it's not Sanders and Devine returning kickoffs - essentially because they are the starting tailback and slot receiver, respectively, and two of the team's most valuable offensive weapons - it could be any of a number of others, including cornerbacks Brandon Hogan and Eddie Davis.
Hogan and cornerback Ellis Lankster will be the deep men on punt returns.
"We're going to have a couple of those guys back in a two-man scheme like we did last year,'' Stewart said. "Right now Lankster's going to be the deepest and Hogan will be the more shallow guy.
"I don't know how these guys are going to punt the ball to us. We'll start with two and we may end up with one, but we'll start the game off with two.''
Briefly
Just before Stewart began his first weekly press conference Tuesday at the Puskar Center, he was presented with a hand-crafted Renaissance Rifle commemorating the team's win over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl. The rifle was made by 1965 WVU graduate Marvin Wotring and presented by Wotring and the school's rifle coach, Jon Hammond.
Tuesday's and today's practices are the final heavy hitting days for the Mountaineers before Saturday's opener. The real hard hitting, though, was done last week. "I probably beat them up too much,'' Stewart said. "I ran them, we went up and down the steps, we did up-downs. It was a tough, tough week. There was not a lot of humor last week in Mountaineer land.''
To contact staff writer Dave Hickman use e-mail or call 348-1734.
MORGANTOWN - Assuming Saturday's West Virginia's football opener with Villanova goes as expected - and perhaps even if it doesn't - Bill Stewart would like to play a lot of people.
And that's more than just a nod toward getting playing time for second- and third-teamers and walk-ons who might never have another chance.
As Appalachian State proved by beating Michigan a year ago, it's dangerous to assume that an opening game against a Division I-AA opponent is going to be a walk in the park. Perhaps No. 8 West Virginia won't have the luxury of mixing and matching different parts if the Wildcats put up a fight in the teams' 3:30 p.m. game at Mountaineer Field.
But even if Villanova is more competitive than most expect, that doesn't change the fact that West Virginia needs to play more than just its front-liners, the known quantities.
Take the offensive line, for instance. The starters are all veterans who have been through everything and form the core of what is expected to be one of the best units in the country.
Stewart would like to juggle the lineup, though, at times, not because of any dissatisfaction with the starters but because four of the top six are seniors (plus two juniors) and someone else needs to get some experience, both for the future and in case they are needed this season.
"We've got two or three young, great linemen we can't get in the lineup. They have to play,'' Stewart said. "I'm not going to mandate anything, but if we can play them we'll play them. We've got to get some young guys in there.''
At the top of that list of young linemen is redshirt freshman Donnie Barclay, who Stewart thinks might be the most talented lineman on the team, but can't get on the field because of the veterans in front of him. Redshirt freshman Gino Gradkowski and sophomore Eric Jobe are two others who need to play.
As for true freshman Josh Jenkins, that's still up in the air. Unlike the others, Jenkins has a redshirt to burn and so it becomes a more delicate decision. Jenkins seems good enough to play right now, but the decision has to be made whether to play him and throw away that redshirt or hold him back until and unless he is actually needed due to injury or because he improves so much that he can't be kept out.
Stewart also hopes to play a lot of people on defense, although he will largely stay out of that and allow the defensive coaches to make those decisions.
"I hope they play a lot of people,'' Stewart said. "When you're as solid as we are at linebacker, as solid as we are at defensive line, we need to play people. Play them, keep them healthy, get them experience and let them go.''
nn
West Virginia's two best kick returners are Noel Devine and Jock Sanders. They are at the top of the depth chart at that position, too.
They may not return kicks, though. At least not right away.
"I don't know if Jock and Noel will return the first kickoff,'' Stewart said. "But they're going to return some kickoffs. We'll just play it by ear. We may drop a ball here or there. That stuff happens. I'm just going to juggle it and see what happens.''
If it's not Sanders and Devine returning kickoffs - essentially because they are the starting tailback and slot receiver, respectively, and two of the team's most valuable offensive weapons - it could be any of a number of others, including cornerbacks Brandon Hogan and Eddie Davis.
Hogan and cornerback Ellis Lankster will be the deep men on punt returns.
"We're going to have a couple of those guys back in a two-man scheme like we did last year,'' Stewart said. "Right now Lankster's going to be the deepest and Hogan will be the more shallow guy.
"I don't know how these guys are going to punt the ball to us. We'll start with two and we may end up with one, but we'll start the game off with two.''
Briefly
Just before Stewart began his first weekly press conference Tuesday at the Puskar Center, he was presented with a hand-crafted Renaissance Rifle commemorating the team's win over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl. The rifle was made by 1965 WVU graduate Marvin Wotring and presented by Wotring and the school's rifle coach, Jon Hammond.
Tuesday's and today's practices are the final heavy hitting days for the Mountaineers before Saturday's opener. The real hard hitting, though, was done last week. "I probably beat them up too much,'' Stewart said. "I ran them, we went up and down the steps, we did up-downs. It was a tough, tough week. There was not a lot of humor last week in Mountaineer land.''
To contact staff writer Dave Hickman use e-mail or call 348-1734.
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I ALWAYS ENJOYED ATTENDING THE GAMES WITH MY SON AS WELL AS MEETING MANY OF HIS FRIENDS WHOM WERE MEMBERS OF THE TEAM. I WEAR GOLD AND BLUE ON FRIDAYS AND GAME DAY-- I HAVE NO PROBLEM FACING DOWN THE FANS OF OTHER TEAMS IN THE AREA THAT I LIVE. GOOD LUCK, LETS GO MOUNTAINEERS !!!