Post by elp525 on Oct 17, 2011 5:07:17 GMT -5
Monday October 17, 2011
by Mike Casazza
Charleston Daily Mail
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- Every week, usually Thursday night after the team's final practice before that week's game, West Virginia assistant coach Robert Gillespie comes up with a quote for his running backs to use for the time before, during and after the game.
It's always profound and motivational and sometimes borrowed from scripture, other times lifted from the words of a famous person.
"I should have thought of a more powerful one against LSU," he said.
WVU is 5-1 and Gillespie thinks he has the same record with his choice of inspiration, as WVU goes to Syracuse (4-2) for Friday's 8 p.m. kick off (ESPN telecast).
He'll have a hard time topping what he found before the No. 11 Mountaineers played Bowling Green and won 55-12.
Gillespie dipped into the gospel according to Matthew for that game. "The humble will be exalted," he told the running backs.
Then Dustin Garrison set the school's freshman rushing record with 291 yards against the Falcons.
Only Kay-Jay Harris had more in school history, with 337 in 2004 against East Carolina.
"It says a lot about him and the way he was raised and brought up," Gillespie said. "He's a very humble kid and doesn't come from much. He's had to work hard for everything he has. There's no doubt in my mind he's not going to let this distract him, either."
Garrison was born in New Orleans and spent his first 12 years on the city's West Bank. In the summer of 2005, his family was displaced by Hurricane Katrina and moved to Houston.
He played for Pearland High in Texas, where he quite literally carried the school to an unbeaten season and a state championship last year in the highest classification in the state.
He also had no major college offers until he got a call from Gillespie in December.
Gillespie was still on the staff at Oklahoma State, but he told Garrison to watch the Alamo Bowl to see where Gillespie was going next. Gillespie wanted Garrison to thinking about going, too.
Garrison eventually figured out Gillespie was going to WVU to be with Dana Holgorsen. Garrison decided to do the same and he met perhaps his perfect foil in Morgantown.
"That's just what it is," he said. "Not a lot of coaches gave me a chance to play college ball. Coach Gillespie and Coach Holgorsen gave me that chance and I've definitely got to show them they made the right choice."
Gillespie, once a running back for the Washington Redskins and a captain at the University of Florida, builds his players up, but doesn't let them get too big. He knocks his players down - sometimes literally when he gets physically involved in practice - but never lets them get too low.
"He's a great coach," Garrison said of Gillespie. "He knows what he's doing. He's real tough, real straight forward and he's always making sure I'm the same Dustin I was in high school, that I'm just as hungry and ready to make plays. Meetings, practice, things like that, it doesn't matter. He's always on me and keeping me focused."
The congratulations lined up for a long time after Garrison's performance against Bowling Green until Gillespie finally got his chance.
"The first thing I said was, 'You put the ball on the ground too many times,' " Gillespie said.
The praise followed.
"My job is to critique and correct," Gillespie said. "Neither of those is fun, but my job isn't to pat them on the butt. My job is to get them better and once we get that right, we find the next thing to get better."
Garrison saw that response coming. Not only had he fumbled three times - one when he was stripped fighting for yards, two on what he called good hits on a cold, wet day he wasn't used to - but he knew Gillespie well enough to expect that reaction.
"He's always going to pat you on the back the day of the game," Garrison said. "After that, it's back to work to make sure you're focused on the next week."
Garrison knows this because he's been on both ends of the interactions with Gillespie after a game. He played a little in the first game of the season against Marshall and a little more a week later against Norfolk State. He didn't have a catch or a carry against Maryland, even as freshman Andrew Buie took a big hit that briefly knocked him out of that game and kept him out of the next two.
Gillespie found his 5-foot-8, 175-pound running back after that game, too, and told him not to be discouraged.
"He understood," Gillespie said. "Guys understand that other guys will get a chance and it's about what you do with that opportunity. That's what you do with a group of young guys. You feel your way around until you find the right fit and the right chemistry."
A week later, Garrison got his chance and made it work. He carried 10 times for 46 yards and a touchdown and added 46 yards on four receptions against LSU. He followed the Bowling Green game with 80 yards against UConn and a 14-yard touchdown run that showcased patience, vision and a move that dropped a defender to the turf.
"He's finally doing the things we saw on tape," Gillespie said. "He had plays in camp, just like everyone else, where he showed explosiveness. He and Buie came in and played like the guys we saw on their high school film. Both guys made plays at times, but I think, from a physical standpoint, Buie probably caught on a little faster.
"But Buie got banged up and when that happened, it was all about the opportunity. That opened the door for Garrison to be able to get in and get reps and get more reps until it finally happened."
by Mike Casazza
Charleston Daily Mail
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- Every week, usually Thursday night after the team's final practice before that week's game, West Virginia assistant coach Robert Gillespie comes up with a quote for his running backs to use for the time before, during and after the game.
It's always profound and motivational and sometimes borrowed from scripture, other times lifted from the words of a famous person.
"I should have thought of a more powerful one against LSU," he said.
WVU is 5-1 and Gillespie thinks he has the same record with his choice of inspiration, as WVU goes to Syracuse (4-2) for Friday's 8 p.m. kick off (ESPN telecast).
He'll have a hard time topping what he found before the No. 11 Mountaineers played Bowling Green and won 55-12.
Gillespie dipped into the gospel according to Matthew for that game. "The humble will be exalted," he told the running backs.
Then Dustin Garrison set the school's freshman rushing record with 291 yards against the Falcons.
Only Kay-Jay Harris had more in school history, with 337 in 2004 against East Carolina.
"It says a lot about him and the way he was raised and brought up," Gillespie said. "He's a very humble kid and doesn't come from much. He's had to work hard for everything he has. There's no doubt in my mind he's not going to let this distract him, either."
Garrison was born in New Orleans and spent his first 12 years on the city's West Bank. In the summer of 2005, his family was displaced by Hurricane Katrina and moved to Houston.
He played for Pearland High in Texas, where he quite literally carried the school to an unbeaten season and a state championship last year in the highest classification in the state.
He also had no major college offers until he got a call from Gillespie in December.
Gillespie was still on the staff at Oklahoma State, but he told Garrison to watch the Alamo Bowl to see where Gillespie was going next. Gillespie wanted Garrison to thinking about going, too.
Garrison eventually figured out Gillespie was going to WVU to be with Dana Holgorsen. Garrison decided to do the same and he met perhaps his perfect foil in Morgantown.
"That's just what it is," he said. "Not a lot of coaches gave me a chance to play college ball. Coach Gillespie and Coach Holgorsen gave me that chance and I've definitely got to show them they made the right choice."
Gillespie, once a running back for the Washington Redskins and a captain at the University of Florida, builds his players up, but doesn't let them get too big. He knocks his players down - sometimes literally when he gets physically involved in practice - but never lets them get too low.
"He's a great coach," Garrison said of Gillespie. "He knows what he's doing. He's real tough, real straight forward and he's always making sure I'm the same Dustin I was in high school, that I'm just as hungry and ready to make plays. Meetings, practice, things like that, it doesn't matter. He's always on me and keeping me focused."
The congratulations lined up for a long time after Garrison's performance against Bowling Green until Gillespie finally got his chance.
"The first thing I said was, 'You put the ball on the ground too many times,' " Gillespie said.
The praise followed.
"My job is to critique and correct," Gillespie said. "Neither of those is fun, but my job isn't to pat them on the butt. My job is to get them better and once we get that right, we find the next thing to get better."
Garrison saw that response coming. Not only had he fumbled three times - one when he was stripped fighting for yards, two on what he called good hits on a cold, wet day he wasn't used to - but he knew Gillespie well enough to expect that reaction.
"He's always going to pat you on the back the day of the game," Garrison said. "After that, it's back to work to make sure you're focused on the next week."
Garrison knows this because he's been on both ends of the interactions with Gillespie after a game. He played a little in the first game of the season against Marshall and a little more a week later against Norfolk State. He didn't have a catch or a carry against Maryland, even as freshman Andrew Buie took a big hit that briefly knocked him out of that game and kept him out of the next two.
Gillespie found his 5-foot-8, 175-pound running back after that game, too, and told him not to be discouraged.
"He understood," Gillespie said. "Guys understand that other guys will get a chance and it's about what you do with that opportunity. That's what you do with a group of young guys. You feel your way around until you find the right fit and the right chemistry."
A week later, Garrison got his chance and made it work. He carried 10 times for 46 yards and a touchdown and added 46 yards on four receptions against LSU. He followed the Bowling Green game with 80 yards against UConn and a 14-yard touchdown run that showcased patience, vision and a move that dropped a defender to the turf.
"He's finally doing the things we saw on tape," Gillespie said. "He had plays in camp, just like everyone else, where he showed explosiveness. He and Buie came in and played like the guys we saw on their high school film. Both guys made plays at times, but I think, from a physical standpoint, Buie probably caught on a little faster.
"But Buie got banged up and when that happened, it was all about the opportunity. That opened the door for Garrison to be able to get in and get reps and get more reps until it finally happened."
