Post by elp525 on Sept 24, 2011 6:10:40 GMT -5
September 23, 2011
McCartney’s contributions crucial for Mountaineers against No. 2 LSU
By Dave Hickman
The Charleston Gazette
MORGANTOWN - There have been more than a few occasions during the year and change that Ivan McCartney has been at West Virginia when he needed to have a talk with someone just to reinforce that what he was doing was right and that he only needed to work harder at doing it.
When those occasions arose, he had the perfect ear to bend.
"I love talking to myself,'' McCartney said.
Yes, whether it was during a 13-game true-freshman season in which he caught one pass for a grand total of 4 yards, or during a month of spring drills when he often was ignored, or during four weeks of preseason camp when he was fighting just to get on the field, McCartney has had plenty of chances to evaluate and re-evaluate.
Heading into No. 16 West Virginia's game against No. 2 LSU tonight at Mountaineer Field, it appears as if he has found a few answers.
McCartney is one of a handful of receivers - a rather large handful, actually - who figure to play a key role tonight as West Virginia tries to upset the Tigers. If the Mountaineers are going to move the football against LSU, it will almost certainly be through the air.
The reasons are two-fold. First, that's where WVU has gotten the vast majority of its yards through three games (1,068 passing yards among 1,304 total yards, or 82 percent). And second, LSU's deep, big and talented defensive front figures to be a real problem for the Mountaineers' still-developing ground game.
So that leaves quarterback Geno Smith doing everything he can to find openings in the passing game. That won't be easy, either, because LSU has the ability to morph its traditional 4-3 defense into what it calls the Mustang package - a three-man front with two linebackers and a six-man mix of safeties and cornerbacks.
Trying to find openings in there will be a corps of West Virginia receivers, four of whom have put up 100-yard receiving games in the last two weeks. Devon Brown did it against Norfolk State, while Tavon Austin, Stedman Bailey and McCartney each had 100-yard days against Maryland.
Of that group, it was no surprise that Austin and Bailey accomplished the feat. They were considered the top two targets before the season. And while Brown has played just three games in a WVU uniform, he arrived this summer after leading Wake Forest in receptions each of the last two years.
McCartney? Well, 12 months ago those were the kinds of games that were expected of him, too. But right up until the season opener this year against Marshall, his production had been a disappointment, to say the least.
"I really believe that this was always me,'' McCartney said. "It's just that last year I didn't have the opportunity to show my talent off. Since Coach Holgorsen came with the offense that he has, it gives people the opportunity to show their talent.''
Indeed, the arrival of Dana Holgorsen and his pass-heavy offense presented an opportunity for McCartney and everyone else involved in the passing game. But for a while it didn't appear McCartney was ready to take advantage of that.
Yes, he was still the same big (6-foot-3, 176-pound), fast receiver who arrived at WVU with such great promise and high school acclaim. He also had the advantage - as does Bailey - of having played with their current quarterback, Smith, at Miramar High School near Miami.
But he just wasn't getting it done. In the spring, Holgorsen usually tended to shrug off McCartney's presence, pointing out that his competition at a wide receiver spot, Ryan Nehlen, was working harder and making more plays. In the spring game, Nehlen started and caught five passes for 79 yards. McCartney was an afterthought with catches of 9 and 6 yards.
Then in fall camp, McCartney and Nehlen stayed neck and neck. Holgorsen said the two would likely share reps until someone emerged.
Well, Nehlen was hurt and disappeared. He caught his first pass - albeit a big one for a key first down - last week against Maryland.
McCartney, meanwhile, has become entrenched as one of the four prime targets. His 17 catches are second to Austin's 20, and his 211 yards are third behind Austin and Bailey.
"His attitude's great, his work ethic's great, his effort is great and his ball skills are great,'' Holgorsen said. "He's a guy that we should see just continue to get better as this year goes on.
"He's still young. He should have gotten redshirted last year. He's not played a whole lot of football here.''
McCartney credits the sudden breakthrough to a couple of things, not the least of which was the competition with Nehlen.
"He brought the best out in me,'' McCartney said.
But there was also the nagging thought that he wasn't producing like he could and that Holgorsen not only knew it, but wasn't shy about saying it.
"It absolutely did [have an effect],'' McCartney said. "You don't want your head coach to say that he doesn't see you putting forth your full [effort]. I took that to heart and I know what I have. I had to show what I was actually made of in the fall.''
Tonight, though, McCartney and the rest of those receivers face by far their most difficult challenge - probably not just to date, but all season long. Few teams in the country can match LSU's defensive might, much less the teams remaining on West Virginia's schedule.
So just how fast and good are the Tigers?
"I won't be able to tell you that until we play LSU,'' McCartney said. "But I'm looking forward to it. I'm looking forward to the challenge.''
McCartney’s contributions crucial for Mountaineers against No. 2 LSU
By Dave Hickman
The Charleston Gazette
MORGANTOWN - There have been more than a few occasions during the year and change that Ivan McCartney has been at West Virginia when he needed to have a talk with someone just to reinforce that what he was doing was right and that he only needed to work harder at doing it.
When those occasions arose, he had the perfect ear to bend.
"I love talking to myself,'' McCartney said.
Yes, whether it was during a 13-game true-freshman season in which he caught one pass for a grand total of 4 yards, or during a month of spring drills when he often was ignored, or during four weeks of preseason camp when he was fighting just to get on the field, McCartney has had plenty of chances to evaluate and re-evaluate.
Heading into No. 16 West Virginia's game against No. 2 LSU tonight at Mountaineer Field, it appears as if he has found a few answers.
McCartney is one of a handful of receivers - a rather large handful, actually - who figure to play a key role tonight as West Virginia tries to upset the Tigers. If the Mountaineers are going to move the football against LSU, it will almost certainly be through the air.
The reasons are two-fold. First, that's where WVU has gotten the vast majority of its yards through three games (1,068 passing yards among 1,304 total yards, or 82 percent). And second, LSU's deep, big and talented defensive front figures to be a real problem for the Mountaineers' still-developing ground game.
So that leaves quarterback Geno Smith doing everything he can to find openings in the passing game. That won't be easy, either, because LSU has the ability to morph its traditional 4-3 defense into what it calls the Mustang package - a three-man front with two linebackers and a six-man mix of safeties and cornerbacks.
Trying to find openings in there will be a corps of West Virginia receivers, four of whom have put up 100-yard receiving games in the last two weeks. Devon Brown did it against Norfolk State, while Tavon Austin, Stedman Bailey and McCartney each had 100-yard days against Maryland.
Of that group, it was no surprise that Austin and Bailey accomplished the feat. They were considered the top two targets before the season. And while Brown has played just three games in a WVU uniform, he arrived this summer after leading Wake Forest in receptions each of the last two years.
McCartney? Well, 12 months ago those were the kinds of games that were expected of him, too. But right up until the season opener this year against Marshall, his production had been a disappointment, to say the least.
"I really believe that this was always me,'' McCartney said. "It's just that last year I didn't have the opportunity to show my talent off. Since Coach Holgorsen came with the offense that he has, it gives people the opportunity to show their talent.''
Indeed, the arrival of Dana Holgorsen and his pass-heavy offense presented an opportunity for McCartney and everyone else involved in the passing game. But for a while it didn't appear McCartney was ready to take advantage of that.
Yes, he was still the same big (6-foot-3, 176-pound), fast receiver who arrived at WVU with such great promise and high school acclaim. He also had the advantage - as does Bailey - of having played with their current quarterback, Smith, at Miramar High School near Miami.
But he just wasn't getting it done. In the spring, Holgorsen usually tended to shrug off McCartney's presence, pointing out that his competition at a wide receiver spot, Ryan Nehlen, was working harder and making more plays. In the spring game, Nehlen started and caught five passes for 79 yards. McCartney was an afterthought with catches of 9 and 6 yards.
Then in fall camp, McCartney and Nehlen stayed neck and neck. Holgorsen said the two would likely share reps until someone emerged.
Well, Nehlen was hurt and disappeared. He caught his first pass - albeit a big one for a key first down - last week against Maryland.
McCartney, meanwhile, has become entrenched as one of the four prime targets. His 17 catches are second to Austin's 20, and his 211 yards are third behind Austin and Bailey.
"His attitude's great, his work ethic's great, his effort is great and his ball skills are great,'' Holgorsen said. "He's a guy that we should see just continue to get better as this year goes on.
"He's still young. He should have gotten redshirted last year. He's not played a whole lot of football here.''
McCartney credits the sudden breakthrough to a couple of things, not the least of which was the competition with Nehlen.
"He brought the best out in me,'' McCartney said.
But there was also the nagging thought that he wasn't producing like he could and that Holgorsen not only knew it, but wasn't shy about saying it.
"It absolutely did [have an effect],'' McCartney said. "You don't want your head coach to say that he doesn't see you putting forth your full [effort]. I took that to heart and I know what I have. I had to show what I was actually made of in the fall.''
Tonight, though, McCartney and the rest of those receivers face by far their most difficult challenge - probably not just to date, but all season long. Few teams in the country can match LSU's defensive might, much less the teams remaining on West Virginia's schedule.
So just how fast and good are the Tigers?
"I won't be able to tell you that until we play LSU,'' McCartney said. "But I'm looking forward to it. I'm looking forward to the challenge.''
