Post by cviller on Oct 3, 2007 12:56:30 GMT -5
White says he should be ready by Saturday
By Mike Casazza
Daily Mail sportswriter
MORGANTOWN -- West Virginia Coach Rich Rodriguez might know whom his starting quarterback will be when his team takes to the turf inside the Carrier Dome Saturday.
And Rodriguez might be alone.
Starter Patrick White is still day-to-day as he treats a bruised right thigh and Rodriguez couldn't have been more vague about his plans during Tuesday's press conference.
"What time do we play? Noon Saturday?" he said. "If I decide earlier than that, you won't know until noon Saturday. Nobody else will either."
White tried to spoil Rodriguez's secret when he met with the media following practice, one in which he fully participated.
"If you can practice Tuesday, you can play Saturday," White said. "I feel good. I did all of practice. I'm not 100 percent, but I feel good."
Jarrett Brown, the would-be starter but backup for the time being, said he believes White will start.
* * *
IF WHITE can't play, doesn't start or doesn't finish the game, he'd be the second person in the talented Mountaineers' backfield to be sidelined with a thigh bruise.
Running back Steve Slaton missed all but a few plays of last season's Gator Bowl. Slaton was hurt in an accidental collision during a non-contact drill in an early bowl practice.
He was in town for about a week after he was hurt and received treatment. The team then split up for its holiday break before meeting up again to resume preparations for the game.
"I let mine tighten up on me," he said. "I hurt it in bowl practice here, then we had a week off to go home before we had to report back. The week here, I didn't do too much and the week home I didn't do too much."
Slaton, who is White's roommate, has been offering pointers on how to help heal the bruise.
"Keep it moving," he said. "He's progressing much faster than I did. That's definitely a positive thing for us."
* * *
FOLLOWING A bye next week, WVU plays host to the Southeastern Conference's Mississippi State on Oct. 20. It's only the third WVU home game of the season.
It's the latest the third home game has been played since the Mountaineers played host to Miami (Fla.) on Oct. 22, 1994.
Of more concern to Rodriguez is the home Big East schedule. The Mountaineers play their first Big East home game Nov. 8 against Louisville, the latest they've ever played a Big East home opener.
Every conference team except Cincinnati will play two conference home games before WVU. The Bearcats have just one.
"The only thing I was complaining about to the Big East about the schedule was I'd like to have more home games in October -- conference games," Rodriguez said. "We don't have any and that's usually when the weather is halfway decent and fans are not as occupied with hunting season and all the other late-in-the-year kind of things that are going on.
"Most coaches would tell you they'd rather play home games in October than in November because of the weather."
* * *
THE MOUNTAINEERS also will be playing on the road Saturday for the fourth time in six games. That, too, is most among Big East teams, although Rodriguez said travel tiredness is neither a concern nor an issue.
"It's not like the old days when I was at Glenville when a road trip was 12 or 14 hours on a bus and you'd come right back," he said. "That wore you out. Now, you've got planes and you can fly there and fly back pretty easily."
This road game is a bit different, though. The Mountaineers are 5-8 all-time inside the Carrier Dome, but they have won two in a row there and five in a row overall in the series.
"It's probably the most, I guess, unique and different away game atmosphere you'll ever play in, more so than the Superdome and the Georgia Dome because it's a smaller, confined area," Rodriguez said. "It's more difficult for players who haven't been there.
"We'll probably take half a practice or a portion of practice and go to our indoor facility because it is a different environment. The crowd noise is louder and if you haven't been there, the first time can be unique as a player. Once you get in there and play a little bit, it's not that bad."
* * *
RODRIGUEZ IS still stuck on 99 career victories after the loss at USF. He's 5-1 against the Orange and has won the past five in the series by a combined score of 161-60. In a 54-year series, neither the Orange or Mountaineers has won six straight ... Slaton is still stuck on 42 career rushing touchdowns, tied for the school record with Ira Errett Rodgers and Avon Cobourne. Slaton, who did not play against the Orange in 2005, had 163 yards and a 52-yard touchdown in last year's game.
By Mike Casazza
Daily Mail sportswriter
MORGANTOWN -- West Virginia Coach Rich Rodriguez might know whom his starting quarterback will be when his team takes to the turf inside the Carrier Dome Saturday.
And Rodriguez might be alone.
Starter Patrick White is still day-to-day as he treats a bruised right thigh and Rodriguez couldn't have been more vague about his plans during Tuesday's press conference.
"What time do we play? Noon Saturday?" he said. "If I decide earlier than that, you won't know until noon Saturday. Nobody else will either."
White tried to spoil Rodriguez's secret when he met with the media following practice, one in which he fully participated.
"If you can practice Tuesday, you can play Saturday," White said. "I feel good. I did all of practice. I'm not 100 percent, but I feel good."
Jarrett Brown, the would-be starter but backup for the time being, said he believes White will start.
* * *
IF WHITE can't play, doesn't start or doesn't finish the game, he'd be the second person in the talented Mountaineers' backfield to be sidelined with a thigh bruise.
Running back Steve Slaton missed all but a few plays of last season's Gator Bowl. Slaton was hurt in an accidental collision during a non-contact drill in an early bowl practice.
He was in town for about a week after he was hurt and received treatment. The team then split up for its holiday break before meeting up again to resume preparations for the game.
"I let mine tighten up on me," he said. "I hurt it in bowl practice here, then we had a week off to go home before we had to report back. The week here, I didn't do too much and the week home I didn't do too much."
Slaton, who is White's roommate, has been offering pointers on how to help heal the bruise.
"Keep it moving," he said. "He's progressing much faster than I did. That's definitely a positive thing for us."
* * *
FOLLOWING A bye next week, WVU plays host to the Southeastern Conference's Mississippi State on Oct. 20. It's only the third WVU home game of the season.
It's the latest the third home game has been played since the Mountaineers played host to Miami (Fla.) on Oct. 22, 1994.
Of more concern to Rodriguez is the home Big East schedule. The Mountaineers play their first Big East home game Nov. 8 against Louisville, the latest they've ever played a Big East home opener.
Every conference team except Cincinnati will play two conference home games before WVU. The Bearcats have just one.
"The only thing I was complaining about to the Big East about the schedule was I'd like to have more home games in October -- conference games," Rodriguez said. "We don't have any and that's usually when the weather is halfway decent and fans are not as occupied with hunting season and all the other late-in-the-year kind of things that are going on.
"Most coaches would tell you they'd rather play home games in October than in November because of the weather."
* * *
THE MOUNTAINEERS also will be playing on the road Saturday for the fourth time in six games. That, too, is most among Big East teams, although Rodriguez said travel tiredness is neither a concern nor an issue.
"It's not like the old days when I was at Glenville when a road trip was 12 or 14 hours on a bus and you'd come right back," he said. "That wore you out. Now, you've got planes and you can fly there and fly back pretty easily."
This road game is a bit different, though. The Mountaineers are 5-8 all-time inside the Carrier Dome, but they have won two in a row there and five in a row overall in the series.
"It's probably the most, I guess, unique and different away game atmosphere you'll ever play in, more so than the Superdome and the Georgia Dome because it's a smaller, confined area," Rodriguez said. "It's more difficult for players who haven't been there.
"We'll probably take half a practice or a portion of practice and go to our indoor facility because it is a different environment. The crowd noise is louder and if you haven't been there, the first time can be unique as a player. Once you get in there and play a little bit, it's not that bad."
* * *
RODRIGUEZ IS still stuck on 99 career victories after the loss at USF. He's 5-1 against the Orange and has won the past five in the series by a combined score of 161-60. In a 54-year series, neither the Orange or Mountaineers has won six straight ... Slaton is still stuck on 42 career rushing touchdowns, tied for the school record with Ira Errett Rodgers and Avon Cobourne. Slaton, who did not play against the Orange in 2005, had 163 yards and a 52-yard touchdown in last year's game.