Post by elp525 on Oct 21, 2011 5:54:24 GMT -5
Friday October 21, 2011
by Jack Bogaczyk
Charleston Daily Mail
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- He's 5 feet 10, but when it comes to receivers in West Virginia football history, Stedman Bailey projects as a big guy ... a really big guy.
Halfway through his sophomore season, Bailey has a school-record four consecutive 100-yard receiving games for the 11th-ranked Mountaineers (5-1), and his receiving yardage total, projected over a 13-game season in 1,374 yards.
That doesn't break the WVU record. It obliterates it.
The only two 1,000-yard receivers in the history of a program known mostly for its star rushers were David Saunders (1,043 in 1996) and Chris Henry (1,006 in 2003).
And tonight at the Carrier Dome, Bailey and his high school and WVU teammates - fellow receiver Ivan McCartney and quarterback Geno Smith - get to go against Syracuse, which is ranked in the bottom 10 nationally in pass defense.
Bailey, the Mountaineers' X receiver, admits he never expected anything like this, although once he saw the new WVU coach was Dana Holgorsen, and Holgorsen had a 1,700-yard catcher last season in Justin Blackmon at Oklahoma State, the thought perhaps did cross the receiver's mind.
"I did that (100 receiving yards) just about every game in high school," said Bailey, who started nine games in 2010 and finished with 24 catches - 10 fewer than he already has this season. "It doesn't surprise me. I know what I can do. I know what I'm capable of and all I needed was the opportunity and that's been coming to me.
"The opportunity is open to everybody," Bailey said. "It's just a matter of coming out and making plays ... With the offense we have, it kind of opened my eyes and made me see I had opportunities to do something big. I'm just taking advantage of that.
"For me to get four 100-yard games is pretty big. I never thought I could do that on the collegiate level, but I've been doing some big things.
"We just want to win. Our main goal here is to win the Big East championship. Whatever it takes for me to help my team do that, that's what I've got to do."
Holgorsen said Bailey has "been very consistent; he's blocked well, he's run routes well and he is making plays and all that stuff."
I'm not sure if "all that stuff" includes settling down with his longtime buddy and quarterback Smith, but it turns out that's part of Bailey's contribution to the Mountaineers' too.
Holgorsen explained a bit after WVU's recent win over Connecticut why Bailey's psychiatry is needed sometimes.
"He is capable of being as good as any quarterback in college football," Holgorsen said of Smith. "He still puts too much on his shoulders ... He doesn't need to take over the game and once he 100-percent understands that, he will keep getting better."
Bailey nodded after that game when told of his coach's remark.
"For the most part, a couple of times, I was able to talk to (Smith), tell him to calm down," Bailey said. "Because we've been doing this for so long, I can just tell when he's tense and there's too much going on in his head and I can get him to the side and talk to him.
"There have been a couple of times this season where we've done that."
What Bailey said he doesn't do - unless an opportunity is so obvious that he can't hold his tongue - is tell Smith how to play quarterback or when to throw to whom.
"We feel very comfortable (with each other)," Bailey said. "We've been doing it for so long now and even in the offseason. We've put in a lot of work. Feel real comfortable, we know what we're capable of doing; it's just a matter of going out and making it happen.
"Only if it's something where I was wide open (would Bailey tell Smith). I mean, for the most part, Geno makes good reads and always makes a good throw, so I don't try to put more pressure on him more than what he has. Only if I'm wide open do I come back and say something."
Against UConn, Bailey took what was a pass in the flat into an 84-yard scoring reception, a play that helped break open a close game in the third quarter. It was the longest reception for WVU since Rasheed Marshall hit Travis Garvin on a 93-yarder for a score against Virginia Tech in October 2003.
"Any play could go the distance no matter where we are on the field," Bailey said. "Once you catch the ball, it's just a matter of making a play, making the guy miss and going however long the distance is. I feel like the opportunity to score wherever we are on the field, it's always open."
The 6-3 McCartney, who also has 34 receptions - he and Bailey share the No. 2 spot on the team, behind Tavon Austin's 42 catches - said he isn't surprised that the Mountaineer Triangle from Miramar (Fla.) High has worked so well in Holgorsen's air-first offense.
"It helps a lot, because we already have that connection from high school," McCartney said. "To bring it here and get everybody on the same page as us ... Once everything starts to click, there's no stopping us."
While Bailey's receiving yards project to 1,374, Austin would get to 1,222 if he remains at his current pace, and McCartney would approach four figures at 985.
The best WVU receiving season for multiple wideouts, you ask?
In 1998, Shawn Foreman had 948 yards and David Saunders added 883. Those totals rank third and sixth in WVU single-season history.
If Bailey gets only 33 yards tonight, he's already entered the WVU top 25 in single-season history in receiving yards, with six games remaining (including a bowl). Austin can get into the top 25 with 103 yards tonight.
"Stedman and me are alike because we're both playmakers," McCartney said. "We're different because ... I'd say the only difference is height, range, I'm taller than he is; but we're both adept, whether it's short, middle or long.
"We know what we're capable of doing; we just have to go out and do it."
by Jack Bogaczyk
Charleston Daily Mail
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- He's 5 feet 10, but when it comes to receivers in West Virginia football history, Stedman Bailey projects as a big guy ... a really big guy.
Halfway through his sophomore season, Bailey has a school-record four consecutive 100-yard receiving games for the 11th-ranked Mountaineers (5-1), and his receiving yardage total, projected over a 13-game season in 1,374 yards.
That doesn't break the WVU record. It obliterates it.
The only two 1,000-yard receivers in the history of a program known mostly for its star rushers were David Saunders (1,043 in 1996) and Chris Henry (1,006 in 2003).
And tonight at the Carrier Dome, Bailey and his high school and WVU teammates - fellow receiver Ivan McCartney and quarterback Geno Smith - get to go against Syracuse, which is ranked in the bottom 10 nationally in pass defense.
Bailey, the Mountaineers' X receiver, admits he never expected anything like this, although once he saw the new WVU coach was Dana Holgorsen, and Holgorsen had a 1,700-yard catcher last season in Justin Blackmon at Oklahoma State, the thought perhaps did cross the receiver's mind.
"I did that (100 receiving yards) just about every game in high school," said Bailey, who started nine games in 2010 and finished with 24 catches - 10 fewer than he already has this season. "It doesn't surprise me. I know what I can do. I know what I'm capable of and all I needed was the opportunity and that's been coming to me.
"The opportunity is open to everybody," Bailey said. "It's just a matter of coming out and making plays ... With the offense we have, it kind of opened my eyes and made me see I had opportunities to do something big. I'm just taking advantage of that.
"For me to get four 100-yard games is pretty big. I never thought I could do that on the collegiate level, but I've been doing some big things.
"We just want to win. Our main goal here is to win the Big East championship. Whatever it takes for me to help my team do that, that's what I've got to do."
Holgorsen said Bailey has "been very consistent; he's blocked well, he's run routes well and he is making plays and all that stuff."
I'm not sure if "all that stuff" includes settling down with his longtime buddy and quarterback Smith, but it turns out that's part of Bailey's contribution to the Mountaineers' too.
Holgorsen explained a bit after WVU's recent win over Connecticut why Bailey's psychiatry is needed sometimes.
"He is capable of being as good as any quarterback in college football," Holgorsen said of Smith. "He still puts too much on his shoulders ... He doesn't need to take over the game and once he 100-percent understands that, he will keep getting better."
Bailey nodded after that game when told of his coach's remark.
"For the most part, a couple of times, I was able to talk to (Smith), tell him to calm down," Bailey said. "Because we've been doing this for so long, I can just tell when he's tense and there's too much going on in his head and I can get him to the side and talk to him.
"There have been a couple of times this season where we've done that."
What Bailey said he doesn't do - unless an opportunity is so obvious that he can't hold his tongue - is tell Smith how to play quarterback or when to throw to whom.
"We feel very comfortable (with each other)," Bailey said. "We've been doing it for so long now and even in the offseason. We've put in a lot of work. Feel real comfortable, we know what we're capable of doing; it's just a matter of going out and making it happen.
"Only if it's something where I was wide open (would Bailey tell Smith). I mean, for the most part, Geno makes good reads and always makes a good throw, so I don't try to put more pressure on him more than what he has. Only if I'm wide open do I come back and say something."
Against UConn, Bailey took what was a pass in the flat into an 84-yard scoring reception, a play that helped break open a close game in the third quarter. It was the longest reception for WVU since Rasheed Marshall hit Travis Garvin on a 93-yarder for a score against Virginia Tech in October 2003.
"Any play could go the distance no matter where we are on the field," Bailey said. "Once you catch the ball, it's just a matter of making a play, making the guy miss and going however long the distance is. I feel like the opportunity to score wherever we are on the field, it's always open."
The 6-3 McCartney, who also has 34 receptions - he and Bailey share the No. 2 spot on the team, behind Tavon Austin's 42 catches - said he isn't surprised that the Mountaineer Triangle from Miramar (Fla.) High has worked so well in Holgorsen's air-first offense.
"It helps a lot, because we already have that connection from high school," McCartney said. "To bring it here and get everybody on the same page as us ... Once everything starts to click, there's no stopping us."
While Bailey's receiving yards project to 1,374, Austin would get to 1,222 if he remains at his current pace, and McCartney would approach four figures at 985.
The best WVU receiving season for multiple wideouts, you ask?
In 1998, Shawn Foreman had 948 yards and David Saunders added 883. Those totals rank third and sixth in WVU single-season history.
If Bailey gets only 33 yards tonight, he's already entered the WVU top 25 in single-season history in receiving yards, with six games remaining (including a bowl). Austin can get into the top 25 with 103 yards tonight.
"Stedman and me are alike because we're both playmakers," McCartney said. "We're different because ... I'd say the only difference is height, range, I'm taller than he is; but we're both adept, whether it's short, middle or long.
"We know what we're capable of doing; we just have to go out and do it."
